Thread: IDE (Visual Editor)

hi all,

Can anyone advise on which IDE/Visual Editor is used most commonly in professional settings for GUI application development?

It seems as though Eclipse is by far the most popular IDE out there, but it does not come with a Visual Editor built in. I can't imagine that professional GUI applications are all coded by hand? Do software companies use some type of third party Visual Editor in conjunction with Eclispe?

I know that Netbeans has a Visual Editor built in. But I would like to work with what is used the most in a professional environment so that it will help me when it comes time for the job hunt.

thanks

Ahh, I see. Is it common to see entire GUI applications written "by hand" and without the use of a Visual Editor? According to Sun's java tutorial this can be a very "challenging" experience and I just assumed (without any research) that most software companies would make use of some sort of Visual Editor.

the best free gui editor i know of is built into netbeans
the best commercial one i ever used is jformdesigner
intellij idea also has a good one, but not in the free edition

Originally Posted by bbr201

Ahh, I see. Is it common to see entire GUI applications written "by hand" and without the use of a Visual Editor? According to Sun's java tutorial this can be a very "challenging" experience ...

Strictly in terms of difficulty and learning curve, I believe it's a greater challenge to learn to use a visual editor competently than it is to create a GUI by hand coding. Once you are well familiar with the steps involved in designing and hand coding a GUI, and have time to invest, use of a visual editor can improve your productivity.

Using nested JPanels each with a well selected layout manager can make coding relatively complex GUIs a piece of cake, and amenable to change and improvement. A GUI coded with a visual designer, however, is married to that editor without any provision whatsoever for divorce.

db