Programming in Java on Mac

A

anerki

Registered
A couple of questions, a simple one if you program in Java yourself:

I use XCode to write all my code and compile it, but I find it dreadfully slow. Takes ages to load and even takes ages just to type the code (every letter is delayed for some reason). I program on a 1Ghz G4 with a Gb of RAM so that should be enough, no? What application do you use to write in Java?

Also, is there an application like TogetherSoft for Mac OS X? TogetherSoft generates code for buttons, ActionListeners and the likes with a drag and drop and click interface. It also allows you to make UML schemes and put your classes/methods directly in it for easier writing.

Thanks in advance!
Frederik-Jan
 
I don't use Xcode. I find it a little too unintuitive for my tastes and I come from a UNIX background. Personally, I find using a text editor and makefiles very productive as you spend more time programming and solving problems, instead of spending time fighting with the IDE.

As for Java, I like Netbeans. I've found it to be the best Java IDE. A close second goes to Eclipse. Both of these have a GUI builder so you might want to check those out. Can't say how they compare to TogetherSoft as I've never used that before.
 
Are you programming cross-platform applications or Mac applications? If you're programming Mac applications, you can use Java within the Cocoa environment, which allows you to use Interface Builder for dragging buttons and the like.

As for text editing, do you have any other editors on your computer? There are a number I could recommend that you might enjoy, which you could tell Xcode to use for editing.
 
If you're programming strictly for the Mac, you might as well use the Obj-C cocoa bindings instead of the Java ones. They're more complete and less buggy. Obj-C is a nice language, too.
 
Obj-C? It has to be Java, for both Mac and PC. It has to compile and run Applets and normal Java thingies (can't find the name right now). That's all I require basically. Oh, and support Methods/Classes that are in different java files.
 
I use BBEdit for editing Java.
Ant for building and deploying Java.
Abeille Forms Designer for GUI design.
 
I prefer eclipse - it is very customizable and can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. It runs really good on my G5 and OK on my iBook G4 800. I really like the way it works with CVS. I didn't use it with a team project but rather to keep my projects synced up between my desktop and my laptop.

I tried using netbeans for a while, I didn't like it and went to eclipse. They are quite similar but eclipse just seemed to fit better with me.

I would recommend learning how to use something like netbeans or eclipse now even if your programs are simple. If you plan to continue on with programming and build some more complicated programs you will be glad that you learned how to use a powerful IDE rather than a text editor.

You could also try Dr Java for starters I hear it is a simple IDE to learn on, never tried it my self though.
 
Thanks for all the input everybody, keep them coming! I'll try some of them out over the weekend and the others after my finals. I'll post a small review of the applications after I tried some of them out!
 
personally i prefer eclipse over netbeans.. but when it comes to gui programming, netbeans rules over elcipse. eclipse VE (visual editor) is horrible and buggy (crashes the IDE at times). aside from this only downfall (for eclipse), it really is one of the best ide i've ever used.
teeth.gif
 
Eclipse is very good, and is usually the IDE I suggest for people who want a free one. I use IntelliJ IDEA from http://www.jetbrains.com/ for my Java development.

I still find the G4 Macs too slow for most Java stuff. My 1GHz iBook was just too slow for any of the Java editors to be useful, IMO. The 1.42GHz Mac mini I have now is usable, but still snail-like compared to my PCs when running Java. The Java 1.4.2 Update 2 Apple released not too long ago REALLY helped, but not enough.
 
are any of you software developers? wow, EVERYONE i know in the field who do java say emacs > *. i tend to agree.....
 
Yes, I'm a developer in the sense that I program for a living. Emacs is horrible. It doesn't support loads of the features found on current IDEs, like code folding, refactoring, documentation lookup, GUI building, etc.
 
Except GUI building Emacs does support all the above features. I prefer to use Eclipse though, which also does not have GUI building (at least not by default).

I go back to Emacs when I need to do C/C++. For Java I find Eclipse better. For Objective-C XCode. NetBeans and JDeveloper are also nice, but I feel more comfortable in Eclipse. Just go with what you find comfortable.
 
the problem with IDE's for the java platform.. they are all so amazing.. they outbeat any "IDE" avaliable for other languages and other platforms (ehm wait...)

anyhow.. yea JDeveloper is also a really cool IDE.. u should check it out.. All have their advantages and disadvantages. IntelliJ is ok, has a cool interface etc.. but so do most other IDE's now-a-days. As far as featues are concerned. They are all just as feature rich as each other..

Wow, that screwed u up didin't it, now you really dont know what to use ;)
 
I used to use NetBeans (pre 4.0) but since the last Java class I took used Eclipse, I've switched to that. Once you get the hang of using the feature, they can be really useful, and allow you to do less typing and refactoring is a breeze. Some people have said it can make you "stupid" since it can fix errors etc. and do things automatically that otherwise you should have known. I suppose this is true, but still worth it I think.
 
I think JBuilder is my favourite so far on the Mac, but that's probably in part due to the fact I've used it for years on Windows and Solaris.

I've tried NetBeans but it just crashes all the time on me, and hasn't been tweaked at all for the mac; however, it supports JSPs, which the free version of JBuilder doesn't.

I gave up with Java and XCode - it was causing far too many headaches.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top