NetBeans 4.0, an open-source Java IDE, has been released. This project, under guidance of Sun MicroSystems features significant changes and improvements over older versions. With Eclipse, NetBeans can be seen as one of the best IDE's free, and for multiple platforms.

• Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 5.0 (J2SE) language feature support
  J2SE 5.0 (Tiger) brings important new language updates: metadata, generics, enumerated types and autoboxing of primitive types. NetBeans IDE 4.0 supports these new language features in the editor, debugger, refactoring, etc.
• Java refactoring
  Refactoring allows developers to make sweeping changes to their code without affecting functionality. The refactoring in NetBeans IDE 4.0 provides features such as renames (class/method/field), move class, rename package, change method parameters, encapsulate field and find references.
• Ant-based projects
  A completely new project system based on Apache Ant, the de facto standard for Java technology build tools, featuring:
  • An open architecture, which third-party modules can extend to support current and future types of Java applications
  • Project types for J2SE desktop, two-tier web applications (JSPs, servlets), and MIDP applications out of the box.

  Beginning users don't have to know Ant to use the system, but the full power of Ant is accessible to advanced Ant users. These project types come with built-in support for generating, developing and running unit tests using JUnit, the de facto standard in Java code testing.

• Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) MIDP development support
  This release simplifies coding with templates for MIDlet and MIDlet suites. It provides a unique solution for managing device fragmentation, by enabling you to edit and compile custom configurations for any number of devices, without requiring separate source files. Key features in this release:
  • Support for the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 2.0
  • Support for the Connected, Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) 1.1
  • Integration with version 2.2 of the Wireless Toolkit
  • Built in code obfuscation (commonly used to reduce application size)
  • Easy integration of third party phone/device emulators
  • Localization wizard to assist with developing multi-language applications
  • Robust MIDlet debugger

More information

• Download NetBeans 4.0
• NetBeans press release: NetBeans 4.0 Released!