Being new to the Java scene, one of the first tasks in picking up Java is determining an IDE to use. The main contenders seem to be Eclipse, Netbeans, and IntelliJ IDEA. I cannot say one is universally better than another, but when trying to evaluate them for our needs a few things stuck out.
Eclipse
Pros
- Can do anything, be anything with the proper plugins.
- Free
Cons
- Everything requires a plugin, all of which have differing levels of quality, stability, and usability.
- Not all plugins are free.
Netbeans
Pros
- Best out-of-the-box experience.
- Most "VisualStudio-Like".
- Visual Designer tools for JSF.
Cons
- Not quite as well supported in the community (not as many plugins).
IntelliJ IDEA
Pros
- Powerful refactoring tools.
Cons
- Commercial (not free).
- Some features required additional setup (I could not get Tomcat working, boo).
Overall, we are leaning towards Netbeans at the moment, with IntelliJ IDEA as a runner up. Getting Eclipse configured with all of the proper plugins seems like too much of a barrier for entry.
The Visual Designer tools in Netbeans aren't much of a plus for me as I don't normally like designer tools in production, but they are helpful when you are learning your way around a new platform.
After we choose an IDE the next will be choosing a web framework. With JSP, Struts, Spring, and JSF to choose from, it's a crowded field. JSF seems to be the bees-knees, but Spring has it's supporters too. Even limiting the decision to JSF, there are over 50 implementations out there, each with it's own specialty/features/quirks. That's quite a lot to choose from.