In this screenshot, you can quickly see a few issues with a JSP that is being worked on. First, the taglib directive is colored in red because IntelliJ IDEA senses a problem. Sure enough, the taglib has been entered incorrectly, which results in all uses of that tag to also be highlighted in red. If you look to the right of the scrollbar, you can see a visual indication of all the lines that have an issue. You can cursor over the indicator for a tip as to what's wrong, then click to jump to that line.
The next screenshots show you how easy it is to work with CVS. By selecting the "CVS File View" a panel opens to show you the files that have been changed, added, or deleted locally, in a concise, easy to work with view.
A file from the CVS File View can be selected and shown immediately in the editor, or the file can be compared to the current repository version as shown in the following screenshot:
Now you can choose to visually accept the changes or make additional changes right in the comparison window. Now that's easy!
Last Thoughts
If you strive to reduce repetitive tasks, reduce maintenance time, and improve code quality, then make sure you choose the right tool for the job. For web development, the right tool is IntelliJ IDEA. I'm so impressed with the productivity gains that it's what my development team will be using from now on.
To try JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA you can download it from the http://www.jetbrains.com website.
About the Author
Matt Rajkowski is the lead software developer and architect for Centric CRM in Norfolk, VA. He has extensive experience with Java web applications and works in a distributed team environment on multiple platforms. He also owns and develops http://www.teamelements.com. You can usually find him in the discussion forums at http://www.centriccrm.com.
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