A Java-based development environment (IDE) and platform originally developed by Sun. It includes user interface functions, source code editor, GUI editor, version control as well as support for distributed applications (CORBA, RMI, etc.) and Web applications (JSPs, servlets, etc.).
In 1999, Sun acquired NetBeans Developer from NetBeans and rebranded it as Forte for Java Community Edition (Sun acquired Forte in 1999). In 2000, Sun made the NetBeans IDE open source. See
Eclipse.