It might come with IBM''s Java compiler, but I don''t think you have to use it.

The Artist Formerly Known as CmndrM

http://chaos.webhop.org

Eclipse uses it''s own compiler, and you do have to use it, AFAIK. In Eclipse, some of the compiler code is also used by the refactoring and code browser tools.


AnkhSVN - A Visual Studio .NET Addin for the Subversion version control system.

I'm a beginner myself and I've decided to stay away from IDE's. I believe IDE's are much more useful when you've been programming in a language for a while and you need to automate some of the basics. For small programs and playing around, I like using a text editor with line numbering and syntax highlighting for Java (like Crimson Editor). I have to compile and run everything at the command line, but I feel like I'm learning more this way. I've never taken on a project so large that I've wished I had something like an IDE.

EDIT: IDE's do a great job of helping you to manage your project and its many associated files. I think this is one of the main benefits of using an IDE. This benefit becomes more pronounced when working with tens of thousands of lines of code across almost a hundred files (which seems to happen often enough in large Java projects).

Of course, some also believe IDE's are best for beginners. A friend of mine was taking intro to CS courses in university and they gave him an IDE that they'd reworked or created or something (Dr. Java or something like that) and used that as the programming environment. My school took my approach: use a good text editor and compile/run everything at the console.

Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil...prayer,
fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the
double-barrel shotgun. Eat leaden death, demon...
-- Terry Pratchett

[edited by - Kentaro on August 18, 2003 12:53:52 AM]

I agree with you, actually. IDEs are great once you already know a language, but sometimes just learning how to use the IDE (that is, using all of its features, and knowing them like second nature) can be just as difficult as learning the language. I think it''s best at first to focus on the actual programming, and compile on the command line. Especially considering that when you first learn to code, your projects are usually only one or two files long, and hardly ever will you need to pass a ton of options to the command line compiler. Only when you''ve mastered a language should you move up to an IDE, since by then you''ll understand what it''s doing.

That said, though, there are some IDEs that are extremely simple to use, such as JCreator. Something like that is perfectly fine for a beginner, but I still say doing it on the command line for a while is best.

The Artist Formerly Known as CmndrM

http://chaos.webhop.org