Guys,

What do you think is the better IDE for Java, NetBeans or Eclipse?

Definitely, Eclipse. But it has a rather stiff learning curve.

have you seen netbeans lately?? it now fully supports drap-and drop on web pages via the web application plug-in... i use to cry hard for eclipse but i think the time has come when netbeans looks and works better... and that time is now.

What about when it comes to non-web application development? By the way, I am using NetBeans 5.5.

Keithrull has a point. If you're not gonna be doing some web related stuff then I guess netbeans would be fine. But still, I'm pro eclipse. :)

Sakuragi:

What about when it comes to non-web application development? By the way, I am using NetBeans 5.5.

Eclipse serves well also on non-web application projects. Although Eclipse has more plugins readily availabe right now which gives it slight edge over netbeans but.. try looking at the set of add-ons that have been published by the NetBeans team in the past few months. Most of them are even better than their open source counterparts( I personnaly love the enterprise pack).

NetBeans IDE Add-ons

	Mobility Pack Build powerful mobile applications with visual tools.
	Visual Web Pack Drag and drop components to visually construct web applications.
	Enterprise Pack (XML Schema, WSDL, BPEL, Secure Web services) Drag and drop components for Modeling and SOA application development
	Profiler Find bottlenecks and memory leaks in your applications.
	C/C++ Pack Create C/C++ applications from within the NetBeans IDE.

I've been using NetBeans lately and it has changed from a crappy IDE to a really good IDE.

You sure keep your Java roots flowing in your veins Keith. I have to look into these plugins. It might  be a good idea to switch from dev-cpp to Neatbeans on my next C/C++ game. :)

Certainly sir :)

I just got a CD from Sun 2 weeks back that contains the Netbeans installer and a Sun Application Server. Havent touched it yet.. I'll probably download Solaris 10 tonight too.

Netbeans looks really really nice bro. you should try it although the IDE load time is still low but tolerable.

Is it normal that the forms usually have black areas (IDE and the Forms)? Its very annoying.

i think we just got used to looking at gray forms.

anyway look at this concept IDE for visual studio 2010. heheh

http://www.codeproject.com/csharp/Concept_IDE.asp. No gray forms anymore.

That is very nice...

If you have time, try both. Nothing will beat first-hand experience in these IDEs. Some people like Eclipse. Some like Netbeans. It really depends on your preferences.

In my case, I use Eclipse for most of my development. Normally the milestone builds if I'm doing my open source stuff. I use the stable versions for my work.

I have tried the new version of Netbeans and it has changed a lot. However, I took it off my machine because I needed the space. haha

i've observed that NetBeans is more apt for RAD-style work while Eclipse is truly a coder's IDE -- great refactoring features and other tools!

After getting a distribution of Eclipse IDE, I installed it in my PC at home because I was eager to learn Java (particularly JSP and Servlets). But the IDE requires the "sysdeo" plugin to be able to deploy JSP and Servlets apps. For me that deprived for downloading at work and no internet connection at home, it was a total disaster to me.

Until I got the copy of Netbeans, it gives me hope and light in pursuing to learn JSP and Servlets. No need to download plugins to deploy it. I love netbeans now. But I'll try to mess more with Eclipse when I got the plugins I needed. :D

Yeah, but you would mostly need the word "Eclipse" if you want to break in the Java market. Just my own personal observation. :)