Spring Framework
NetBeans supports some of the most widely used web application frameworks, including the Spring Framework. The Spring framework helps developers create Java EE applications by providing an easy persistence model and generous use of the highly regarded inversion of control design pattern. Enabling Spring support is as easy as selecting a check box to include the Spring libraries.
Figure 8. You can add support for various frameworks in your web applications.
Of course, Spring support doesn't end there. The editor understands Spring configurations and helps you correctly edit and maintain those configurations. As you select and edit the XML files, NetBeans will provide suggestions for accurately creating them as shown in Figure 9. In addition, NetBeans understands the links among configuration files with class name references and the actual Java source files. NetBeans provides Spring configuration hyperlinks that allow you to click through the link to load the underlying Java source into the editor.
Figure 9. The IDE provides help creating Spring configuration files.
Ruby and Rails
Ruby developers know about the immediate productivity that Ruby on Rails makes possible. Now, NetBeans users can use Ruby and Rails from within the IDE. With tight JRuby integration in the IDE, developers can also use the best of the Java platform's APIs from within their Ruby applications. Syntax highlighting, refactoring, and support for Rails projects make NetBeans a valuable option for Ruby development.
Figure 10. Ruby developers will feel right at home with NetBeans' support for Rails.
Mercurial Source Code Versioning
Both the Open JDK and NetBeans communities have adopted the Mercurial version control system for their source repositories. Perhaps as a part of adopting Mercurial, the NetBeans team has included a convenient Mercurial plug-in with the IDE as well. You benefit because the plug-in is part of the core set of NetBeans plug-ins, making it available immediately without a separate installation if you already have the Mercurial binaries.
Even though NetBeans includes a plug-in to integrate Mercurial into the IDE, you must still download the Mercurial source or binaries yourself. The easiest way to install Mercurial is to download the product binaries. Use your favorite web search tool to find it, or just grab it from the Selenic website.
Once you've downloaded and installed Mercurial, NetBeans will provide convenient access to its functionality. Pulling an existing source code tree into Mercurial is simple. Load your project, select Initialize Project from the Versioning->Mercurial menu, and let NetBeans do the work. Within moments, your project will be safe within the Mercurial repository.
Try It Out Yourself
NetBeans 6.1 has a great variety of tools packaged into one integrated product. This review has only summarized a few of the many updates in the latest version. The best thing you can do is download the IDE yourself and try it out. You'll find integrated support for several application servers, databases, web frameworks, and scripting languages. You'll also find updates that help you quickly create basic CRUD applications and discover how easy it is to safely and reliably protect your source code with the Mercurial version control system.
Related Resources
Find out more about NetBeans IDE using one or more of these resources:
About the Author
John O'Conner is the father of five children and spends almost as much time coaching baseball and soccer teams as he does developing software. After many years developing the internationalization features of the Java platform at Sun Microsystems, he is now actually trying to use those features elsewhere in real world projects.
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