Finding the Best Value in Java IDEs
by Peter Varhol
Productivity is critical in today's enterprise development environments, and it should be among your primary criteria when evaluating development tools. However, productivity is difficult to measure absolutely because of the nature of developer skills and the projects to which those skills are applied, Free and open source IDEs further complicate the picture. Free solutions might seem to deliver the best value, but does free translate into productive development? Get acquainted with several IDE offerings and decide for yourself.

Cleaning a Complex Java Code Base
by Matt Love
It would be nice to be able to analyze and unit test every line of code, but obviously such an approach would be cost prohibitive and impractical in today’s business environment. Take a look at an approach to code standard checking and unit testing for large, complex Java code bases that helps ensure faster delivery of more reliable code.

Get Creative on the Java ME Platform
by Michael Yuan
The Java ME platform (formerly, J2ME) is six years old. Is it the right platform for your next mobile development project? More importantly, does it live up to its "write once, run anywhere" notoriety? Look in on the state of Java ME and its CLDC/MIDP stack and APIs.

COLUMN: OBJECT ENTERPRISE
Java's Desktop Comeback
by Peter Varhol
Would you use the Rich Client Platform or to build a vertical application or a custom enterprise application? Discover what you get with the Eclipse and NetBeans platforms and if using those platforms means we're going to see rich Java applications again after convincing ourselves that Java is good for only the Web and middleware.

COLUMN: PRO SHOP
The Two Schools of Lazy Programming
by Daniel F. Savarese
Software development firms often fall victim to bad laziness when programming without a revision control system. Find out how to apply "good laziness" to save time and achieve a desired result.

DEPARTMENTS
Editor's Note
by Terrence O'Donnell

In Brief

Public Static
Guest Opinion by Onno Kluyt