Netbeans 6 is out !

The final release of Netbeans 6 bits on the web ! As announced in the Netbeans site, the 6.0 release includes significant enhancements and new features, including a completely rewritten editor infrastructure, support for additional languages, new productivity features, and a simplified installation process that allows you to easily install and configure the IDE to meet your exact needs. Go and get your free copy here !

Setting Netbeans 6 C/C++ plugin in Linux

First of all, you have to install make tool, a debugger (e.g. gdb), a C compiler (e.g. cpp) an a C++ compiler (e.g. g++).

Concerning Ubuntu (Gutsy), the simplest way to do it is to open a terminal and type :

sudo apt-get install make gdb g++ cpp

You can verify that you correcty installed them in Netbeans, by going to Tools > Options > C/C++.

There, you’ll find in the first tab (Build Tools) all the paths to your build tools, you can also see the versions of the tools by clicking the ‘version’ button beside every tool.

To enable code completion for C/C++ projects with the Netbeans 6 C/C++ plugin, you’ll have to select : Tools > Options > C/C++, then go to Code Assistance tab.

There, press the Add button to add the libraries locations for C Compiler. Those should be :

/usr/local/include
/usr/lib/gcc/i486-linux-gnu/4.1/include
/usr/include

Then, move to the C++ Compiler tab and add the following libraries :

/usr/include/c++/4.1.3
/usr/include/c++/4.1.3/i486-linux-gnu
/usr/include/c++/4.1.3/backward
/usr/local/include
/usr/lib/gcc/i486-linux-gnu/4.1/include
/usr/include

Here you are ! Code completion should be working now in your C/C++ project.

Why I tend to prefer Netbeans over Eclipse

Even though Eclipse is surely the dominant Java IDE in the market, there are some reasons that make me prefer Netbeans over it :

* Netbeans is a coherent IDE : you don’t have to check the dependencies for a plugin and the right version for every dependency to get it work (check GMF version, WTP version etc..). Plugins in Netbeans are supervised by the development team and integrate easily and very well in the current Netbeans version.

* Netbeans works out of the box : The functionalities provided by Netbeans are available from the plugins manager. You just have to install/activate them and begin working. In Eclipse, there is the update center, but it is tougher to get a stabilized IDE with a set of complementary tools. Moreover, many valuable Eclipse plugins aren’t in the Eclipse update site, but belong to independent enterprises.

* Netbeans is free : Well, I know eclipse is free too, but a lot of the valuable plugins are commercial (UML, GUI design..). Even if free components in Netbeans don’t offer all the functionalities the commercial plugins in Eclipse do, I prefer having an IDE dealing mainly with free plugins.

* Netbeans is actively supported : Sun makes a lot of efforts to market Netbeans, so we have all kinds of tutorials, videos etc (Netbeans TV, Netbeans Magazine, Netbeans tutorials..) that are made by Sun. Eclipse tutorials and screencasts are numerous but they aren’t supported by IBM so they are less coherent and less ‘Enterprise quality’ documents.

*Netbeans is made by Sun, the Java inventor : Netbeans has recently been on the edge concerning innovative Java technologies (JSF, Java FX..). It is easily understandable as Sun is creating those technologies.

*Netbeans integrates some nice productivity tools : Eclipse has better refactoring, but is beaten in other aspects by Netbeans who integrates GUI Builder Matisse, advanced JSF Web design, JUnit testing, Ant compiling and a Profiler in a user friendly manner.

I know the debate is very heated about this topic. You can leave your opinions and comments either you prefer Eclipse, Netbeans or any other IDE.

Edit in 1st March 2008 : After three months of heavily using Netbeans and then three others with Eclipse, I completely changed my mind. I currently consider Eclipse to be way more productive and feature-rich than Netbeans. Maybe I will write a new post to explain in detail what makes Eclipse superior to Netbeans in my opinion.

Skype for linux with video support

A new version of skype has been released. It is titled Skype 2.0 beta for Linux : the Great Revolution

The greatest revolution in this new version is that it finally adds video support in our beloved Linux systems.

Video support isn’t perfect yet, but it’s just a beta version and surely improvements are on their way.

I actually tried it with my HP Pavilion built-in webcam (using the ricoh driver), the image was a little dark but it worked fine.

You can go and grab it here.