Few days ago the launch of the new version of Apache NetBeans 25, which introduces a number of significant improvements focused on development environment efficiency, user experience, and compatibility.
Among the highlights, tools have been optimized key within the code editor, providing more intuitive navigation during refactorings, a Better management of tab order in projects and more accurate tracking of code changes.
Visual optimization and user experience
One of the most important changes that this new version of NetBeans 25 presents is the Embedding icons in SVG format, which translates into sharper and more scalable graphics within the interface. In addition, to improve image loading In this format, NetBeans now uses the JSVG library, a lighter alternative and efficient compared to Batik.
At the interface level, Adjustments have been made to the appearance of active tabs and selected areas, as well as a clearer and more functional implementation of the option to display parent directories in tab headers. Also The dialog box for selecting directories has been redesigned within the file system, providing a smoother and more accurate experience.
SQL editor and support improvements
In NetBeans 25, the SQL editor received major improvements, as A more advanced auto-completion system has been introduced, capable of suggesting terms based on partial matches within words, without the need for the search to start from the first character.
On the part of improvements in the compilation systems, Compatibility improvements have been made with Ant, Gradle and Maven. In the case of Gradle, has been implemented ability to run tests in parallel modeor, which improves the efficiency of automated testing. Maven, on the other hand, now offers more accurate dependency detectionWhile Ant has been optimized to support execution on Payara Server within the WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) environment.
With regards to LSP Server Support (Language Server Protocol), has been improved allowing for more versatile use within NetBeans. Also, integration with the NetBeans plugin for VSCode has been improved, which facilitates collaborative development in hybrid environments.
New features for Java, PHP and other technologies
NetBeans 25 provides functionality improvements for Java, including: auto-completion within switch blocks, facilitating more agile code writing, automatic code formatting has also been improved to better handle closing brackets.
The NetBeans internal compiler, nb-javac has been updated to JDK version 24b29, ensuring compatibility with the latest features and Support for the Nashorn 15.x JavaScript engine has been added in JDK 15 and higher versions.
For PHP, NetBeans 25 introduces support for PHPStan static analyzer level 10 checksAlso Newly added features have been incorporated in PHP 8.4.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Groovy libraries have been updated to version 3.0.23, offering stability improvements and new features. Also support has been expanded for GlassFish 7 (up to version 7.0.21) and GlassFish 8 (up to test version 8.0.0-M9).
If you want to know more about it of this new version, you can check the details in the following link.
How to install Apache NetBeans 25 on Linux?
Installing Apache NetBeans on Linux can be done in different ways, depending on user preferences and system compatibility.
For those who prefer to compile Apache NetBeans from source code, the first step is to download the necessary files from the project's official website. Once the files are obtained, the package must be unzipped to a desired location within the system.
Next, you need to access the terminal and navigate to the directory where the files were extracted. There, you need to run the following command:
ant
To build the Apache NetBeans IDE. Once built you can run the IDE by typing
./nbbuild/netbeans/bin/netbeans
Installation via Snap
For users who prefer a simpler and faster method, NetBeans is available as a Snap package:
sudo snap install netbeans --classic
Installation using Flatpak
Another option available is to install Apache NetBeans using Flatpak. To do this, the system must have support for this type of packages enabled. The command to perform the installation is the following:
flatpak install flathub org.apache.netbeans