May 21, 2020

Top Java Development Tools and Software

Java Tools
Java Application Development

Java is a vibrant ecosystem, full of wonderful tools and technologies designed to make working and creating with the language easier for developers. But the most popular Java development tools all have one thing in common — they make developing software and applications easier.

In this article, we look at the top development tools in Java, including IDEs, build tools, and virtualization technologies. Let’s get started!

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Top Development Tools in Java

It’s hard to determine what is and what isn’t a development tool these days. You could make a case that APM tools are development tools, or that testing frameworks are development tools. But, for the purposes of this article, we’re looking specifically at the following categories:

While these development tools, build tools, and virtualization tools aren’t necessarily Java-specific, the survey we’re using as a basis for this analysis was aimed at Java developers. Now let’s look at the top Java IDEs!

Curious what your Java development peers are using in their Java tech stack? Find out in the 2023 Java Developer Productivity Report. 

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Top Java IDEs

For those of you working in Java, you probably already know the top Java IDE. And, while we didn’t break our survey down into community or ultimate versions, we do know that IntelliJ Ultimate has a loyal following among Java developers.

2020 Java Technology Report - Java IDE Usage Chart
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