Develop with pleasure - it's true!
December 01, 2017
Develop with pleasure - it's true!
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with IntelliJ IDEA
We have used IntelliJ IDEA since its early version back in 2000. We develop enterprise applications using Java, Scala & Javascript & HTML with build support from Maven and Gradle.
Code refactoring has always been the stand out feature of IDEA, it allows the developer to quickly change the structure of the code without pulling you out the 'zone'. Daily use brings a familiarity that allows you to do so much without thinking, coding with IDEA quickly becomes second nature.
For TDD , the failing test, passing test, refactor lifecycle becomes so easy to do.
Code refactoring has always been the stand out feature of IDEA, it allows the developer to quickly change the structure of the code without pulling you out the 'zone'. Daily use brings a familiarity that allows you to do so much without thinking, coding with IDEA quickly becomes second nature.
For TDD , the failing test, passing test, refactor lifecycle becomes so easy to do.
- Great language support. You can develop full stack solutions using Java, Scala, Javascript and much more all from within a single IDE.
- Excellent refactoring functionality. It is aware of the syntax/layout requirements of each supported language and manages all this for you.
- Excellent test framework support. It's easy to write tests, run them and get instant feedback.
- Highly customisable. Need to tweak the compiler settings? Maven settings? No problem, IntelliJ IDEA lets you configure just about anything.
- Good plugin support from the community. There's a bunch of decent plugins available from the community for those rare cases where IDEA doesn't have anything built in.
- IDEA has grown into a huge product - it supports so many languages and does so much. The downside to this is that it can be a bit daunting for new users as there is so much to learn.
- Refactoring in Javascript can sometimes be a bit hit or miss. It's fine for simple projects but for large, multi-file apps it is sometimes not aware of all the usages of a particular file or variable.
- IDEA significantly speeds up the development lifecycle. Developers can think more about their code and less about what needs to be done at the syntax and filesystem level.
- IDEA has such a large user base that it's easy to find people for your organisation that can hit the ground running with it.
- Using a standard code template helps to standardise the code across the team.
To be honest, I've used IDEA for so long and am happy to the extent that I don't look at the competitors anymore. IDEA lets us do what we need to do quickly and efficiently. Support from JetBrains is good with an excellent early access programme and regular releases. There's also a large and active community.