NetBeans is a development suite. An IDE, to be precise, which stands for “Integrated Development Environment”. A lightweight yet a feature-rich IDE that many have relied upon to develop applications. It supports popular languages but mainly built for Java.

NetBeans has a long history, started from 1996 when it was still a student project until the ownership switched hands to Sun Microsystems in 1999. The company was then bought by Oracle Corporation which later transferred the responsibility to develop NetBeans to Apache Software Foundation.

Features and Highlights

NetBeans installation offers to unselect packs and runtimes that you do not intend to use. The window displays how much space is required to install the selected items. As you select and unselect items, the space requirement information is updated instantly.

If you unselect an item that is required for NetBeans to work properly, a warning message will appear to prevent you from removing it. If you install the whole package, you will need space as much as 761.9 MB.

NetBeans have many built-in features, including support of plugins. If the specific functionality you’re looking for do not exist, you can try to find it in the plugin repository.

Some of the plugins include Color Codes Preview that displays color in a sidebar for each color code, PHP Version Switcher to choose a specific version, NetBeans CSV Editor to work with CSV files, Translator to translate selected text, jVi for NB Update Center, jLogMan for NetBeans, External Java Code Formatters for NetBeans, and jVi for NB Update Center.

NetBeans assists you in building your code to achieve maximum productivity. It formats your codes instantly based on the specified rules when you press the shortcut key. The rules are customizable and the preview lets you view the changes in real time.

The bracket matching feature inserts the closing bracket every time you type an opening bracket. Some bracket types require a trigger for NetBeans to insert the matching pair. For the other bracket types, the closing brackets are added automatically after you type an opening bracket. This automatic insertion doesn’t get in the way of your code writing as the editor moves the cursor immediately between the brackets.

NetBeans highlights the brackets in different colors according to their statuses. For brackets that have matching pairs, the color is yellow for both the opening and closing brackets. For brackets that do not have matching pairs, they are highlighted in red color and labeled with an error mark.

NetBeans Free Download for Windows

NetBeans IDE has a profiler that shows how much resources consumed by each activity, helping users in solving performance related issues. It also comes with a code comparison feature to find differences between two files. It can be used to develop GUI by drag and drop method. If you’re willing to spend time exploring NetBeans, you will find plenty more features under the hood.

NetBeans offers simplicity while providing enough tools for developers to work with their projects. Despite the popularity of its rival like IntelliJ IDEA, there are still developers who regard NetBeans as the most favorable option. You can click the link below to download NetBeans for Windows: