Contact:
Helena Stolka
Director of Marketing/PR, NetBeans, Inc.
helena.stolka@netbeans.com
Tel.: +420283007322
Prague, Czech Republic, October 26, 1998 - NetBeans, Inc. today announced
the release of NetBeans Developer 2.0, one of the first full-featured Java
IDEs based on Java Foundation Classes (JFC). The culmination of more than
three months of beta testing, the release marks an important new entrant
into the Java technology tool arena.
NetBeans Developer 2.0 is a programming tool for software developers who
want to design and build powerful, cross-platform applications - on any
platform. NetBeans was designed for the Java platform and is one of the
first comprehensive IDEs with sophisticated support for visual development
of JFC applications. It is an industrial-strength development tool that is
easy to learn and intuitive to operate.
"Because NetBeans Developer 2.0 is based on JavaBeans technology,
tremendous power is put into the hands of the developer to customize the
environment or add components as needed," commented Dr. Lew Tucker,
Director of Developer Relations at Sun Microsystems' Java Software.
"NetBeans is breaking new ground."
"In addition to breaking new ground in Java technology," added NetBeans'
Founder/CEO Roman Stanek, "we're also providing a springboard for software
developers to reach that new ground with us. NetBeans is the perfect entry
tool for programming in the Java language, and developers who use it will
always be at the forefront of the Java technology curve. NetBeans Developer
2.0 is also an entry point to Enterprise computing. Our next product, a
team programming platform, will build on this edition and will incorporate
numerous additional advanced Java technology features."
Product overview
NetBeans Developer 2.0 is a full-featured, cross-platform Java technology
IDE. NetBeans combines support for all stages of application development
including visual design, coding, compiling, and debugging in a
comprehensive visual programming package. It runs on all platforms that
support JDK(TM) 1.1.x, including Windows 95/98/NT, Linux, Solaris(TM),
HP-UX, OS/2, AIX, SGI Irix, Mac and others. Professional developers will
appreciate its full complement of features, its wide range of controls, and
its flexibility. The IDE is based on JFC and JavaBeans Components, and all
parts of the IDE are actually themselves JavaBeans. The result is an IDE
where the user can fully customize the interface, modify component behavior
and easily add new components. NetBeans is built to be extended and will
offer APIs for users to create their own modules.
Christian Gamrat, a development engineer with a French government research
agency, praised NetBeans' stability and ease of use. "I tried it on a Sun
UltraSparc and it's by far the best IDE for Java I've seen on this
platform. NetBeans Form builder is really great, and the generated code is
simple and clean! I also liked the connection wizard, which makes using all
sorts of beans very easy. I was able to execute all my small test
applications without any problems (the 1st time since I'm in Java land!) I
also liked the way you deal with layouts - it's very intuitive and clean."
Features
This release of NetBeans Developer 2.0 includes the NetBeans development
environment, full documentation in several formats, four tutorials for new
NetBeans users, and a bundled JavaBeans component from KL Group, JClass
Chart Lite. Users will find complete support for the latest Java technology
standards, including JDK(TM) 1.1, JavaBeans, JFC, Serialization,
Customizers, Layout Managers, JARs and more.
User Interface:
- Completely customizable menu, toolbar and shortcuts
- Pluggable Look & Feel
- Multiple virtual workspaces
Form Editor:
- JavaBeans-based form editor with support for both AWT and JFC components
- Integrated JFC components
- Full JavaBean support
- Full support for layout managers
- Connection Wizard
- JavaBeans Wizard
- Applet generation support
- Integration of third-party JavaBeans components
Explorer:
- Browse JAR, ZIP FileSystems
- Compile All / Build All - recursively compile all sources in a package
- Java source parsing
- Support for introspection on classes without sources
- Methods and properties from parsing or introspection visually exposed
- User templates
Debugger:
- Integrated visual debugger with multi-thread debugging support
- Support for breakpoints, watches, locales and threads
Editor:
- Text editor with syntax coloring
- Advanced support features - Abbreviations and Dynamic Word Completion
Other:
- Built-in HTML browser
- Support for third-party beans
- International application supported - Unicode enabled
- Built-in HTTP lightweight server
- Y2K compliant
Availability and Pricing
NetBeans Developer 2.0 is available at the company's web site
http://www.netbeans.com/. The introductory price is $145, and users can
download a free evaluation copy. NetBeans supports university programs and
other educational initiatives by offering Developer 2.0 at no cost for
educational and non-commercial use.
Other NetBeans Products
Late in Q4 of 1998, NetBeans, Inc. will release the first beta version of
NetBeans Enterprise, a multi-user, multiple-platform edition for
team-centric programming efforts that will have support for RMI, JDBC(TM),
source control systems, and Enterprise JavaBeans.
Company Overview
NetBeans, Inc. is an emerging growth company based in Prague, Czech
Republic that has quickly risen to the forefront of Java technology
development. The company is shaping the future of Java applications by
taking a completely innovative approach to Java technology.
NetBeans was founded in July 1997, by a team of Java technology developers
led by Roman Stanek, formerly the Regional Director of Central and Eastern
Europe for Sybase. NetBeans is a privately held company whose investors
include Esther Dyson, CEO of EDventure Holdings (see
http://www.edventure.com/bios/esther.html).
