According to StackOverflow developer survey report 2019, Java is counted among top 5 most popular technologies. The reason of this is that Java has vast community support and is versatile in nature which makes it easier to blend in with any environment. Java is used for developing applications ranging from desktop to web applications.
Therefore, when we talk about Java IDEs then there are bunch of free and open source Integrated development environment or IDE options are available to develop Java applications efficiently and effectively.
An Integrated Development Environment is an environment where developers build their software with the help of processes and tools provided by that particular IDE:
These are the top 10 Java Integrated Development Environments or IDEs for Programming:
10. XCode
It is an IDE that is developed by Apple for their macOS, providing a suitable environment for app development.
It supports Java programming and offers various tools that helps in developing a bug free and decent application. It is for developing applications for Mac, iPhone, iPad and for other Apple products .
Source code management, Interface Builder and Graphical Debugger are some of the features that is offered by this IDE.
You can download it from here.
9. JCreator
JCreater is a Java Based IDE. It would give a feel of Visual Studio as it is developed in C++. It is reliable and faster than other most of Java IDEs. However, it is available for Windows only. It comes in 3 editions, Lite Edition, Pro Edition, Lite-Pro Edition.
Code completion, Project management and project templates are some of the functionalities supported by JCreater.
You can download it from here.
8. JDeveloper
It is a cross platform and freeware IDE by Oracle. In addition to Java, it can also be used for developing application in JavaScript, PHP, GTML, etc.
It covers entire development lifecycle that is from designing, coding and all the way to deploying an application. It more focuses on visual approach for app development which creates an enhanced development environment.
It comes in three editions, Java Edition, J2EE Edition and Studio Edition.
You can download it from here.
7. BlueJ
BlueJ IDE is a Java based IDE that was initially made for educational purposes, but is a great fit for small scale software development.
BlueJ is an open source and free IDE. One of the main feature of this IDE, is that it is capable of representing all the elements i.e classes, objects and more in a visualized format with UML-like diagrams.
It is cross-platform application and one of the widely used IDEs for Java.
You can download it from here.
6. Greenfoot
A Java IDE that is particularly designed for educational purposes such as high school and undergraduate students. It supports development of 2D graphical application such as simulations and interactive games.
It has built-in support for interaction and visualization, providing traditional text based language with visual execution experience.
Syntax highlighting, project management and auto completion are some of the feature supported by IDE.
It is a cross platform and open source software.
You can download it from here.
5. MyEclipse
A Java IDE that is built on the top of Eclipse platform. It also supports a wide range of tools that would improve your coding speed and writing bug-free code. It also provides you the freedom to write code in Angular, JavaScript, and more.
It comes in 5 editions and Maven Project Management, WebSphere Connectors & Spring Tooling are some of the eye-catching features.
You can download it from here.
4. NetBeans
NetBeans is one of the best and popular IDEs that you might come across in the initial days of Java programming. It is an open-source and official IDE for Java 8.
It can be used to develop applications ranging from desktop to web applications as it equipt with effective tools.
It supports powerful tools that make development easier, having the capability of refactoring the code. On the top, it highlights written code syntactically and semantically.
It doesn’t limit you to the Java language, with the help of wizards and templates one can create an application in other languages too.
It is a cross-platform application, which means, it can be installed on every system that supports Java.
Want to install the IDE? Here are the steps to install NetBeans on your System.
3. Eclipse
Eclipse is an integrated development environment (IDE) on which developers can develop computer software, mobile applications, and web applications.
It is written in C and Java. It supports various programming languages such as C, C++, Clojure, COBOL, JavaScript, PHP, Python, R, Ruby, and so on.
It comes up with an effective plug-in system that allows you to customize the environment as per your need.
However, This IDE is largely popular among Java developers as it bundles with Java development tools contained in Eclipse software development kit, so no additional effort required to use it.
It is well known Java IDE and considered as one of the best environment for Java development. However, if you want to write codes in another language,you can use plug-ins of that programming language.
It is an open source IDE which is entirely free under Eclipse Public License.
Eclipse 4.10 is the current version. you can download from here.
2. Visual Studio
An integrated development environment established by Microsoft and written in C++ and C# on which one can write a program almost in any programming and scripting language.
Due to the support for various scripting and programming languages, one can develop a large variety of complex applications ranging from website to computer programs to mobile application.
It supports 36 programming languages some of them are C++, Visual Basic .NET, C#, F#, JavaScript and more. However, for Python, Ruby and Node.Js and other can be used after installing their respective plugins.
The visual studio community edition is completely free and Visual Studio version 2017 is the current version.
You can download it from here.
1. IntelliJ IDEA
Another IDE which is also popular among Java developers for developing computer software. It is developed by JetBrains written in Java and Kotlin (Kotlin language is also developed by JetBrains).
It has two editions, Apache 2 Licensed community edition and proprietary commercial edition for commercial development.
Besides Java, it supports various languages such as Clojure, Dart, Go, Scala, Perl and more via plugins. However Groovy, Java and Kotlin don’t need any additional effort to run their codes.
It provides some efficient and effective features that speed up the development process, these are coding assistance, version control system and plugins for adding functionalities.
Jetbrains offers lots of IDE’s which are free such as Netbeans and Android Studio.
The Community edition is free and open source for JVM and Android development
You can download this from here.
Bonus
Here are some more Integrated Development Environment that is not specifically developed for Java, but provide support for creating programs in Java.
Visual Studio Code
Another Product by Microsoft named Visual Studio Code, it is an open source code editor which supports debugging, syntax highlighting and intelligent code completion and more.
It is compatible with Windows, Linux, and MacOS. Users can customize its look and feel as per their preferences. It is based on Electron framework that let you develop native applications on web technologies
It supports various programming and scripting languages such as Java, C, C++, F#, Go, Groovy, JavaScript, Python, HTML and more.
You can download it from here.
Sublime text
It is a cross-platform source code editor with Python API which is quite popular among Web developers for developing web applications. It is written in C++ and Python.
It also supports various programming languages that ultimately fall in the context of software development and with the plug-in you can extend its functionality. It is maintained under free software licenses.
It provides features such as “Goto Anything” that allows easy navigation enabling developers to work concurrently on different files and separate them systematically by moving them directly from the editor and “Multiple Selection” that saves your time to build up an application.
The current version of Sublime text is Sublime text 3. It can be downloaded for free but you require to purchase the license to use it. You can download it from here.
What do you think? which is your favorite Java IDE for programming?