Best IDEs and Tools for Java Development in 2024

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Best IDEs and Tools for Java Development

Java remains one of the most in-demand programming languages in the world. From enterprise solutions to Android applications, choosing the right Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and accompanying tools directly impacts developer productivity. In this article, we will review the best IDEs for Java, their key features, as well as useful utilities that will help you write clean, fast, and reliable code.

1. IntelliJ IDEA — Industry Standard

IntelliJ IDEA by JetBrains is rightfully considered one of the most powerful and intelligent IDEs for Java. It is available in two editions: the free Community edition and the paid Ultimate edition (with support for Spring, Jakarta EE, databases, and cloud technologies).

Key advantages:

Smart Autocomplete: The IDE analyzes the context and suggests the most relevant options.
Refactoring: Instant renaming, method extraction, signature changes — all of this works at the AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) level.
Built-in Debugger and Profiler: Allows you to find performance bottlenecks.
Integration with Build Systems: Maven, Gradle, Ant work "out of the box".

Example of working with refactoring in IntelliJ IDEA:

public class Calculator {    public int add(int a, int b) {        return a + b;    }

    // Extract the add method into an interface    public int multiply(int a, int b) {        return a * b;    }}

// After "Extract Interface" refactoring:public interface Operations {    int add(int a, int b);    int multiply(int a, int b);}

public class Calculator implements Operations {    @Override    public int add(int a, int b) {        return a + b;    }

    @Override    public int multiply(int a, int b) {        return a * b;    }}

IntelliJ IDEA also offers excellent framework support. For example, for Spring Boot, you can simply create a project via Spring Initializr directly from the IDE.

2. Eclipse — A Proven Veteran with Open Source

Eclipse is one of the oldest Java IDEs, which is still actively used in large enterprise projects. Its main advantage is flexibility and a huge number of plugins (Eclipse Marketplace).

Key features:

Eclipse JDT (Java Development Tools): A full-fledged environment for development, debugging, and testing.
Plugin Support: You can extend functionality for any need — from UML diagrams to Docker integration.
Free: Completely open source.

Example of setting up a Maven build in Eclipse:

<!-- pom.xml --><project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0         http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>    <groupId>com.example</groupId>    <artifactId>my-app</artifactId>    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>    <properties>        <maven.compiler.source>17</maven.compiler.source>        <maven.compiler.target>17</maven.compiler.target>    </properties></project>

Eclipse is great for beginners who want to start with a free tool without feature limitations.

3. NetBeans — Simplicity and Convenience for Beginners

Apache NetBeans is the official IDE for Java from Oracle (now under Apache management). It is renowned for its simplicity and intuitive interface. NetBeans is especially good for learning Java and creating desktop