IndicThreads >> BEA, Borland, Nokia and to some extend Oracle have all got involved in Eclipse. However Sun Java Studio Creator is perhaps the only major product built over NetBeans. Why isn't the NetBeans platform more popular?

Rich Unger >> I guess it depends on your perspective, but I'd consider V-Builder a “major product” :)

It's important to notice that BEA, Borland, and Nokia are all working on features to help IDE catch up to NetBeans in the web and mobile space. Now, I'm not knocking Eclipse. NetBeans certainly has been playing their own share of catch-up. They just tend to do it themselves, rather than enlisting partners to work with them.

"Most desktop java apps are still built without using a client-side framework at all. The field is still wide open..."

I don't think this has much to do with the platform, however. To me, the success of the Eclipse RCP and the NetBeans Platform can be measured by how many apps are written on top of them that are not IDEs. It looks to me like most desktop java apps are still built without using a client-side framework at all. The field is still wide open.

"I think it will come down to Swing vs. SWT..."

In the end, assuming people buy into the argument that such a platform is indeed helpful, then I think it will come down to Swing vs. SWT, and the libraries that are available for doing things like data binding, graphing, visualization, charting, etc.

IndicThreads >> Despite NetBeans being the early bird, Eclipse today seems to have got the worm. Do you see things changing in the near future?

Rich Unger >> The worm that I think Eclipse does have is the community of IDE plugin developers, which, as I said, is distinct from the platform market. Eclipse has a wide lead in IDE plugins because their IDE was better (let's face it, it was), and because their tools for writing plugins were better. I think NetBeans has caught up on both counts. More and more I hear people interested in writing IDE plugins that will work on both Eclipse and NetBeans. That's a good indication that NetBeans has finally found a broader audience. IDE market share will drive the plugin community, not the other way around.

"Eclipse has a wide lead in IDE plugins because their IDE and their tools for writing plugins were better..."

Rich at Oracle OpenWorld 05

As an aside, I think the goal of writing a plugin once for both platforms is a laudable goal, but for all kinds of technical and architectural reasons, won't be fully realized.

"Writing a plugin once for both platforms (NetBeans and Eclipse) is a laudable goal that won't be fully realized..."

IndicThreads >> You perhaps would be pretty fed up of providing a NetBeans vs Eclipse comparison. So instead of giving a comparison could you tell us when one should go with NetBeans and when Eclipse might be a better choice?

Rich Unger >> That sounds an awful lot like asking me to provide a comparison :)
The great thing about both is that they're free! And, they're both pretty easy to get up and running with your current codebase. So, try them both out. Maybe you'll end up keeping them both and using them for different tasks. I did that for a while. These days, I'm totally on NetBeans (and gvim), but that's not true of everyone on my team. The Hawaiian guy is an Eclipse aficionado, and he continues developing NetBeans modules with it. Personally, I think when he tries out the new collaboration modules, he'll use NetBeans more.

"People will always be asking for Eclipse vs NetBeans comparisons because both keep leapfrogging each other..."

People will always be asking for such comparisons, because Eclipse and NetBeans keep leapfrogging each other. Eclipse is working on a “Visual Editor” to compete with Matisse, and the Nokia guys are working on matching the feature set of the Mobility Pack. The NetBeans guys are continually adding new refactorings and tweaking the usability of the editor, both areas where Eclipse has historically had higher marks.