[Zekorov]

uhm..... i have been looking around on here, because on youtube I saw a guy in a Java tutorial using Eclipse and it seemed to me to look very useful as far as using Java was concerned. so far for the 6 months i've been programming though, i've only used notepad to make my code. So, my question is, would it be worth it to use Eclipse? or is Eclipse not really that great? i've seen some posts debating how good it is for game making, which is something i may delve into with Java, to make some simple games. I would like to know some feed back from more experienced programmers.

[macosxnerd101]

Same thing I say for any IDE. For me, it helps on large projects (7+ files) as an organizational tool and displaying elements for an Object, especially with GUIs where JComponents have a couple hundred method when you account for inheritance. If you are going to use it as a crutch for code completion, then stick with Notepad until you have a stronger grasp of the language. If your game is 1-3 files or less than 250 lines of code, I'd say it's not worth it using Eclipse. For school assignments, I often find myself using JCreator as a lightweight editor for syntax highlighting. The same goes for NetBeans as with Eclipse, with the added warning about not using a GUI Builder.

There are plenty of which IDE to use threads if you search for them, as well.

[Zekorov]

actually on the contrary.... i searched a little more and answered my own question. i think that i'll give Eclipse, NetBeans, or Emacs a try. anyone think that'll be good? cause... so far i've come to understand that using just notepad is REALLY bad. lol

macosxnerd101, on 16 August 2010 - 09:34 PM, said:

Same thing I say for any IDE. For me, it helps on large projects (7+ files) as an organizational tool and displaying elements for an Object, especially with GUIs where JComponents have a couple hundred method when you account for inheritance. If you are going to use it as a crutch for code completion, then stick with Notepad until you have a stronger grasp of the language. If your game is 1-3 files or less than 250 lines of code, I'd say it's not worth it using Eclipse. For school assignments, I often find myself using JCreator as a lightweight editor for syntax highlighting. The same goes for NetBeans as with Eclipse, with the added warning about not using a GUI Builder.

There are plenty of which IDE to use threads if you search for them, as well.

lol yeah.... i discovered this after a correction of what i was searching. thank you though for the tips

[macosxnerd101]

I don't know much about Emacs, but I use Eclipse at work for Android development, and NetBeans otherwise. Both are good IDEs.

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cause... so far i've come to understand that using just notepad is REALLY bad. lol

If you are using some version without syntax highlighting, I'd agree that it can be a pain to develop. However, as pbl says, it is nice to have IDE's like Eclipse, but if you need to do work elsewhere and can't download such an IDE, he can still do the work with Notepad and command line. It's kind of cumbersome, but you really learn Java that way.

[Zekorov]

macosxnerd101, on 16 August 2010 - 09:44 PM, said:

If you are using some version without syntax highlighting, I'd agree that it can be a pain to develop. However, as pbl says, it is nice to have IDE's like Eclipse, but if you need to do work elsewhere and can't download such an IDE, he can still do the work with Notepad and command line. It's kind of cumbersome, but you really learn Java that way.

ah. so it's like manually writing the code for it to imprint into your brain, so you can do it yourself IF you have to, without using the nifty "code completion" gadget of a more powerful IDE like Eclipse. Thanks for the tip. I think i may use Eclipse to learn the different methods and classes of Java that come up as code completion when just doing some simple GUIs here shortly to refresh myself, and then i can go to notepad and manually write what i had in Eclipse, to kind of reinforce it, so that when i do need to, i can do it on my own

[Dogstopper]

I personally use Eclipse for my big projects just because of the great tools it allows me to use such as project management, code completion, and the built-in compile/run tools. However, if you want to do something real simple or lightweight, I suggest using Geany. I like it because it is lightweight and thus takes little time to load, it supports syntax highlighting, auto-indenting and allows a compile-and-run button. It has small support for projects too. But it is lightweight.

You mentioned Emacs. For Java development, I'd say that Emacs is more work than it's worth to learn. However, if you are using a Lisp, like Clojure or Scala, Emacs is great!

[macosxnerd101]

I wish you luck memorizing all those methods of the Java GUI. You'll still need the documentation regardless. The code completion just helps some when looking for a method.

[Dogstopper]

Oh yah! Never said that! Definitely use the Java API!

Type "classname Java 6" into Google and your will get the API almost always as a first hit. Also, you can download the docs.

[pbl]

If you worked 6 months with Notepad and console compiling you know the basics.
You can upgrade to Eclipse without problem, you desserve it.

Most of us aggreed that starting with an IDE is NOT a good idea. But after 6 months, go for it.

[Zekorov]

thanks for all the tips guys, Dogstopper, pbl, and macosxnerd101. they're all very helpful. i will probably look into all of the suggestions and see what i'm comfortable with.

[macosxnerd101]

Good luck! Glad we could help.

[Vestah]

I have lately been using Eclipse for all but the smallest stuff.
The reason is simply the amount of boiler plate in Java.
Code along with the code-completion engine and it'll take care of most of the boilerplate
There are plenty of handy shortcuts which can speed up your development speed such as auto-completing BOS to BufferedOutputStream and adding relevant generics.

[Zekorov]

Actually, i had a question about Eclipse... i tried downloading the Eclipse IDE for Java at Eclipse's website and the file was a .torrent file. Thus, i had to download a torrent-handler program and when searching for what program ran the Eclipse download, it came up with FileTorrent, a fast and easy way to handle torrent files. But, upon download, something messed up and there was some kind of error that caused my computer to seriously slow down, and some applications (including my antivirus system) wouldn't even open. I have removed FileTorrent and everything associated with it and was going to try to download the Eclipse IDE for Java again. But, i still will need a torrent-handling program. Any suggestions on how to easily and properly deal with it? or do you think i should try just re-downloading FileTorrent? i didn't find any viruses or malicious software from it and my computer is running fine after having removed it completely. it may have just been a one time error that caused it to mess up; i have no idea.

[pbl]

I have installed my latest Eclipse from a simple Window installer file
Your stuff seems a lot complicated for nothing

[Zekorov]

pbl, on 17 August 2010 - 07:23 PM, said:

I have installed my latest Eclipse from a simple Window installer file
Your stuff seems a lot complicated for nothing

oh.... lol could you possibly point me in the direction of this simple said Eclipse? it would be much appreciated because as you said, it is a bit complicated. and it's kind of ridiculous if you ask me. lol