IDEs are like cars. Everybody has one and, as cars and IDEs go, I'm pretty happy with mine. Sometimes a modest, reliable old car is all you need. I like to think of my son's 1995 Chevy Camaro (which used to be my car) as just such a vehicle. It's comfortable, has a decent radio, and is fast enough to get in and out of trouble. It compares nicely to SEU. Many of us still spend our days (and nights) in trusty, green-screen SEU. Like my old Chevy, it's fast and comfortable and has the necessary options. Sure, there's WebSphere Development Studio client (WDSc), which handles many of the old SEU functions and provides lots of new options too, but somehow it's just easier at times to use the tried and true.

Nevertheless, we need to branch out, be brave, and be willing to experiment with new development concepts and paradigms. Why? Because that's how we bring fresh development ideas to the System i world. And because it's fun. Today's System i could be thought of as "something old, something new, something tried and true." That "something new" should encompass development concepts being embraced the world over. Your IDE is a good place to start.

In the Unix world, an ongoing and ancient holy war exists between the factions of Vi and Emacs users. These are the editors of choice in that world, and even to this day, dyed-in-the-wool Unix geeks argue vehemently in support of their beloved editor. I've seen T-shirts and bumper stickers that run along the lines of "Sorry, son, we don't eat with Emacs users," or "I wouldn't be caught dead using Vi," and on and on.

A few years ago, I was working as a Java consultant for a large soft drink distributor, and one fellow simply refused to use Visual Age for Java (VAJ — remember that one?) because, as he put it, "Real men use Vi." Even for large J2EE implementations? Sheesh. Well, arguing would have been useless. He had that look in his eye, the one that says, "I'll storm off the premises before I deign to use a graphical toy to build code."

Nowadays, Java-based IDEs abound, and because there are so many, the factions are smaller — though no less vehement in their preferences. Once, I interviewed a guy who said, "Oh, your company uses IBM RAD? I'd rather license my own copy of IntelliJ's IDEA than use that piece of junk." He didn't get the job, but it's that kind of wild-eyed zeal that comes with the territory.

And then there is Eclipse, perhaps hoping to blot out all others. Eclipse is an interesting animal in that several other development tools are built on top of it. Rational Application Developer (RAD) and WDSc, among others, are built with Eclipse at their cores. Visit eclipse.org for a portal into the ever-widening world of Eclipse development and usage. Plug-ins — add-ons built specifically for Eclipse to perform various tasks — are plentiful. Eclipse is a terrific tool with lots of buzz these days, and it's free.

Personally, I like NetBeans (netbeans.org). The fact is, though, that all of today's IDEs provide basically the same thing: an integrated coding, development, and debugging environment. There is usually integration with source management (typically CVS) and a build tool (Ant). Is NetBeans the best, most powerful, easiest-to-use Java IDE in the industry? Yes, no, I don't know, and it depends. I do know this: Similar to my old car, I like it and it works. It's fast and slick. It's comfortable. It meets my needs. It's free and has mountains of support. It also provides for plug-ins and has its own large audience of devotees.

I admit that I used NetBeans long before I used Eclipse. Maybe I like NetBeans best because I have more miles on it than I do on Eclipse. It's worth mentioning that I have many, many more miles on IBM's VAJ, WebSphere Studio Application Developer (WSAD), and RAD than I do on either Eclipse or NetBeans, but IBM's tools cost a lot. A lot — RAD being the latest incarnation in the genealogy of IBM's Java development tools. The main claim to fame of these tools is integration with WebSphere. Sure, you can use other tools to develop for WebSphere but none so seamlessly as RAD. Even so, I like NetBeans.

Along the way, I have intentionally used different IDEs for different projects so that I could see what all the fuss was about. I really haven't met one I didn't like (like cars, I suppose), but I have liked some better than others.

And therein is the beauty of developing in Java today: choices. We have terrific choices, so here is my suggestion: Try NetBeans, try Eclipse, and look at the other free (or very low cost) IDEs available. You never know where you might find your ultimate preference or what fresh development ideas you'll glean along the way. However, next time you're interviewing, be sure to put the brakes on before criticizing the company's IDE choice.

Scott Salisbury is a consultant, writer, and software developer with Pinch Hitter Solutions in Nashville, Tennessee. He has worked with the System i and its predecessors since 1984. Scott is a Certified Java Programmer. You can e-mail Scott at ssalisbury@pinchhittersolutions.com.