Mastering NetBeans

Table of Contents

Mastering NetBeans

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

www.PacktPub.com

Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and more

Why subscribe?

Free access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Downloading the color images of this book

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Getting Started with NetBeans

Choosing a download bundle of NetBeans

Downloading and installing NetBeans

Installing other versions of NetBeans

NetBeans user directory

Updating NetBeans to the latest version

Obtaining the NetBeans source code

Downloading a zipped archive of the NetBeans source code

Cloning the NetBeans source code from Mercurial

Cloning specific versions of NetBeans

Cloning the NetBeans source code from within NetBeans

Browsing the NetBeans source code online

Building NetBeans

Building NetBeans via the command line

Building NetBeans from within NetBeans

NetBeans configuration

User and cache directories

NetBeans default options

NetBeans JDK

Additional module clusters

Further options

Summary

2. Editing Files and Projects

The NetBeans screen layout

The explorer style windows

The Favorites window

The Navigator window

The source code editor window

The History view

The Palette window

The Properties window

The Output window

Window management

Specifying default templates for files

Code templates and code snippets

Inserting code using code templates

Code snippets – the NetBeans Palette window

Deleting palette items – the Palette Manager

Editing palette items

Macro recording and playback

Assigning shortcuts for macro playback

Recording new macros

Splitting windows

Code folds

Project groups

Summary

3. The NetBeans Developer's Life Cycle

Running applications

Debugging applications

Breakpoints

The Variables debug window

The Watches window

Evaluating expressions

The Call Stack window

The Loaded Classes window

The Sessions window

The Threads window

The Sources window

The Debugging window

Deadlock detection

Analyze Stack Window

Variable formatters

Debugging remote applications

Profiling applications

Application monitoring

Performance monitoring

Memory monitoring

Testing applications

Code coverage

Performing TDD within NetBeans

Summary

4. Managing Services

Databases

Connecting to Java DB

Connecting to MySQL

Connecting to other databases via JDBC

Managing databases

Web Services

Application Servers

Maven Repositories

Cloud services

Hudson Builders

Task Repositories

Summary

5. Database Persistence

Java EE Persistence

JPA entities

Creating blank entity classes

Editing the persistence.xml file

Creating entity classes from databases

Creating JPA controllers for entities

Creating database scripts from entity classes

Summary

6. Desktop Development

Java Swing applications

Creating Swing frames

Designing Swing forms

Anchoring and autoresizing components

Defining properties and events

Editing properties

Editing bindings

Advanced binding properties

Converters

Validators

Editing events

Editing code

Creating connections

JavaFX applications

JavaFX Scene Builder

Summary

7. Creating the Business Layer

Creating enterprise projects

Creating a NetBeans multi-module project

A Maven multi-module project

Creating a Maven multi-module project

Creating EJBs

Creating a session bean façade for entity classes

The Java Bean Validation framework

Creating a Bean Validation constraint

Contexts and Dependency Injection

Adding CDI support

CDI injection points editor support

Summary

8. Creating the Web Tier

Creating web projects

Configuring application servers

Creating a web application

Creating a NetBeans web application

Modifying a NetBeans web application

Creating a Maven web application

The web project's Run options

Adding components to a web application

Creating Spring web applications

Changing the version of Spring used

Spring application development shortcuts

Modern Spring development

Enhancing Spring Boot support

CSS preprocessors

Configuring Less and SASS in NetBeans

Configuring Less and Sass on a project basis

Creating CSS rules

Adding JavaScript to a web application

Checking JavaScript files

Summary

9. Creating and Consuming Web Services

Creating web services

Creating a SOAP web service

Creating a SOAP web service from scratch

Creating a SOAP web service from WSDL

Managing SOAP-based web services

Testing web services

Message handlers

Managing web services graphically

Consuming SOAP web services

Creating RESTful web services

The Simple Root Resource option

The Container-Item option

The Client-Controlled Container-Item option

Summary

10. Extending NetBeans

Creating NetBeans plugins

NetBeans rich client platform applications

Creating a NetBeans RCP application

Branding the application

Application properties

Creating platform application components

Creating a NetBeans window

Summary

Index

Mastering NetBeans

Mastering NetBeans

Copyright © 2015 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: August 2015

Production reference: 1250815

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78528-264-5

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Credits

Author

David Salter

Reviewers

Michel Graciano

Halil Karaköse

Mario Pérez Madueño

Commissioning Editor

Nadeem Bagban

Acquisition Editor

Larissa Pinto

Content Development Editor

Anand Singh

Technical Editor

Ankita Thakur

Copy Editor

Swati Priya

Project Coordinator

Vijay Kushlani

Proofreader

Safis Editing

Indexer

Monica Ajmera Mehta

Production Coordinator

Arvindkumar Gupta

Cover Work

Arvindkumar Gupta

About the Author

David Salter is an enterprise software developer and architect who has been developing software professionally since 1991. His relationship with Java goes right back to the beginning, when he used Java 1.0 to write desktop applications and applets for interactive websites. He has been developing enterprise Java applications using both Java EE (and J2EE) and open source solutions since 2001. He has also written NetBeans IDE 8 Cookbook and Seam 2.x Web Development and coauthored Building SOA-Based Composite Applications Using NetBeans IDE 6, all by Packt Publishing.

First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife and family for putting up with my many hours at the computer while writing this book. Special thanks and love to my wife for all her encouragement and support.

I'd also like to say thanks to all the people at Packt Publishing for helping me with this book. Thank you, Larissa, for your encouragement from the beginning. I would also like to thank Anand and Ankita for their hard work in helping me complete this book.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has worked on NetBeans, making it the product it is today. Without you all, this book would not exist.

About the Reviewers

Michel Graciano is highly familiar with development techniques, such as object- and component-oriented programming, design patterns' applicability, and software analysis. An expert in application development with open source software, he is currently working as an instructor at Código Efetivo, a training company in Brazil.

He is actively involved with open source projects, such as NetBeans, and has delivered talks at JustJava, The Developer's Conference, and JavaOne conferences.

His longtime contributions to NetBeans started with the Portuguese translation project and continued through his participation in the NetFIX and NetCAT programs, leading to him becoming a NetBeans Dream Team member.

I would like to thank my wife for all her encouragement and support, in this and the other projects I get involved in.

Halil Karaköse is a freelance software architect who graduated from Işik University Computer Engineering Department in 2005.

He worked in the telecommunications industry as a software developer and software architect for 10 years, including companies such as Turkcell and Ericsson. In 2014, he quit Ericsson to establish his own software consultancy company, kodfarki.com.

He has keen interest in Java tools, which speed up development, such as NetBeans and Intellij IDEA. He loves mouseless driven development.

Mario Pérez Madueño graduated in computer engineering from the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), Spain, in 2010. He is an early adopter of Java tech and advocates agile development methodologies. He has been a member of the NetBeans Community Acceptance Testing (NetCAT) program for many years. He has also contributed as a technical reviewer to Building SOA-Based Composite Applications Using NetBeans IDE 6 and Java EE 7 Development with NetBeans 8, both by Packt Publishing.

I would like to thank my wife, María, for her unconditional help and support in all the projects I get involved in. I would also like to thank Martín and Matías for giving me the strength to go ahead.

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Preface

NetBeans is the only IDE that can be downloaded with Java itself. It provides developers with many cutting-edge features that are not available with all the other IDEs.

This book will teach you how to master the NetBeans IDE. You will learn how to utilize and master the NetBeans IDE to become a proficient developer.

This book is packed with many hints, tips, and time-saving techniques. Reading this book will teach you about the features provided by NetBeans that newcomers to the IDE are not aware of and experienced programmers make extensive use of on a day-to-day basis.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Getting Started with NetBeans, describes the different versions of NetBeans that are available to download and shows you how to install NetBeans from an installable package or from the source code.

Chapter 2, Editing Files and Projects, teaches you about the many different facilities available while editing files. You will learn about macros, project groups, the NetBeans windowing system, and much more.

Chapter 3, The NetBeans Developer's Life Cycle, explains how NetBeans helps with the tasks that every developer does on a daily basis—running, debugging, testing, and profiling applications.

Chapter 4, Managing Services, shows you how NetBeans manages external services such as Maven repositories, PaaS, and continuous integration systems.

Chapter 5, Database Persistence, describes the features that NetBeans provides to help write database applications, from both a code-first and data-first perspective.

Chapter 6, Desktop Development, describes the excellent features provided by NetBeans for developing desktop Swing applications.

Chapter 7, Creating the Business Layer, teaches you the tools provided to help developers write the business layers of applications, describing subjects such as EJBs and bean validation.

Chapter 8, Creating the Web Tier, explains the different features available for Java web developers, including details of creating Spring web applications and using CSS preprocessors.

Chapter 9, Creating and Consuming Web Services, explains how NetBeans makes it straightforward to create and consume both RESTful and SOAP-based web services.

Chapter 10, Extending NetBeans, describes how to create NetBeans plugins for those situations where you need to customize the IDE along with the details of how to start using NetBeans as the platform for desktop applications.

What you need for this book

To use this book, you need to download and install the NetBeans IDE on either Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux.

You also need to have a modern version of Java (preferably, Java 8). To benefit the most when learning about web services and EJB-related technologies, a Java EE application server is required. The enterprise download bundle of NetBeans is supplied with full support for GlassFish 4 Open Source edition.

Who this book is for

This book is written for Java developers of all the levels who want to gain more knowledge about how their IDE works and learn new techniques to enable them to become more productive when using NetBeans.

A reasonable level of Java and Java EE knowledge is assumed.

Conventions

In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: From there, double-click on the included NetBeans xxx.mpkg file to start the installation (the exact names of the .dmg and .mpkg files varies, depending upon the version and bundle downloaded).

A block of code is set as follows:

public class Main {

    public static void main(String args[]) {

        Greeter greeter = new Greeter();

        System.out.println(greeter.greet(David));

    }

}

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

<#assign licenseFirst = /*>

<#assign licensePrefix = * >

<#assign licenseLast = */>

<#include ${project.licensePath}>

<#if package?? && package != >

package ${package};

/**

* Project: ${project.name} * ${url}

*

* @author ${user}

*/

public class ${name} {

}

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

chmod +x netbeans--linux.sh

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: From here, we can customize NetBeans by clicking on the Customize button.

Note

Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.

Tip

Tips and tricks appear like this.

Reader feedback

Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book—what you liked or disliked. Reader feedback is important for us as it helps us develop titles that you will really get the most out of.

To send us general feedback, simply e-mail <feedback@packtpub.com>, and mention the book's title in the subject of your message.

If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, see our author guide at www.packtpub.com/authors.

Customer support

Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you to get the most from your purchase.

Downloading the example code

You can download the example code files from your account at http://www.packtpub.com for all the Packt Publishing books you have purchased. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit http://www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files e-mailed directly to you.

Downloading the color images of this book

We also provide you with a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. The color images will help you better understand the changes in the output. You can download this file from: https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/2645OS_ColorImages.pdf.

Errata

Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books—maybe a mistake in the text or the code—we would be grateful if you could report this to us. By doing so, you can save other readers from frustration and help us improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any errata, please report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/submit-errata, selecting your book, clicking on the Errata Submission Form link, and entering the details of your errata. Once your errata are verified, your submission will be accepted and the errata will be uploaded to our website or added to any list of existing errata under the Errata section of that title.

To view the previously submitted errata, go to https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/support and enter the name of the book in the search field. The required information will appear under the Errata section.

Piracy

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Questions

If you have a problem with any aspect of this book, you can contact us at <questions@packtpub.com>, and we will do our best to address the problem.

Chapter 1. Getting Started with NetBeans

NetBeans IDE 8 is the official IDE for Java 8, and the only IDE that can be downloaded with official distributions of Java 8.

The latest version, NetBeans IDE 8.0.2, provides tools to allow developers to create desktop, mobile, and web applications using all of the latest Java specifications such as Java SE 8, Java ME 8, and Java EE 7.

This chapter will cover the following topics:

Choosing a download bundle of NetBeans

Downloading and installing NetBeans

Updating NetBeans to the latest version

Downloading NetBeans source code from Mercurial

Building NetBeans

NetBeans configuration

Choosing a download bundle of NetBeans

There are three different installation bundles of NetBeans (which can be downloaded from the NetBeans site) that are relevant to Java developers:

Java SE

Java EE

All

In addition to these three bundles, C/C++ and HTML5 & PHP bundles are also available for download. These bundles are not targeted at Java developers though, so they will not be discussed further in this book.

The Java SE bundle provides the standard NetBeans Platform SDK along with support for Java SE and Java FX developers.

The Java EE bundle contains everything that the SE bundle includes, but adds support for Java EE and HTML5 developers. GlassFish Server Open Source Edition 4.1 and Apache Tomcat 8.0.15 are also included with the Java EE bundle.

The All bundle contains everything that the EE bundle includes, but adds support for C/C++, Groovy, and PHP developers.

Downloading and installing NetBeans

Downloading an installation of NetBeans (Java SE, Java EE, or All) is achieved by selecting the bundle to download and then clicking on the Download button for that bundle, as shown in the preceding screenshot.

All of the examples and screenshots in this book have been created with the Java EE bundle of NetBeans. It is recommended that you use the Java EE download bundle of NetBeans to adhere as closely as possible to the examples in this book.

Note

To install any version of NetBeans 8, the Java JDK Version 7 Update 10 or later, or Java JDK 8 or later, is required. These can be downloaded, if not already installed on your target system, from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads.

Having downloaded the appropriate NetBeans bundle installer for your operating system, you can install NetBeans on your development system. The installation procedure differs slightly for the three main operating systems NetBeans is available for.

For Windows, simply launch the NetBeans installer by double-clicking on the file, netbeans--windows.exe (the exact filename differs depending upon the version and bundle downloaded).

For Mac OS X, double-click on the downloaded file, netbeans--macosx.dmg, to mount the installation device. From there, double-click on the included NetBeans xxx.mpkg file to start the installation (the exact names of the .dmg and .mpkg files vary, depending upon the version and bundle downloaded).

For Linux, NetBeans is installed via a command-line script, so first we must change the permissions of the downloaded file to be executable. From a terminal window, execute the following command:

chmod +x netbeans--linux.sh

Tip

Downloading the example code

You can download the example code files from your account at http://www.packtpub.com for all the Packt Publishing books you have purchased. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit http://www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files e-mailed directly to you. You can also download the code samples from https://github.com/doobrie/masteringnb.

To continue with the installation on Linux, we must now execute the downloaded