An Overview of NetBeans IDE BlueJ Plugin

The ability of NetBeans IDE BlueJ Plugin to work directly with BlueJ projects, and its focus on the functionality of standard NetBeans which most closely matches BlueJ's behaviour, means that there is a simple relationship between the interface that standard BlueJ presents and that of the NetBeans plugin.

To follow the descriptions below, download the (zipped) BlueJ project calculator.zip, uncompress it, and open it in both BlueJ and NetBeans with the BlueJ plugin installed. You should then see the two application windows as shown here (you will need to double-click on UserInterface.java in NetBeans in order to get the editor window displayed as shown on the right below):

BlueJ and NB/BJ comparison screenshot

NetBeans does not copy the BlueJ project. The same project (backed by the same underyling files) is shown being edited simultaneously in both IDEs. Changes you make to projects and classes in NetBeans will immediately be reflected by BlueJ, and vice versa.

Key:

  1. The BlueJ Class Diagram becomes a "view" of the project's classes in the NetBeans Projects pane. All the classes in the BlueJ project are represented by similar icons in the NetBeans Projects window (including any test classes). In both IDEs, double-clicking a class icon opens an editor for the source code of that class; in BlueJ this editor opens in a new window, in NetBeans it opens a new tab in the Source Editor panel.
  2. BlueJ's Object Bench does not exist in NetBeans. NetBeans, even with the BlueJ plugin, does not support direct interaction with objects. In order to execute a program in NetBeans, you must run its main method. Classes with a main method are indicated in the BlueJ Project view by a green triangle. A program may be run either by right-clicking on a class with a green triangle and selecting "Run File", or by clicking on the "Run Main Project" icon in the NetBeans toolbar and selecting the main-class to be run.
  3. NetBeans includes an Output window in which build information and all output from (and input to) a running program is displayed. This window is only visible when a program has been built or is running. In NetBeans, output from your programme is mixed in with output from ant (which is used by NetBeans to build and run projects). If your projects generate significant output, you should consider installing the NetBeans Ant Output Filter Plugin, which filters output not coming from your programme.
  4. Individual classes may be compiled in NetBeans by right-clicking on their icon and selecting "Compile File" (just like BlueJ's right-click and "Compile" menu item). The NetBeans equivalent of BlueJ's "Compile" button is the "Build Main Project" button on the NetBeans toolbar. The compilation state of a class is shown in NetBeans in the same way as it is in BlueJ, using cross-hatching to indicate that a class is out-of-date with respect to its source.
  5. BlueJ's "New Class" button is replaced in NetBeans by the "New File" button on the toolbar. BlueJ's standard "new class" templates are available in NetBeans through the displayed dialog.
  6. The "Up" button in the NetBeans Projects tab lets you navigate around a BlueJ project which contains more than one package. Packages are displayed in the main Projects pane using the same icon as BlueJ uses.
  7. The name of the current project is displayed in the combo box of the BlueJ Projects tab. Use this to switch between projects if you have more than one open at a time.