Reviews : JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA 4 :

Other Tools

All of the aforementioned features are expected, to a certain degree, within any IDE. However, IDEA includes a number of other tools that are beyond the expected. Here are a few examples.

GUI Designer

Developing Swing-based and other graphical user interfaces in Java can at times, be somewhat cumbersome. IDEA's GUI Designer works to make this process easier. A layout/form builder tool allows different graphical elements to be displayed and edited in a drag-and-drop fashion. This GUI layout is kept separate from the code, and data bindings are set up. This makes for a clear separation between presentation and logic. You can even create a binding before you have created the matching object(IDEA will set an intention action for you to create the object later) so you are not held back by this separation. Ant project integration, I18N support and custom component integration is also supported here.

Diff Tool

Version 4.0 has an advanced comparison tool that will allow you to compare two files, compare a selection to clipboard entries, move distinct changes from one version to another and more. These changes can include, or not include, whitespace information. And did I mention these can all be done with a few keystrokes or mouse clicks?

Version Control Integration

IDEA will integrate with Visual Source Safe, StarTeam and CVS to allow for teams to work on projects without stepping on each others' toes. The VSS and StarTeam integrations are good and features are about what you would expect, check in, check out, mark project as current, lock and unlock, etc. The CVS integration is impressive. You do not need to install a CVS client and IDEA will auto-configure CVS by detecting project files. A File View tool window allows for easy file browsing - even of remote and non-integrated CVS repositories. You can use the Diff Tool with CVS entries. You can roll back, merge and all that other good stuff; all this from directly within IDEA.

Conclusion

If you're in the market for an IDE, or even if you think you are happy with your existing IDE, you owe it to yourself to at least check out IntelliJ IDEA. IDEA offers so many intuitive, user-friendly tools that it allows you to literally develop as fast as your ideas come and. Now at version 4, IDEA is a mature product that will integrate with just about any enterprise.

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