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| <title>NetBeans 6.8 Community Tester Eric Smith</title> |
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| <meta name="description" content="Eric Smith, a NetBeans 6.8 community tester, explains how participating in NetBeans' Beta testing program helps his development needs."> |
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| <h1>Meet the Top Community Testers for NetBeans 6.8</h1> |
| <span style="font-style: italic;">January 2010</span><br> |
| <h4>Eric Smith: Beta Testing NetBeans 6.8 to Meet his Development Needs<br> </h4> |
| <br> |
| <h2>Tell us about your background as a developer and NetBeans user.<br> </h2> |
| <p> |
| <span style="font-style: italic;"><img style="width: 80px; height: 80px;" alt="Eric Smith - NetCAT 6.8 Tester" src="../../../images_www/articles/interviews/eric-smith-small.jpg" align="left" hspace="4" vspace="2"></span>I've been developing software since the mid 1970s so I've seen the |
| entire evolution of the PC, Mac, Linux, and many other things that |
| have come and gone. I've been consulting since my teens and have always looked for common tools that let me work |
| in the multitude of languages I need to use on a regular basis.<br> |
| </p> |
| <div style="padding: 0pt 0pt 7px 7px; width: 200px; float: right; font-size: 120%; font-weight: bold;">...A single IDE that meets most of my needs...<br> |
| </div> |
| I started working with the pre-cursors to NetBeans (Forte, Sun |
| Developer Studio, etc), as well as Eclipse, JBuilder, TogetherJ, |
| Intellij Idea and straight editors when they first came out. When |
| NetBeans came along, it just felt right; I've used it as a primary |
| development tool ever since. I'm sure everyone has their specific likes and dislikes about other |
| IDEs as I do about each of |
| the tools mentioned. But as far as having a single IDE that meets |
| most of my needs, from C/C++ to Ruby with a bit of Java in there as |
| well, NetBeans works.<br> |
| <p> |
| </p> |
| <h2>As a <a href="http://qa.netbeans.org/processes/cat/68/index.html">NetCAT</a> participant you experienced |
| <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/releases/68/">NetBeans 6.8</a> before the masses did. Your thoughts on the new features and the |
| quality?<br> |
| </h2> |
| <div style="padding: 10pt 10pt 10px 10px; background-color: rgb(238, 238, 255); width: 190px; float: right; font-size: 100%;"> |
| <div style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/esmithbss">Eric Smith</a><br> |
| </div> |
| <div style="font-size: 90%;">Location: United States<br> |
| <br> |
| <span style="font-weight: bold;">NetCAT 6.8 Stats</span><br> |
| Bugs Filed: 114<br> |
| RFEs Filed: 7<br> |
| Emails Sent: 67<br> |
| Total NetCAT Points: 562<br> |
| <a href="http://qa.netbeans.org/processes/cat/68/activity.html">NetCAT 6.8 Activity Log</a><br> |
| <br> |
| <span style="font-style: italic;">More NetCAT 6.8 Spotlights:</span><br> |
| <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/articles/interviews/netcat68-ulf-zibis.html">Ulf Zibis</a>, <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/articles/interviews/netcat68-michel-graciano.html">Michel Graciano</a><br> |
| </div> |
| </div> |
| The NetBeans team has worked very hard on the quality of the product |
| and some nice new features. I'm particularly impressed with the |
| improvements to the Ruby Debugger since NetBeans 6.7. Many of the things that caused problems before work like a charm now.<br> |
| <br> |
| I'm also impressed by the memory management improvements. Under |
| 6.7 and 6.7.1, I was constantly forcing Garbage Collection for some of |
| my larger projects. Using 6.8 during the NetCat |
| program, I only had to force GC once or twice. Awesome!<br> |
| <br> |
| I know a big part of the memory is the new Environmental Ergonomics of |
| the IDE, where it only activates the components you need, and then only |
| when you need them. It's not a matter of installing everything |
| and having it all on, loaded in memory, and running everytime you use |
| the IDE after it's installed. Now, if you never develop a Ruby |
| application, you never load the Ruby modules. If you never |
| develop Java EE, then you don't load the Java EE capabilities. |
| <p> |
| </p> |
| <h2>Have you participated in other software Beta testing programs? Can you compare them to NetCAT?<br> |
| </h2> |
| <div style="padding: 0pt 0pt 7px 7px; width: 200px; float: right; font-size: 120%; font-weight: bold;">NetBeans lets me work the way I work.<br> |
| </div> |
| I've been beta testing software for over 20 years, both as a community |
| participant and as a testing team leader for clients. Outside of |
| the projects I've led, none have come close to the rigor and |
| responsiveness of the NetCAT program. Not only is the development |
| team far more involved than I've experienced, there is direct |
| interaction and meaningful discussion with them through the forums and |
| wiki throughout the program. It's not a matter of having a |
| "contact" that all communications goes through, or having an interface |
| with the testing team and not the development team. With NetCAT you have |
| the real developers asking you questions and working with you to get |
| your problems and issues resolved. I think that's absolutely |
| fantastic. |
| <p> |
| </p> |
| <h2>What |
| motivates you to contribute to the NetBeans |
| project?<br> |
| </h2> |
| I'm always looking for the best tool that will help me get my customers |
| the most bang for their buck. If an IDE stands in my way, I'll |
| switch IDEs. If a database is too slow, I'll get another |
| database. It's that simple. Whatever let's me get things |
| done faster for my clients.<br> |
| <br> |
| With NetBeans, I get that. It lets me work the way I work. |
| It lets me do things that other IDEs don't (without extra |
| plugins/add-ons). And on top of all of that, the price (FREE) is |
| perfect! That alone is enough to get me participating.<br> |
| <br> |
| Unfortunately, that's not the position I find myself in |
| frequently. As a consultant, I typically need something that |
| works on multiple platforms and let's me have access to some of the |
| latest and hottest technologies (like JavaFX, Ruby and PHP) as well as |
| some older stuff (C/C++) so I work with the newest stuff on a regular |
| basis. That means getting access to the new tools as soon as |
| they're available and usable. For NetBeans, that means |
| NetCAT. The price for this is working with the NetBeans team to |
| make sure what I need and want works. The benefits to me are |
| advanced knowledge of the tools, better skills with the tools, and |
| improved speed for my clients. That's a win-win for any |
| consultant as far as I'm concerned. |
| <p> |
| </p> |
| <h2>How would you encourage other users to participate in future NetCAT cycles?<br> |
| </h2> |
| "Don't just wait around to hear about the next version of an IDE, or sit at your desk wondering if the tools you depend on will |
| do what you need. Take an active role in NetCAT. Make sure |
| you know about the latest version before it hits the network. Make sure |
| what you need is in there and usable when the next NetBeans |
| version appears. The payoff for your small time investment is |
| incredible."<br> |
| <br> |
| Beyond that, I'd let them know how much you can learn about the tool |
| and the underlying technologies by participating in the program.<br> |
| <br> |
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