Links to: BlueJ; ProfessorJ
I will probably expand on most of these at some point. If you have any additions to this list, email me at dblaheta at knox.edu .
Note: this list is more or less free of value judgement; one man's flagship feature is another man's show-stopping bug. Some points may be completely irrelevant to you. I'm not interested in email asking me to remove items from the list (unless they're actually incorrect, of course).
| BlueJ | ProfessorJ |
|---|---|
| complex test suites (unit testing) | easy-to-read test cases |
| classes all in separate files | all classes in one file (usually) |
| dynamic, graphical class diagrams | class diagrams are ASCII and static |
| object inspector | interaction window à la scheme |
| class template files | wizards for making basic classes and union (abstract) classes |
| -- | enforced language levels |
| bad editor | worse editor |
| plugin architecture (extensions) | language packs |
| on linux, win, mac | on linux, win, mac, or in source form |
| older, less buggy | in active development (fast bug fixes in CVS tree) |
| larger user community | -- |
| textbooks currently available | -- |
| test cases: run/record; configurable predicates | test cases: text expressions; smart equality |
| popup windows to explain java error messages | error messages tailored to beginners (cf "language levels") |