Eclipse necessery?

[NitroDev]

So do i really need Eclipse for Java programming or is JDK and Notepad enough?

[traq]

Like many things, it is not *needed* but may be desirable. (I don't work with Java, but Eclipse has a very good reputation—and good code editors/IDEs do make a hellava difference.)

[NitroDev]

Okay but i dont want to download Eclipse but if i dont i would have to compile Java files or something so can anyone whos a good java programmer help me?

[traq]

If you don't want to use the Eclipse compiler, you could try Sun's OpenJDK javac (http://openjdk.java.net/groups/compiler/) compiler.

Beyond that, I wouldn't know what to suggest. There aren't many java programmers here on DD.

[nvedia]

To begin with, you may not need Eclipse till you are doing simple programs and working with only few (5 to 10 ) classes
But once you start to include external jars/libraries and your program gets big, IDE really comes handy
Imagine your program getting big and everytime you have to set the classpath once you add external jars or include the imports manually when you use a new method
Eclipse will help you all this and more