The NetBeans IDE, product of Sun Microsystems, is a free, open-source integrated development environment written entirely in Java for software developers. NetBeans IDE supports developers providing all the tools needed to create all Java application types i.e. J2SE, web, enterprise and mobile applications. It runs on many platforms like Windows, Linux, Solaris and MacOS. It’s very easy to install the NetBeans IDE. The current version is NetBeans IDE 5.5.1, which was released in May 2007. This topic explains about installation steps of NetBeans 5.5.1 followed by creation of a simple application displaying “Hello World” in the standard output. This application will help you understanding the workflow of the application and IDE.

Working with NetBeans:

To use NetBeans in your system, it is required to download its appropriate copy along with java runtime environment. Downloading and installation steps has been summarized below:

Downloading NetBeans:

NetBeans can be obtained from http://www.netbeans.info/downloads/
index.php. Download the latest release of NetBeans as .exe file named as “netbeans- 5_5_1-windows.exe” at any place of your choice.

Installing NetBeans:

1. Double click the exe file to launch the installer and click next.

2. Accept the license agreement and click Next button.

3. Select the directory of your choice clicking the browse button where you want to install the NetBeans IDE (netbeans5.5.1, in our case) and click Next button.

4. Select the suitable JDK from the list that will be used by the IDE and click Next.