Netbeans

I installed Netbeans on the Ubuntu laptop I mentioned in my last Blog entry.

The Ubuntu install is 12.04 so when I used the Software Center, It installed 7.0.1.

The install went well and after some adjustments to my apache settings and figuring out all the right paths, I could test a php file and it would open in my browser and the code was parsed.

I noticed an error during install that I didn't think was a big deal. Something about parsing HTML5.

Well, I was having trouble where I'd press , nothing would happen. Being new, I thought maybe I needed key combo like or something, but hadn't figured it out yet.

Then, a tutorial I was following suggested I use the palette for easy HTML creation. I dragged in a form, gave it a name and an action, clicked and nothing happend. Well, the form creation dialog box closed, but no code was added to my file.

I asked a PHP coder I know who uses NetBeans and he was not aware of any issue with the palette. Finally, I noticed an error icon at the bottom of the application. It said "java.lang.IllegalStateException: Cannot find an HtmlParser implementation for HTML5"

I let netbeans send an error report. It gave me a report ID and linked to a page full of similar reports. Some people had actually put in some comments that were similar to the problems I had. I went back to my software center and noticed that the Ubuntu netbeans install was FULL of negative reviews.

• Unfit for distribution in its current state - Precise / 7.0.1
• Go Download from netbeans site
• Useless and broken
• The Ubuntu build of netbeans is almost completley unseable. (sic)

So, I removed it, visited netbeans.org and downloaded 7.2.1
I installed it. When I ran it the first time, it recognized the settings left over from the previous install. Saved me a LOT of time setting up the application.

It now seems to work fine.

Conclusion:
If you're on Ubuntu 12.04 and want to use Netbeans, be sure to download and install the most recent version from netbeans.org