When comparing NetBeans IDE vs DrJava, the Slant community recommends NetBeans IDE for most people. In the question“What are the best open source IDEs for Java?” NetBeans IDE is ranked 2nd while DrJava is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose NetBeans IDE is:
NetBeans is a free, GPL-licensed IDE. It can run on any computer with a Java virtual machine. If a computer has a Java virtual machine (JVM), Netbeans can run on it. Netbeans can, therefore, run on a variety of operating systems such as Windows, *nix, and Mac OS.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Cross-platform
NetBeans is a free, GPL-licensed IDE. It can run on any computer with a Java virtual machine. If a computer has a Java virtual machine (JVM), Netbeans can run on it. Netbeans can, therefore, run on a variety of operating systems such as Windows, *nix, and Mac OS.
Pro Good refactoring
Pro Easy to learn
Very easy to learn, unlike e.g. Eclipse (which is probably the most flexible).
Pro Good support for integrated Database e Servers (E.g. Tomcat)
Pro Multiple revision control system integration
Pro Customizable theme
Pro Take less memory
Pro No need to set up a project
Because DrJava is designed for beginners/students, it's set up so that users can run code without having to worry about set up.
Pro Lightweight
DrJava is a lightweight IDE, at only 13MB. It starts up quickly and doesn't lag.
Cons
Con Little support for UML
Unless you load extensions.
Con Slow
The Netbeans IDE is known to take a large memory as compared to other lighter IDE's available on the market. The slowdown can decrease productivity and frustrate programmers.
Con Light on features
DrJava is primarily for students, so is kept fairly basic. For example, auto-completion is limited to class names.
