Development environments

[Mark]

I am new to Java and I need to set up, from scratch, a Java development, testing,
and deployment environment. There are many products out there to choose
from, but which ones should I definetly consider or stay away from? Some
that I am aware of are...
1. Power J - from Sybase
2. Visual J++ - from Microsoft
3. VisualAge for Java - from IBM
4. JBuilder - from Borland
5. JDesignerPro - from BulletProof
6. VisualCafe - from WebGain (formerly Symantec)
7. ?

What are the opinions of those of you who have been in the business for awhile?

Thanks for sharing your expertise!

Mark

[Tom Duffy]

Hi Mark:

I use Visual Cafe and am very happy with it. All of the products you list
have their plusses and minuses - except for J++. IMHO, J++ isn't really
a Java tool at all but a way to use an older, bastardized version of Java
to write Windows/IE apps.

Sun also has their own IDE called Forte. I've heard good and bad things
about it.

The only advice I can give you is to try as many as you can before you make
a longterm decision.

HTH,

Tom Duffy

"Mark" <msorteberg@inspec.com> wrote:
>
>I am new to Java and I need to set up, from scratch, a Java development,
testing,
>and deployment environment. There are many products out there to choose
>from, but which ones should I definetly consider or stay away from? Some
>that I am aware of are...
>1. Power J - from Sybase
>2. Visual J++ - from Microsoft
>3. VisualAge for Java - from IBM
>4. JBuilder - from Borland
>5. JDesignerPro - from BulletProof
>6. VisualCafe - from WebGain (formerly Symantec)
>7. ?
>
>What are the opinions of those of you who have been in the business for
awhile?
>
>Thanks for sharing your expertise!
>
>Mark

[Ilana]

Mark,

One IDE that you should certainly try is Simplicity for Java. IMHO, it is
the easiest to use for doing simple things like creating GUIs and applets.
The interface of Simplicity is very easy to look at and to get around -
everything on the screen is large and well-labeled. I hate squinting at
the monitor. Anyway, the automatic code device is also excellent - it asks
the questions in real English, not modified Java-speak, and then actually
writes the code for you. In some of the others, the coding devices just
help you find where to place your own code. If you want to do database integration
or servlet development, check out Simplicity Professional, which costs a
bit more.

Also, Simplicity has a much smaller footprint than many of these other IDEs,
especially Forte and JBuilder, which take a supercomputer to run at a reasonable
speed.

Try Simplicity at www.datarepresentations.com

Ilana


"Mark" <msorteberg@inspec.com> wrote:
>
>I am new to Java and I need to set up, from scratch, a Java development,
testing,
>and deployment environment. There are many products out there to choose
>from, but which ones should I definetly consider or stay away from? Some
>that I am aware of are...
>1. Power J - from Sybase
>2. Visual J++ - from Microsoft
>3. VisualAge for Java - from IBM
>4. JBuilder - from Borland
>5. JDesignerPro - from BulletProof
>6. VisualCafe - from WebGain (formerly Symantec)
>7. ?
>
>What are the opinions of those of you who have been in the business for
awhile?
>
>Thanks for sharing your expertise!
>
>Mark