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I know the blackberry has a custom IDE but if memory serves me it's quite a sub par IDE. Does anyone know if there's a different IDE out there for the device?

Michael Pryor
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baash05
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4 Answers4

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For 'native' BlackBerry app development (i.e. Java app development), there are basically 4 options:

  1. RIM's JDE - pretty much a terrible editor, but the most stable, most feature-full (from a BlackBerry perspective) solution.
  2. RIM's JDE Plugin for Eclipse - you get all the niceties of the Eclipse environment, but there are a lot of problems.
  3. Netbeans with the Mobility Pack - I haven't really seen anyone use this for a while, but a few developers swore by it a couple of years ago
  4. Custom Eclipse/JDE environment - using ant scripts and RIM's JDWP debugger interface (the component package section on that page). This used to be the only way to go for Eclipse development for BlackBerry before the JDE Plugin

Options 3 and 4 I haven't seen used for a long time, not sure if they're still viable - though I don't see why #4 wouldn't be.

I used #4 for a long time, until RIM put out their plugin. While there are still a lot of problems with it, for me the productivity gains of working with something like Eclipse outweigh them.

So either 1 or 2, with the caveat that you should chose one or the other for your whole team, as they're really not compatible with each other (differences in project structure and how they handle resources). You can move from 1 to 2 easily, but not really the other way around.

Anthony Rizk
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The IDE provided by RIM is called the JDE. It is true that for many this product leaves much to be desired. RIM does support the use of Eclipse and Microsoft development environments as well so you can take your pick. Personally, I use the JDE. Don't construe this as a recommendation, I'm not saying it is the best, just what I use.

Richard
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  • I was talking about the IDE. I'm not sure why my brain let me type that. I've found that JDE such a dog, and spent more time working against it than with it. I suppose I need more practice. – baash05 Apr 22 '09 at 04:20
  • Or go with Eclipse before you develop JDE habits. I use Eclipse for Java development on the PC, and it is great, but I've been using JDE for so long by that point that inertia has set in. If you're still new try them both, they're the same price. Use the one that works best for you. – Richard Apr 22 '09 at 14:55
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Aside from RIM's JDE, the only other option that I know of is RIM's JDE plugin for Eclipse.

Jeff
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The .NET plugin is very limited in what you can do, it doesn't give you much access to internal classes.

I've been using the JDE plugin and i've not encountered too many difficulties.

Fermin
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  • The .NET plugin is for MDS Studio - basically a RAD forms app development platform. Haven't heard much about it lately, it may no longer be actively supported. – Anthony Rizk Apr 24 '09 at 02:58
  • I've been using the JDE plugin for Eclipse, and I can't seem to add a non-Java file (i.e. a text file that I can read from within my code), without the build completely failing. So I've got to vote -1 for the JDE plugin, so far. – bwinton May 16 '09 at 01:05