Developer Guidelines

Developers contributing to the NetBeans project are expected to follow a common set of guidelines simplifying standard procedures and ensuring that all developers working on NetBeans are able to work together. Please see the following topics:

Installation Structure: It is intended as a quick guide to the directory structure of an application based on the NetBeans platform. It is important to understand this structure especially when you are deciding which JAR files should be placed into which subdirectory, where to put items on the file system, etc.

CVS Commit Rules: Commits to the CVS repository should be done with care - here's how to check and validate your changes before commiting.

Q-Evangelism: Discover benefits of writing unit tests and using various tools for finding bugs by reading this document. It's the description of tools Netbeans developers can use for increasing the quality of our codebase and it's also the summary of reasons why one should write unit tests.

Code Conventions: Formatting, programming practices, and other conventions used in the NetBeans codebase.

Branding & I18N: This document provides recommendations on how to organize I18N (localization) of modules in the NetBeans IDE. Other topics include I18N features, bundle messages, bundle debugging, how to write better *.properties files, templates, help documentation, branded localization and more.

Release Checklist: Find information regarding checklist for creating a release branch, checklist for making a release and checklist for a volunteer Release COordinator.

AutoUpdate Content Management Process: A description of the guidelines for managing the content of the NetBeans AutoUpdate servers - the process for adding and removing modules.

API Review Process: A description of the guidelines on reviewing the APIs - from proposing a change through to implementing it.

Module Writer's Upgrade Guide: A module writer's upgrade guide - API changes you should be aware of, changes you might need to make to your code, and tips to ensure the best integration in the latest release.