Best Tool For Java Programmers On Mac

  • The best tool for Java programmers as they begin writing their first programs is a debatable topic. Their goal has to be learning the basics of the Java language. It's also important that the programming should be fun.
  • Java Development Kit is a Java IDE for programmers and software developers. It is a useful integrated development environment for creating cross platform Java applications for mobile, web, enterprise and desktop.

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There is no shortage of options for text editors geared towards developers on the Mac, but TextMate is our top pick. It wins out thanks to its massive programming language syntax support, helpful code snippets, expandability, and integration with the OS X terminal.

TextMate

Platform: Mac OS X
Price: Free!
Download Page

Features

  • Column Selections and Column Typing
  • Expand Trigger Words to Code Blocks With Tab-able Placeholders
  • Support for Darcs, Perforce, SVK, and Subversion
  • Works As External Editor for (s)ftp Programs

Note: This feature list is borrowed from the TextMate site and the links will take you directly to TextMate's pages containing more info on each feature.

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Where It Excels

TextMate is excellent. It's as simple as you need it to be, providing only a single window for editing a single document, or it can expand to handling a large file structure. It supports syntax highlighting for practically any programming language you can think of, plus it contains code snippets. These things can be expanded by downloading third-party add-ons. TextMate has great code organization features. It updates frequently enough that you feel taken care of but not so frequently you want to smack it in the face (like with Evernote). You can even use TextMate as your text editor in the terminal with the command mate. If you're looking for a WYSISYG editor, TextMate—and this entire category—is not for you. If you just want to write code in a great editor, you've come to the right app.

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Where It Falls Short

Organizing the files you're currently working on could be a little more user-friendly, as it can be a little bit tedious if you don't open your entire work folder immediately at launch. The undo history is so detailed that you can find yourself pressing Command+Z a lot just to get back to the place you wanted. Generally it's just faster to retype it. Overall, though, there's very little to complain about. At one point we complained about its $58 price tag, but now that TextMate is open-source and free it's got almost everything going for it.

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The Competition

It's impossible to avoid mentioning SublimeText because it's so similar. It has almost the same support for language syntax as TextMate, and even has a Windows version as well (which is where the app originated, but that Mac version is still very Mac-like). Honestly, whether you use Sublime Text or TextMate is really going to come down to preference. They're both excellent and both, perhaps, a bit too expensive. They also both come with trials, so you can check them both out and decide for yourself.

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But maybe you're someone who doesn't want to pay for their programming-friendly text editor. If that's you, there are a couple of other alternatives that don't cost a thing. First, TextWrangler is a capable option with a loyal user base (if they haven't already upgraded to its big brother BBEdit), but it's a little low on capabilities and has an interface that feels pretty dated. Alternatively, there's Fraise (the successor to Smultron), which is another free, capable, but not-as-amazing-as-TextMate (and Sublime Text) text editor.

The other free option that's probably most like TextMate (and Sublime Text, for that matter) is Kod. It supports over 65 languages, is remarkably fast and lightweight, and only comes with one real disadvantage: it's in its early stages of development. When I checked it out earlier this year, however, it was pretty solid. Kod is very much worth a look, even if it hasn't been around for quite as long as the others.

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Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

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Wifi monitoring tool for mac. Java remains one of the most popular programming languages in the world, a position fostered by the language's simplicity as well as the robust ecosystem of integrated development environments on the market that support both general and specific coding objectives.

While many IDEs are part of a paid enterprise development stack, Java programmers enjoy access to several powerful and well-designed IDEs that are free, open source, or both. We highlight five of the most popular.

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Eclipse

What We Like

  • Open source with large community.

  • Large selection of plugins available.

  • Easy to use.

What We Don't Like

  • Management of plugins and add-ons is not as easy as others.

  • Interface is dated.

Eclipse, which has been around since 2001, has been immensely popular with Java developers. It is open source software that is often used in the development of commercial projects.

Featuring a variety of useful plugins, the best aspect of this platform is its ability to arrange projects into workspaces called Perspectives, which are visual containers that offer sets of views and editors.

Eclipse is robust and can handle large development projects that include analysis and design, management, implementation, development, testing, and documentation.

Eclipse offers a wide choice of options to developers, the most recent of which is Eclipse Oxygen, which debuted in 2017.

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IntelliJ IDEA

What We Like

What We Don't Like

  • Less useful with languages other than Java.

  • Costs to access some helpful features.

  • Memory resource intensive.

Yet another popular IDE for Java developers is JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA, available as both a commercial Ultimate version and as a free Community download version.

Offering support for several build systems, this platform features intuitive code completion, code analysis, integration with unit testing frameworks, a full-featured database editor, and a UML Designer.

Hundreds of plugins are available for IntelliJ IDEA. Additionally, this platform features tools for Android app development.

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NetBeans

What We Like

  • Very customizable to individual work style.

  • Easy to learn and to use.

What We Don't Like

  • Can be taxing to system resources, especially with plugins.

  • User interface could use an update.

The NetBeans IDE offers advanced features and support for Java, PHP, C/C++, and HTML5, which helps the developer build desktop, web, and mobile applications.

This platform, which boasts a worldwide community of developers, is open source. Use NetBeans with all versions of Java from Java ME to the Enterprise Edition.

NetBeans offers database support, which the other free IDEs don't. Using its Database Explorer, you can create, modify, and delete databases and tables in the IDE.

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JDeveloper

What We Like

  • Good at simplifying tasks and improving efficiency.

  • Advanced code editing, completion, refactoring, and other features.

What We Don't Like

Best Tool For Java Programmers On Mac
  • Bulky program that uses a lot of resources.

  • Not as flexible with plugins and other languages as other IDEs.

Developed by Oracle, JDeveloper is a powerful IDE that simplifies the process of development of Java-based SOA and EE applications.

This platform offers end-to-end development for Oracle Fusion middleware and Oracle Fusion applications. It allows for development in Java, SQL, XML, HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and other languages.

Covering the entire development ​lifecycle from design, code development, debugging, optimization, profiling, and deploying, the platform focuses on simplifying app development to the maximum possible extent.

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BlueJ

What We Like

Tools A Programmer Needs

  • Very simple interface.

  • Easy to use.

  • Barebones IDE, and lighter than others.

What We Don't Like

  • Lacks support of plugins to add functionality.

  • May be too simple for larger, complex projects.

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If you're a beginner, the BlueJ Java IDE might be right up your alley. It works on Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, and other operating systems.

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Because this IDE is best for beginning developers, it has a robust Blueroom community to help users understand the software and find support.

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You can install a handful of extensions to BlueJ — such as a remote file manager and multiproject workspace handler — to add or modify capabilities not offered in the base program.

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The open source BlueJ project is supported by Oracle.