NetBeans: The Definitive Guide

Appendix F. Additional Modules and Where to Find Them

One of the key values of the NetBeans IDE is extensibility, and of course plenty of extensions are available, from debuggers and profilers, to UML tools, to at least one Minesweeper game. A number of online resources list and allow you to download modules for NetBeans. The primary ones are as follows:

The netbeans.org update server

There are a number of open source modules for NetBeans that are not currently in the standard distribution. Some are simply too esoteric to be of interest to most users; others are useful, but not currently maintained; others are alpha, beta or experimental modules that may at some point end up in the main IDE distribution.

Probably the easiest way to find new modules is by using the Update Center on the Tools menu. This is a tool for downloading extension modules directly into the IDE and installing them. It works by connecting to an update server (multiple servers can be specified), querying it for available modules, and comparing that with the list of installed modules. If there is anything you don’t have, you can download and install it. Some modules do have cross-dependencies, so dependency checking is also done.

The NetBeans third-party page ( http://www.netbeans.org/about/third-party.html)

This page lists companies building applications based on NetBeans and modules for NetBeans. Not all companies listed have shipping products yet. Many vendors have demo versions of their modules available ...