Tech Shout!

Sun Microsystems and the NetBeans community have jointly announced the availability of NetBeans 5, the Java-based open-source NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE) software tools, via download at www.netbeans.org.

NetBeans 5.0 IDE provides support for building Java SE, Java EE, and Java ME applications and incorporates a range of new features and enhancements such as NetBeans GUI Builder (formerly Project Matisse).

The release also features completely redesigned support for CVS, support for the Sun Java System AppServer 8.2, BEA WebLogic 9 and JBoss 4 application servers, Struts and Java Server Faces support, and new types of re-factoring and editor enhancements that make writing code easy.

Senior vice president of Java, Enterprise, and Developer platforms for Sun, Jeff Jackson said, “The NetBeans IDE is another example of the tremendous momentum Sun is experiencing with its open source initiatives.” He added, “During the last 18 months the community has seen a tripling of active users of NetBeans and we expect that momentum to skyrocket with the launch of NetBeans 5.”

The company has also introduced technical support for NetBeans, which will be available through the Expert Assistance, a new Sun Developer Network Program. Through this program, a developer can get support for Sun developer tools, the Java SE platform and NetBeans IDE. Diagnostic and coding advice, workarounds and best practices guidance are all available free while this support program is in Beta.

Sun said that among the new features in NetBeans 5, easy-to-use tools for quickly extending the IDE or building a rich client application on the NetBeans Platform have already been adopted by a variety of technologies and companies. NetBeans 5.0 guarantees the common look and feel of applications post-deployment across the following platforms that support Java SE - the Solaris 10 Operating System, OpenSolaris, Linux, Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh OS X.

“With the expansion of the NetBeans IDE user-base and the comprehensive support available for plug-in development with NetBeans 5, the industry is already lining up behind NetBeans as the premier tool for delivering solutions to the Java developer community,” said Jackson.

Sun also launched the NetBeans Mobility Pack 5 for developing applications aiming at Java ME powered mobile devices currently offered by industry leaders.

Director and head of Content Development at Sony Ericsson, Ulf Wretling said, “The NetBeans Mobility Pack 5 is a great solution for Java ME application creation for Sony Ericsson phones. Now developers can build end-to-end applications for mobile phones such as the Sony Ericsson W550, W600 and W900 Walkman phones and the P990 smartphone supporting the MIDP Web Services API (JSR-172).” Wretling continued,”On-device debugging and deployment to Sony Ericsson phones, plus the Mobility Pack’s drag-and-drop authoring capabilities make this a must-have tool for the productive mobile developer.”