Just starting to use Java which IDE is better for me to start out?

I am learning Java now (yay) in my spare time and have started several different tutorials. Some tutorials say to use NetBeans, some say to use Eclipse. Eventually I would like to get into Android development because i will be getting a smart phone at the end of this year.

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If you're heading towards Android development, I would suggest using Eclipse, because the Android SDK nicely integrates with Eclipse.

This is going to be a very subjective answer, but i like intellij.

The community edition now has support for android development, and I have found that it is usually a good few years ahead of the other ide's as far as features are concerned.

start with the command prompt. when you attain nirvana, the answer to your question will present itself to you. (in case you don't, try netbeans (good for GUI) or eclipse (for andriod development)).

Install one.

Try using it.

Like it? Keep it. Don't like it? Try another.

Repeat.

The list of some to try: (there's plenty more out there!)

Eclipse // most popular
NetBeans // most popular for gui development
IntelliJ // holds its own in popularlity
BlueJ // simple
JGrasp // simple, made by a university for university students

The thing that make it best for you ... only you know, so only you can answer, and only after trying them yourself!

Your best bet when starting out is using a simple text editor and the command prompt to compile/run.

I like IntellJ IDEA specially for beginners because you can get started very quickly without having to know deeply the tool.

If you want to use it as a simple text editor, it's easy, if you wan to start using more advanced features, they are discoverable.

The problem I've seen with Eclipse for instance, is sometimes I found it hard to know what to do next. But that's probably because I'm more used to IDEA.

The community edition has Android support.

If this is your first programming language, then it's just a matter of what you like best. Try NetBeans; if you like it, keep using it forever, or until you start hating it or it doesn't do something you need. If you don't like it, try Eclipse. Rinse, repeat. You could even get away with using a simple text editor and javac in the command line.

It all comes down to what your preferences and needs are at this time. If, for example, you were just starting to learn PHP as a first language, I'd tell you to use Notepad++. Eventually you're going to want support for debugging, version control, PHPDOC, etc. You'll outgrow Notepad++ and graduate to Zend Studio or similar; but for now, you don't need the bells and whistles.

Personally, I've mostly used NetBeans (for Java/PHP), but the editor is a bit finicky sometimes. It's nothing debilitating though, and if I wasn't lazy I could probably fix most of the issues in the options. It was the first IDE wherein I could get the version control plugins (for Git in particular) to work properly so I stuck with it. To be fair, you can do this easily in most IDE's now.

However, I'm trying to convert to using Eclipse exclusively. The Android SDK is built to work hand-in-hand with it and Zend Studio is practically the same program, so it all feels very familiar. This is a good example of what I mean by one's personal needs and preferences.

When I started programming in Java we used BlueJ in my class. An IDE will maybe do to much work for you in the start.

If you are planning to do Android in the future, I would definitely recommend Eclipse. Google has a set of plugins that integrate really nicely into Eclipse.

I also personally prefer Eclipse over NetBeans, but that's just my opinion. I have also not used other popular IDEs like IntelliJ, so take that with a grain of salt.

1. For learning java start with texteditor like notepad++ or any othere. So you can get familiar with setting path , compiling and running for java program.

2. As you want to move to Android than best option is after some days move to eclipse.

For beginners I think Netbeans would be better, Eclipse is sometime a bit hard on novice.

I can't give a balanced answer here, as I haven't used NetBeans extensively, and not at all for some years, nor have I used IntelliJ (which I hear is very good).

I'm an Eclipse guy. There's a definite learning curve attached, but there is method to the madness and once you learn the basic concepts, they'll take you a long way. It's a powerful tool.

Actually, I use SpringSource Tool Suite nowadays, which is Eclipse with some Spring-oriented extensions built-in. As with everything they do, SpringSource does a nice job of putting together a cohesive distribution, and it's great if you're going to be using Spring. If you're just starting out with Java, though, it's probably not necessary or helpful.

I will second others' comments about starting with a good text editor and javac on the command line, at least for a little while. If you understand what's happening with the compile and run process, it will help you drive any IDE.

But, IDEs are highly worthwhile in Java. It's a verbose language compared to, say, Ruby or Python, but a good IDE will manage that boilerplate for you, and give you great navigation and refactoring tools.

Eclipse tends to be used a LOT in big corporate java shops, but Netbeans is used exclusively in Sun/Oracle's training courses. I'd recommend Eclipse because of its ubiquity within the industry - but try & learn to do without IDEs unless you're doing something really complex. When you're learning the basics of Java or when you're gearing up for certification the IDEs can provide too much of a crutch sometimes so you don't learn the syntax properly.

Eclipse is very popular and has a great debugger for java (I've heard better than Netbeans). If you are not going to program swing applications I would recommend Eclipse. For swing applications, Netbeans has a great designer. I've also heard that IntelliJ is a great IDE but I don't know it.

Google provides convenient Eclipse plugins for many of their technologies like Android, GWT, AppEngine, etc. So for that reason Eclipse would probably be a nice IDE if you are interested in Android development. I personally am happy using Eclipse for Java development and have had no reason so far to try NetBeans. Probably others can better explain the pros and cons of the different IDEs. Here is a comparison table of Java IDEs that may be helpful.

This is what I've found using Eclipse and Netbeans for several years:

Eclipse is bloated and not as well integrated as Netbeans which is probably because it's older.

Eclipse has a better emacs mode and has collected more tools over the years.

Netbeans has the major advantage of being 100% Java, so I can have one shared install that's used across all our platforms and users. There's no worrying about different configurations on everyone's individual systems. This is mostly across Unix platforms as Windows is not nearly as flexible.

As people have mentioned Android is using Eclipse as the officially supported development platform, but there are 3rd party plugins that work just as well in Netbeans.

Overall they're similar enough I don't have much of a problem switching back and forth.

One thing to consider is trying to have an IDE with an easily accessible Console.

For my university courses (University of Washington) we actually used Dr. Java, and a feature that I ended up using all the time was the easily accessible and ever present console at the bottom of the application.

As a beginner you often find yourself wanting to see if "0" == False or if you can cast a value and it works correctly.

I eventually switched to Eclipse when working with bigger programs with multiple classes, but found using the Eclipse console a lot less intuitive.