Helge,
> what tools do you use for *efficient* programming in Java?
I use VisualSlick Edit as my editor/IDE (I can compile, run etc from
within it).
I use Jikes for compiling.
Dubugging is not very ideal we simply use a debug class of our own
which also handles asserts.
I do not use and do not want to use a GUI Builder. All our forms are
very dynamic (we already support 5 languages and lots of options on
what is visible). Also we use a very carefully crafted class library
so we are not writing any GUI stuff more than once.
I have used Delphi for a long time and it is the best RAD tool. But
we can write Java Applications that are much cheaper to maintain by
not using a GUI Builder. There are lots of reasons for this.
1. The source code is more finely grained which results in a large
reduction in blocking within a development team.
2. Version control works much better with all text source code
3. It can get hard to find all the connections and settings in a GUI
builder (particularly one that uses a binary file format somewhere).
4. Using all text source makes code re-use easier
5. Writing new GUI components to be used inside a gui (even when
simple such as with Java Beans) is more complicated than "normal"
coding. You end up either not using OO and writing all your code in
the forms or needing a higher proportion of guru coders.
6. It is possible to crash the GUI builder if you write bugs in your
gui components. Unlike a "normal" bug this is breaking your
development environment. It can lose your code, break your application
and stop your developers from working (I have seen all 3 in Delphi).
7. A GUI Builder is good for static forms, they do not every handle
layout managers very well (other than the very simple ones). Due to
the greatness of layout managers and the translation support Java Apps
can be very very dynamic if built in code.
Just by 2 cents
Dave
David Warnock
Sundayta Ltd
