Getting NetBeans IDE

This section shows you how you can use NetBeans IDE to build web applications on OpenSolaris 2008.05 system using the Web Stack components available from the pkg repository. Before we dive into the details of these components, let us enumerate the stages involved in developing an end to end enterprise grade web application. What do you expect from an IDE if you are planning to use the IDE for web development?

• Server support – Your IDE should support managing the Server life cycle through an intuitive and easy to use interface.

• Languages Support – You will expect the IDE to support working with the programming language or web application framework your web application will be eventually built on.

• Database support – What good is an enterprise application without a database? You want your IDE to be well integrated with your development, testing and production database.

Typically, your development environment should enable you to build web applications with minimal effort offering you extensive support for stack level configuration through property editors, wizards, and widgets. Server support, languages support, and database support are the three prime facets that any IDE can offer for web development.

NetBeans IDE takes care of all these factors with an elegant interface making web development just easy. You can build your web applications in PHP or use Rails framework and work with DBs like MySQL DB or PostgreSQL DB in NetBeans.

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Note - To get NetBeans IDE, along with Web Stack components, install the optional package amp-dev.

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When you install NetBeans IDE through the amp-dev package, you will not see the NetBeans IDE entry in the Developer Tools Menu. To add the entry to the menu, see the section on Adding Tools to the Developer Tools Menu.

Where is NetBeans IDE Installed?

If you have downloaded and installed NetBeans IDE through the amp-dev package, NetBeans IDE will be available under /opt/netbeans-6.0ss/bin/netbeans.

If you just need NetBeans IDE for Java development and not interested in getting the entire AMP suite, you can get only the NetBeans IDE by executing the following command:

$ pkg install SUNWnetbeans-ide

NetBeans IDE is also available for specific development purposes. Based on your development requirement, you can download individual NetBeans packages like SUNWnetbeans-javase, SUNWnetbeans-javaee, or SUNWnetbeans-cpp.