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Netbeans Advanced Editor Review

October 1st, 2013

Netbeans Editor Features Review

Netbeans is a Java-based integrated programming environment (IDE). Netbeans is free, open source and cross-platform (Mac, Windows and Linux).

This review is based on features I require of an advanced text editor. A list of required features was created after using different editors. Some features require extensions or plug-ins.

Netbeans is a free IDE for Java from https://netbeans.org. There are downloadable packages for Linux, Mac and Windows systems. Netbeans can easily be extended by plug-ins to develop applications in other programming languages.

Test Tools

Test system:
• CPU: Intel(R) i7 2600 @ 3.40GHz.
• Memory: 8GB DDR3.
• Operating System: Debian Jessie Testing 64bit.
• Desktop: Xfce Desktop Environment 4.10.

Test suite:
• Large file: 1GB human-readable text.
• Regex file: text with word “Netbeans” repeated.
• Syntax file: PHP file containing HTML, CSS & JavaScript.
• Media file: Smiley face JPEG file.
• Java: OpenJDK7
• Netbeans: Version 7.1 64bit

Test Score:
1. Each feature has two parts
2. Score of zero indicates missing feature
3. A part of a feature is worth a score of 0.5

Three bias elimination steps were utilized. The editor was used for at least three years on different platforms. Attempts were made to get stable plug-ins for missing features. The same editor was compared between the one in the repository, the developers website, and the compiled version if applicable.

Selecting Editor Version

Netbeans was downloaded from the developer’s website for portability. Netbeans and its plug-ins are bloated. I did not wish to reinstall Netbeans every time I changed my distribution.

Netbeans was installed on a separate partition that is immediately available for other installed Linux distributions. All plug-ins such as PHP and Git were installed once and never require re-installation.

Features

The theme cannot be native for the editor in terms of the background. Netbeans dark and light themes can be created or downloaded. The score for the theme was 0.5.

Dragging and dropping a text file into the editor opens a new tab. It is not possible to specify the tab location during the drag and drop operation. The score for drag and drop into editor was 0.5.

Opening a very large text file did not crash Netbeans. An out of memory window was shown and it was not possible to edit the large file. The score for opening a large file was 0.5.

Multiple documents can opened in multiple tabs. Tear-off tabs work by opening a new Netbeans editor instances which is handy for multiple monitors. The score for multiple documents was a perfect 1.0.

Multiple editors can be opened as new tabs with drag options. Every new editor tab can be split vertically or horizontally. The score for multiple editor view was a perfect 1.0.

Creating non-project files is impossible. Non-project files can be opened by the drag and drop operation. The score for creating non-project files was 0.5.

Soft word wrap can be enabled in the editor settings. Automatic soft wrap for documents is available for Netbeans. The score for word wrap was a perfect 1.0.

Spell check works as words are typed. Spelling errors are shown in opened documents. The score for spell check was a perfect 1.0.

Word count is not available for Netbeans. Selection word count is not available. The score for word count was 0.0.

Go to line can jump to a specified line. It is possible to jump to either the first or last line. The score for go to line was a perfect 1.0.

Indentation can default to user-defined tab stops. Children are automatically indented. The score for indentation was a perfect 1.0

Fonts can be dynamically scaled. The system font can be bypassed and a new editor font and size can be set. The score for fonts was a perfect 1.0.

Find and replace using regular expressions cannot be utilized for all open documents in the current session. Find and replace will work for the current document or a selection in the current document. The score for find and replacing using regular expressions was 0.5.

Multiple language syntax highlighting in one file is enabled if the language plug-ins are installed. Each language has code-sensitive syntax colours which can be modified. The score for multiple language syntax highlighting was a perfect 1.0.

Code folding works for markup languages such as HTML. Code folding does not work for programming languages such as Java. The score for code folding was 0.5.

Selecting rectangular block per column works. Rectangular block selections work with word wrap enabled. The score for selecting rectangular block was a perfect 1.0.

Multiple selection is not available for Netbeans. Search multiple selection is not available. The score for multiple selection was 0.0.

Distraction-free mode to hide panes works. Line numbers can be toggled to improve distraction-free mode. The score for distraction-free was a perfect 1.0.

The file manager can create and delete folders. Media files can be dragged and dropped into the file manager pane. The score for file manager was a perfect 1.0.

Terminal is integrated into Netbeans. The terminal does not follow folder. Terminal can execute system commands. The score for terminal was 0.5.

Results

Netbeans is a very powerful IDE. By default, the Netbeans editor is missing required features which can be installed by using extensions. For my required features, the Netbeans editor scored 72.5% or 7.25 out of 10.

Conclusion

Netbeans is a very powerful integrated programming environment. Basic editor features are missing in Netbeans. Important editor features require Netbeans plug-ins. Overall Netbeans only scored 7.25 out of 10 for essential text editor features.

Netbeans uses and renders non-native theme and fonts. Netbeans has one of the best multiple language spell checkers available for any editor. The dynamic font zoom is one of the easiest to use of any editor.

Recommendations:
1. Look for required plug-ins before deciding to try Netbeans.
2. Download Netbeans from the developer’s website.
3. Install Netbeans in a permanent location.

References:
• Netbeans Themes.
• Netbeans Plugin Portal.
• Netbeans Open Source IDE.

Tags: Editor, IDE, Netbeans, Programming, Regex, Regular Expressions, Text
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