Tim Boudreau

Java developers have had a nice ride the last few years. With ferocious competition in the Java tools space, the tools they use have been getting better and better. Where one tool innovates, such as with quick fixes, competitors quickly duplicate and expand on that innovation. This has led to a fertile field of tools for Java developers to choose from. Developers using other languages have not been so lucky, but this is changing. NetBeans 6.0 involved a complete rewrite of the Java code editor to use the parser that belongs to javac, the Java language compiler that comes with the JDK, to add missing editor features in a way that would be sustainable and solid for the foreseeable future. As a result, its code editor is now very competitive in features and performance to other IDEs. NetBeans 6.1 adds support for additional dynamic languages. Develop Using Dynamic Lang... (more)

Walking the Java Heap with NetBeans 6.0 Profiler

NetBeans 6.0 brings a host of new features to Java and Ruby developers, including a totally rewritten editor, support for local file history, a new graphical file comparison utility, and support for the new Swing desktop framework. One area of particular emphasis is its profiler, which has improves support for detecting and fixing memory leaks, the focus of this article. I frequently give talks to Java developers and ask the audience for a show of hands - how many people use a profiler? In a few venues, more than half the hands go up. But in most places, perhaps three or four ou... (more)