In a high school class, it does make sense to use a Java IDE, but you need to know a little bit about several different ones, since learning the IDE is a very poor substitute for learning the language.  I wouldn't worry too much about what's popular now, since within a couple of years just about everything will have changed significantly.  Focus on learning the practice and art of software engineering (programming is a small bit of that), and you'll be able to apply that learning to whatever language and/or platform you encounter in the future.

For Java IDE's, Pull down both Eclipse and Netbeans, both are well written and have a lot of features.  The beauty of free software is that you can easily have multiple options, and switch among them for different tasks.  For learning ONLY, check out the BlueJ IDE, it has a lot of limitations, but it also has some innovative features just to make learning Java easier.

For general learning Java tasks, I agree that it's good to pull out a generic text editor (Bluefish works well in Linux, JEdit is another good choice, and it's cross-platform) and do some Java coding there, particularly for class lessons.

If you have a Linux desktop available, it helps a lot to have a couple virtual desktops active, that way you can have a Firefox session with the Javadoc open (lots of tabs helps here) without cluttering your coding desktop.  Even after developing Java systems for the past 8+ years, I still have to have the Javadoc open when coding, just because there's no way to keep the whole thing in my head all at once.

If you're taking a class, be careful with the API they teach.  Some classwork still uses old obsolete classes from 1.1 (i.e. vector, hashtable, etc...).  Make a point of studying the java.util package, there's a LOT of really good stuff in there that can make your life a whole lot easier.

==Joseph++

Eclipse  : http://www.eclipse.org
Netbeans : http://www.netbeans.org
BlueJ    : http://www.bluej.org
JEdit    : http://www.jedit.org

Patrick C wrote:
> Hi, everybody! I've been reading the PLUG mailing list for a while now, and
> I was wondering if any of you have a recommended IDE for Java development.
> I'm just taking a programming course at my local highschool, but I'd
> like to
> really learn one Linux IDE now, because I have two more Java classes after
> this, and I'd like to be familiar with just one. At school we use JCreator.
> I'm poking around with Eclipse JDT right now, but I'm still wondering if
> any
> of you folks have a preference.
> 
> Suggestions?
> 
> --Patrick C.
> 
> 
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