Released: NetBeans 11.2 Update 1

This release is identical to 11.2 except for backported fixes for:

[NETBEANS-3257] Fixed issue on refactoring rename of java method (and potentially other nb-javac issues)

[NETBEANS-3335] Enhance robustness of HTML Lexer - enter key doesn't work in certain files

[NETBEANS-3290] Fix common.xml causing layer build problems in RCP applications

Use the Plugin Manager under the Tools menu to update 11.2 to 11.2 Update 1.

Posted at 05:27PM Dec 03, 2019 by Geertjan in Technology  |  Comments [1]  | 

NetBeans 11.3 is Shaping up Nicely

One month has passed since NetBeans 11.2 had been released. There are 82 new PR-s made it to the master branch so far. We usually have a, not necessary intentional, "theme" for each release. I'd say the theme is for 11.3 is: "Remove the Rust".

Our code and libraries spent long time in the transit. Many of our modules were still compiling against Java 1.6 and/or used ancient versions of third party libraries. 11.3 improved a lot on this front and there are still many PR are in the queue to carry that on.
Without trying to be complete, here is a small list of changes what's coming:

- Jgit Library Update
- ASM, PostgreSQL, JUnit5 and Other Library Updates.
- PHP Fixes
- HTML Lexer Stability Improvements
- JSF 2.3 Support
- Gradle Tooling 6.0
- Several Cleanups, Remove Compile Warnings

On the UI Side:
- Return of Dark Metal and Dark Nimbus Look and Feel
- Experimental support for Flatlaf Look and Feel

On Gradle Side:
- Test Output is Channeled Back to the IDE
- Added Project Reload Action
- Elephant Icons Finally Replace the old Ones

Posted at 10:51PM Nov 30, 2019 by lkishalmi in General  |   | 

[ANNOUNCE] Apache NetBeans 11.2 Released

The Apache NetBeans team is pleased to announce the release of Apache NetBeans 11.2. Apache NetBeans is a full IDE for Java SE, Java EE, PHP and JavaScript development with some Groovy language support.

Apache NetBeans 11.2 is the second Apache NetBeans release outside the Apache Incubator and the second release of the new quarterly release cycle. The LTS release of the Apache NetBeans 11 cycle is Apache NetBeans 11.0. The 11.2 release has not been as heavily tested as the LTS release. Use 11.2 to access the latest features and to provide feedback for the next LTS release, scheduled for April 2020.

New & noteworthy features of the 11.2 release:

https://netbeans.apache.org/download/nb112/index.html

Downloads:

https://netbeans.apache.org/download/nb112/nb112.html

Feel free to share the good news!

Posted at 01:30PM Nov 01, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |   | 

NetBeans at Oracle Code One 2019

An Apache NetBeans schedule for those going to Oracle Code One 2019 next week!

Saturday, September 14

19:00 Hang out in the Thirsty Bear in Howard Street

Monday, September 16

• Why You Should Be Coding with the NetBeans IDE [BOF1321]
  Mark Stephens, Developer, IDRsolutions
  Ethan Price, Developer, IDRsolutions
  02:30 PM - 03:15 PM | Moscone South - Room 305
• Java IDE Wars [DEV1375]
  Ken Fogel, Teacher, Dawson College
  Scott Selikoff, Software Developer, Selikoff Solutions, LLC
  Jeanne Boyarsky, Developer, CodeRanch
  04:00 PM - 04:45 PM | Moscone South - Room 304
• Hacking the NetBeans IDE [BOF1338]
  Mark Stephens, IDR Solutions
  06:00 PM - 06:45 PM | Moscone South - Room 309
• Hacking the NetBeans Profiler [BOF4170]
  Ryan Cuprak, Formulation Applications R&D Development Senior Manager, Dassault Systemes
  06:00 PM - 06:45 PM | Moscone South - Room 305

Tuesday, September 17

• Getting Started with Deep Learning for Enterprise Java Developers [DEV2126]
  Zoran Sevarac, Associate Professor, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organisational Sciences
  Suyash Joshi, Developer Marketing Director, Oracle
  12:30 PM - 01:15 PM | Moscone South - Room 308
• Testing on Oracle Autonomous Database with Homomorphic Encryption, Using NetBeans and Java - BYOL [HOL3196]
  Simon Bain, Founder & CTO, ShieldIO
  12:30 PM - 02:30 PM | Moscone West - Room 3024C

Wednesday, September 18

• Apache NetBeans: Its Status and Future [DEV2506]
  Geertjan Wielenga, Product Manager, Oracle
  Mark Stephens, Developer, IDRsolutions
  Ethan Price, Developer, IDRsolutions
  06:00 PM - 06:45 PM | Moscone South - Room 206

Thursday, September 19

• Testing on Oracle Autonomous Database with Homomorphic Encryption, Using NetBeans and Java - BYOL [HOL3196]
  Simon Bain, Founder & CTO, ShieldIO
  09:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Moscone West - Room 3024C
• 19:00 Hang out in the Thirsty Bear in Howard Street

Posted at 08:24AM Sep 11, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |   | 

What to do with JavaFX and OpenJFX in Apache NetBeans?

If Apache NetBeans runs on JDK 8, a range of Ant-based JavaFX sample applications are available in NetBeans to help you get started and learn about JavaFX. However, if NetBeans does not run on JDK 8, the available Ant-based JavaFX samples don't work (can't be created) but there's no point in working on fixing that since from JDK 11 onwards JavaFX is no longer part of the JDK and Maven/Gradle-based OpenJFX samples are obvious candidates for integration into NetBeans instead.

However, how should that be handled in NetBeans? Before Apache NetBeans 11.1, there was no integration with OpenJFX. Only JavaFX projects and samples were built into NetBeans, which led to a great deal of confusion since when someone sets up an environment from scratch today, they're unlikely to have installed JDK 8. Much more likely, they'll have JDK 11 or 12 and then those JavaFX projects and samples in NetBeans cannot be used, i.e., when you try to create those samples, while running NetBeans on anything other than JDK 8, you're simply told in the wizard that you have the wrong JDK. And then you somehow need to find out that the best thing to do next is use the OpenJFX documentation to set up the OpenJFX samples in NetBeans.

That is suboptimal and so Gluon integrated their two sample applications into Apache NetBeans 11.1, i.e., in the most recent release:

https://github.com/apache/netbeans/tree/master/javafx/openjfx.samples

That is a step forward but still suboptimal, as explained here by Jaroslav Tulach:

https://github.com/apache/netbeans/pull/1241#issuecomment-491357016

That entire new module is not needed. Literally, all that needs to be done is that this file needs to be updated with two new template registrations:

https://github.com/apache/netbeans/blob/master/java/maven/src/org/netbeans/modules/maven/newproject/MavenWizardIterator.java

And, literally, this is all that needs to be added there, since the two OpenJFX samples are on Maven Central and as pointed out above, "NetBeans has a nice support for creating wizards over Maven archetypes."

@TemplateRegistration(folder = ArchetypeWizards.TEMPLATE_FOLDER, 
position = 925, 
displayName = "#LBL_Maven_FXML_Archetype", 
iconBase = "org/netbeans/modules/maven/resources/jaricon.png", 
description = "javafx.html")
@Messages("LBL_Maven_FXML_Archetype=FXML JavaFX Maven Archetype")
public static WizardDescriptor.InstantiatingIterator<?> openJFXFML() {
    return ArchetypeWizards.definedArchetype("org.openjfx", "javafx-archetype-fxml", "0.0.2", null, LBL_Maven_FXML_Archetype());
}

@TemplateRegistration(folder = ArchetypeWizards.TEMPLATE_FOLDER, 
position = 926, 
displayName = "#LBL_Maven_Simple_Archetype", 
iconBase = "org/netbeans/modules/maven/resources/jaricon.png", 
description = "javafx.html")
@Messages("LBL_Maven_Simple_Archetype=Simple JavaFX Maven Archetype")
public static WizardDescriptor.InstantiatingIterator<?> openJFXSimple() {
    return ArchetypeWizards.definedArchetype("org.openjfx", "javafx-archetype-simple", "0.0.2", null, LBL_Maven_Simple_Archetype());
}

That literally is all that is needed to be added to the Java source file above, instead of having a completely new module, which doesn't integrate as neatly as the above with the Apache NetBeans infrastructure. (And this is a small tip for anyone else wanting to make their Maven archetypes available to NetBeans: the above is literally all you need to do.)

However, the fundamental question remains: how do we notify users of Apache NetBeans that they should be using OpenJFX and not JavaFX? Maybe we should simply remove all JavaFX projects and samples, however that would be unfortunate for anyone using JDK 8. Or maybe the solution is to create a category named "Legacy" in the New Project dialog and then put all JavaFX projects and samples there, so that it's clear that they're not recommended, while still having them available for JDK 8 users?

Posted at 09:29AM Aug 25, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |   | 

Simplified Apache NetBeans Welcome Screen

To simplify the Welcome Screen and, in particular, replace all links to netbeans.org with netbeans.apache.org, I have created this issue and pull request:

https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NETBEANS-3020

https://github.com/apache/netbeans/pull/1457

All references to netbeans.org are replaced with equivalents at netbeans.apache.org and the News column, which pointed to netbeans.org, is removed from the tab below, while the Blogs column is renamed to News, since newsworthy items now come from here, i.e., from this blog:

Also, the Featured Demo on the first tab is removed, best to have as few links to external places as possible, i.e., help reduce potential points of failure, especially here where having that demo in the page doesn't add all that much while removing it reduces the need for external URL calls that could cause problems and slow things down.

Posted at 09:08AM Aug 24, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |  Comments [1]  | 

LSP Client demo - (ba)sh language server

Below is a scenario by Jan Lahoda, the creator of LSP integration for Apache NetBeans, for how to integrate the bash language server with Apache NetBeans, including syntax highlighting.

Setting Up

1. Install npm (and node.js). On Ubuntu, e.g., do "apt install npm", though something different will be needed on Mac OS X.

2. Create a directory in which we are going to work, have a terminal opened in that directory.

3. Install the bash-language-server:

   npm install bash-language-server

   On Mac OSX:

   npm install bash-language-server --unsafe-perm

   This will install the server into the current directory.

4. Try the bash server:

   ./node_modules/bash-language-server/bin/main.js --help

   You should see something like this:

   Usage:
     bash-language-server start
     bash-language-server -h | --help
     bash-language-server -v | --version

5. Create a NetBeans module. Create a File Type (Module Development/File Type), mime type: text/sh, file extension: sh

Syntax Coloring via TextMate

1. Download the TextMate grammar file here, and put it alongside the newly created DataObject:

   https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/vscode/master/extensions/shellscript/syntaxes/shell-unix-bash.tmLanguage.json

2. Add "TextMate Lexer" as a dependency of the module.

3. Into the DataObject add this annotation:

   @GrammarRegistration(grammar="shell-unix-bash.tmLanguage.json", mimeType="text/sh")

   GrammarRegistration is:

   import org.netbeans.modules.textmate.lexer.api.GrammarRegistration;

This should lead to syntax highlighted source for .sh bash files taken from the TextMate grammar file.

Language Support via the Language Server

Next, we need to add language support using the language server.

1. Add "LSP Client" and "MIME Lookup API" as dependencies of the module.

2. Create a new class, ShellClient, in the module, put this into it, (replacing "<path-to-bash-language-server>" with the absolute path to "node_modules/bash-language-server"):

   import java.io.IOException;
   import org.netbeans.api.editor.mimelookup.MimeRegistration;
   import org.netbeans.modules.lsp.client.spi.LanguageServerProvider;
   import org.openide.util.Exceptions;
   import org.openide.util.Lookup;
   
   @MimeRegistration(mimeType="text/sh", service=LanguageServerProvider.class)
   public class ShellClient implements LanguageServerProvider {
   
      @Override
      public LanguageServerDescription startServer(Lookup lkp) {
          try {
              Process p = new ProcessBuilder("<path-to-bash-language-server>/bin/main.js", "start").start();
              return LanguageServerDescription.create(p.getInputStream(), p.getOutputStream(), p);
          } catch (IOException ex) {
              Exceptions.printStackTrace(ex);
              return null;
          }
      }
   
   }

   You may need to explicitly call node in the above code, i.e., as follows:

   Process p = new ProcessBuilder(
           "/usr/local/bin/node", 
           "<path-to-bash-language-server>/bin/main.js", 
           "start").start();

3. Build and start the module.

Caveat: the language server is started only for files that are inside a project, so create (any) new project, and inside the project, put a shell file. E.g. copy "bin/netbeans" as "test.sh" into the project. Open it in the editor - there should be syntax highlighting, Navigator, and code completion should show something, etc.

Posted at 03:25PM Aug 17, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |   | 

Why Does Apache NetBeans Need Its Own Parsers?

A question was asked on the Apache NetBeans mailing list: "I was just curious about the theoretical aspect of parsing. Isn't there a unified parsing API, using ANTLR/lex/yacc which can parse any language given a grammar for it? Why do we use a different parsing implementation (like the Graal JS parser in this instance) when a unified approach will help us support lots of languages easily?"

Tim Boudreau, involved in NetBeans from its earliest hours, responds, in the thread linked above:

Posted at 12:11PM Aug 06, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |   | 

PHP 7.4 Support

Hi all. Today, we will briefly show you about PHP7.4 support which will be available in the next NetBeans version i.e. NetBeans 11.2.

First of all, I strongly hope that new features are tested by PHP users before NetBeans 11.2 is released because there should be bugs. Definitely, we need your help! If you are interested in them, please test it. You can download a dev version here. Then, we could merge new changes quickly thanks to our committer Tomas Mysik. Thanks a lot for your review, Tomas!

PHP 7.4 Support

To enable it, you have to set PHP 7.4 as the PHP version of your PHP project. (Right-click your project node, click Project Properties.)

NetBeans provides support for the new syntaxes for PHP 7.4.

Null Coalescing Assignment Operator

Spread Operator in Array Expression

Numeric Literal Separator

Typed Properties 2.0

Arrow Functions 2.0

New Hints

Suggestion for converting a simple closure to an arrow function

Suggestion for using combined assignment operators

Of course, code completion, formatting, go to declaration, and mark occurrence features for the above syntaxes should also be fixed.

That's all for today. As always, please test it. You can download a development version from Jenkins Build. If you find some issues or enhancements, please report them to JIRA with your exact steps to reproduce them. (Components: php - Editor). Thanks.

Posted at 02:42PM Jul 25, 2019 by Junichi in PHP  |   | 

[ANNOUNCE] Apache NetBeans 11.1 Released

The Apache NetBeans team is pleased to announce the release of Apache NetBeans 11.1. Apache NetBeans is a full IDE for Java SE, Java EE, PHP and JavaScript development with some Groovy language support.

Apache NetBeans 11.1 is the first Apache NetBeans release outside the Apache Incubator and the first release of the new quarterly release cycle. The LTS release of the Apache NetBeans 11 cycle is Apache NetBeans 11.0. The 11.1 release has not been as heavily tested as the LTS release. Use 11.1 to access the latest features and to provide feedback for the next LTS release, scheduled for April 2020.

New & noteworthy features of the 11.1 release:

https://netbeans.apache.org/download/nb111/index.html

Downloads:

https://netbeans.apache.org/download/nb111/nb111.html

Feel free to share the good news!

Posted at 01:19PM Jul 22, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |   | 

Apache NetBeans, OpenJFX, and AdoptOpenJDK

Check out a great series of articles on a killer combination, by Chris Luff—Apache NetBeans, OpenJFX, and AdoptOpenJDK.

In part one you see how to get a modular JavaFX application built and running from NetBeans. In part two, you look at generating, from Maven, a runtime to execute the application. In part 3, you learn about the distribution of the new application.

Here are the three parts:

• AdoptOpenJDK 11 + OpenJFX + NetBeans: Part 1
• AdoptOpenJDK 11 + OpenJFX + NetBeans: Part 2
• AdoptOpenJDK 11 + OpenJFX + NetBeans: Part 3

Posted at 10:35AM Jun 10, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |  Comments [3]  | 

[ANNOUNCE] Apache NetBeans Has Graduated!

We have graduated from the Apache Incubator and we are now a top level Apache project at The Apache Software Foundation (ASF).

"Being part of the ASF means that NetBeans is now not only free and Open Source software: it is also, uniquely, and for the first time, part of a foundation specifically focused on enabling open governance," said Geertjan Wielenga, Vice President of Apache NetBeans. "Every contributor to the project now has equal say over the roadmap and direction of NetBeans. That is a new and historic step and the community has been ready for this for a very long time. Thanks to the strong stewardship of NetBeans in Sun Microsystems and Oracle, Apache NetBeans is now ready for the next phase in its development and we welcome everyone to participate as equals as we move forward."

The above is from the official Apache press release, all of which can be read here:

https://blogs.apache.org/foundation/entry/the-apache-software-foundation-announces51

Posted at 08:36PM Apr 25, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |  Comments [1]  | 

[ANNOUNCE] Apache NetBeans (incubating) 11.0 Released

The Apache NetBeans team is proud to announce the release of Apache NetBeans (incubating) 11.0.

Apache NetBeans (incubating) 11.0 constitutes all clusters in the Apache NetBeans Git repo, which together provide the NetBeans Platform (i.e., the underlying application framework), as well as all the modules that provide the Java SE, Java EE, PHP, JavaScript and Groovy features of Apache NetBeans.

In short, Apache NetBeans (incubating) 11.0 is a full IDE for Java SE, Java EE, PHP and JavaScript development with some Groovy language support.

Read more on our download page:

https://netbeans.apache.org/download/nb110/nb110.html

New & Noteworthy features of the 11.0 Release:

https://netbeans.apache.org/download/nb110/index.html

Posted at 02:56PM Apr 05, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |  Comments [4]  | 

Restructuring of Project Templates in Apache NetBeans

There's been lots of discussion in the Apache NetBeans community about how best to express the fact that Apache Maven and Gradle are more modern choices to be aware of than Apache Ant, while at the same time not implying that there's anything wrong with using Apache Ant.

Here's what we seem to have reached consensus around, i.e., move all Ant-based project templates into a separate Ant-specific folder, while putting the other two build systems higher and therefore more prominently in the list:

With the above, someone is less likely to simply go to the no-longer-existing Java category and then end up with an Ant-based project, without thinking about it. By default, the user of Apache NetBeans is now encouraged to consider Apache Maven and Gradle first. The old Ant-related categories are still there, so as not to confuse anyone completely, just structured within a lower ranked "Java with Ant" category. The above also solves the discussion re "Java EE", i.e., here the idea, from discussions, is to name the category "Java Enterprise".

At startup, all categories are closed, i.e., none is more prominent initially than any other.

An objection one could have is that, if you're a complete Java newbie, you won't know what Maven, Gradle, or Ant are. Well, that has always been the case and NetBeans has artificially hidden that choice by having a category simply named "Java", which then resulted in everyone ending up with Ant-based projects. To turn that around and have a category simply named "Java" that results in Maven-based projects is probably not right either, i.e., a careful balance needs to be struck.

Hoping that all factions in this lengthy discussion are relatively satisfied with this approach. :-)

Issue: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NETBEANS-2040

Pull request: https://github.com/apache/incubator-netbeans/pull/1115

Posted at 02:31PM Feb 01, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |   | 

Enterprise Cluster Integrated into Apache NetBeans

Hurray, the 'enterprise' cluster, constituting all the modules in Apache NetBeans GitHub that provide features for Java/Jakarta EE development, provided in the 2nd Oracle donation of NetBeans to Apache, has been integrated into the daily builds.

Now, for the first time, out of the box, you'll have the support that was part of NetBeans IDE 8.2 for Java EE development directly available in Apache NetBeans, that is, without you needing to install any plugins.

However, aside from the point that this means we do not yet have Java EE 8 support, since 8.2 did not (could not, because of being released some time prior to Java EE 8) have support for Java EE 8, another question now presents itself—whether we really want to have two categories in the New Project dialog, one named "Java EE" and the other named "Java Web", as shown below, with the former containing project types relating to EJBs and EARs, which are not (should not) be very current anymore, as shown below in the screenshots.

My suggestion would be to either relabel the above to "Modern Java EE" and "Vintage Java EE". (I like the word "Vintage", which I've learned about from JUnit, i.e., that's how they refer to JUnit 4.) Once there is Java EE 8 support, we could use the name "Jakarta" instead of "Modern Java EE". Or, maybe the EJB and EAR support should simply be removed?

Posted at 07:03PM Jan 28, 2019 by Geertjan in General  |  Comments [2]  |