NetBeans 6.0 Preview Release Available

The NetBeans 6.0 Preview Release is available and you can download it here.

I have been playing with NB 6 for a while, and there are tons of new features I have never touched. One of them is support for Beans Binding, which I am very interested in but haven't had time to look at. Josh Marinacci talks about it here, and the comments on his blog are impressively positive and excited about this technology.

What do I like about NB 6? I have to say I really like the editor. It's faster with its completion, and it has all sorts of new hints. I'm still learning the ins and outs, but I am very impressed.

I also like how integrated the Visual Web functionality is. It's no longer an add-on pack - it's part of NetBeans proper. You just create a Web project, and you choose a "Visual Web JSF" framework, and all the functionality of the Visual Web Pack is there for you. No separate download, no separate installation of a "pack."

Another area I am excited about but haven't had time to investigate much is the UML support. I always like defining my architecture in terms of UML, just as a way to help me understand it, and now it's in there with the rest of NetBeans - I don't need a separate tool.

So, check it out, and if you're in town next week, come to NetBeans Day on Monday (it's totally free), and go to the session on NetBeans 6 to get a full overview of what's coming in the next release.