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We test the top 6 Java visual IDEs

The latest pack of Java tools delivers full JDK 1.1 support, raises the bar on performance and features

By Carl Dichter, JavaWorld.com, 04/01/98

As an IDC research analyst recently noted, 1997 was "the year of the [Java] tool." Indeed, in the June 1997 issue of JavaWorld, we offered the first comprehensive comparative review of the best JDK 1.0 tools (Asymetrix SuperCede 1.0, Microsoft Visual J++ 1.1, Sun Java WorkShop 1.0, Symantec Visual Café 1.0, and Visix Vibe). Since then, Java tools have matured, and now many provide full support of JDK 1.1 features. To help our readers evaluate this latest generation of visual integrated development environments (IDEs), JavaWorld in this issue compares the professional versions of the top six visual development tools for JDK 1.1:

• Borland JBuilder 1.0 Professional
• Cosmo Software Cosmo Code 2.5
• IBM VisualAge for Java 1.0 Professional
• Sun Java WorkShop 2.0
• SuperCede Inc., SuperCede 2.0 Professional
• Symantec Visual Café 2.1

Note that three of these six tools -- Borland JBuilder, IBM VisualAge for Java, and Cosmo Code -- are new (or were not released in time to be included in our last comparative review). The other three tools have been upgraded since our last review to include JDK 1.1 support and various enhancements.

The evolution of Java visual IDEs over the past nine months has been astounding. Last year, most Java tools wouldn't stand up against the capabilities of even the early versions of Borland C++. Fortunately, this new group of tools is powerful and friendly.

Review criteria

In this review, JavaWorld looked at the major Java JDK 1.1 tools that tout a visual integrated development environment. A great many Java tools have been released or improved in the past few months. We can't review every one of these, but we try to describe them all (as well as all sorts of other Java developer products) in JavaWorld's comprehensive Developer Tools Guide. (If the Tools Guide is missing your favorite tool, let us know.)

The reviewed tools are quite powerful now, and many are relatively inexpensive and/or provide free trial versions, so there are plenty of alternatives if you don't have much money to spend on tools. For example:

• Parts for Java from ObjectShare has a free 30 day trial
• The beta version of SNiFF+J Professional is available for free download from TakeFive Software
• Super Mojo from Penumbra Software is available for an introductory price of 9.95

(See the Resources section for URLs.)

On one hand, only recently have some tools become JDK 1.1-savvy. On the other hand, the list of visual Java development environments is a long one; choosing the top candidates for this review was no easy task. Based on input from JavaWorld reader surveys, data from research companies, and the experience of the reviewer, we established a set of criteria. To be chosen for inclusion in this review, a given tool had to:

• Be fully released (not in beta)
• Provide support for visual programming, at least to the point of placing objects without programming
• Provide good support for JDK 1.1, including the ability to create and consume beans
• Claim a substantial marketshare among similar Java tools
• Offer a "professional" edition or equivalent. (Products that are marketed primarily as "enterprise," "database," or "multi-tier" development environments, such as Sybase PowerJ Enterprise, inherently warrant a broader set of evaluation criteria, and thus were not compared to the professional tools in this review)

Of these criteria, the most difficult one to quantify is "substantial marketshare." What makes this so difficult is that beyond the top three leaders (VisualJ++, Café and Java WorkShop) the market analysts' opinions greatly differ. Using a variety of sources including JavaWorld's own reader surveys, we had to make our best guess.

 

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