Sun has posted the first beta of NetBeans 6.8, its open source IDE for Java. New features in this version include:
- EJB 3.1 support
- RESTful web services (JAX-RS 1.1), GlassFish Metro 2.0 web services (JAX-WS 2.2), JAXB 2.2
- Java Persistence JPA 2.0, deployment, debugging and profiling with GlassFish v3 application server
- Code completion, error hints, namespace completion, documentation popups, and tag auto-import for Facelets
- Editor support for Facelets libraries, composite components, expression language, including generators for JSF and HTML forms
- Customizable JSF components palette generates JSF forms and JSF data tables from entities
- JavaFX SDK 1.2.1
- Editor Hints: Fix Imports, Surround With, Implements Abstract Methods, and more
- Improved navigation: Hyperlinks, Go to Type, Find Usages
- Full JIRA support
- Project dashboard with more member and project details, improved search and navigation, easier project sharing
- Improved instant messenger integration
- Improved issue tracker integration
- PHP 5.3
- Symfony Framework support
- PHPUnit, Code Coverage, FTP/SFTP integration improvements, exclude PHP project folders from scanning/indexing
- New Project from Maven archetype catalog and improved support for Java EE 6, Groovy, Scala projects
- Support for Rails 2.3.2 apps with dispatchers, JRuby 1.3.1, Ruby 1.9 debugging, and RSpec 1.2.7
- C++ Profiling: New Microstate Accounting indicator, Thread Map view, Thread Analyzer, Hot Spots view, Memory Leaks view, Sync Problems view
- C++ Parallelization Adviser
- Support for gdbserver attach and easier attaching to already running processes
Looks good, though Netbeans is going to have an even harder time making headway now that IntelliJ is open source too.