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Historically NetBeans rely on (nb-)javac to provide Java editing features, refactorings, etc. This has some positive aspects, but also some downsides.

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• Distributing GPLv2+CPEx licensed component in Apache software is hard

  • it would be way easier to use plain `javac` from a JDK

  • nb-javac is downloaded by end-user on demand via autoupdate

• On demand download is problematic

  • user needs internet connection 

  • server needs to be on (nb-javac isn't yet on Maven central)

  • e.g. sometimes download fails

• Testing matrix is complicated

  • each supported JDK needs to be tested twice - with nb-javac  and without nb-javac 

• Every bug/problem one needs to know whether nb-javac  was or wasn't in use

  • Recent version nb-javac-15  isn't really stable

• nb-javac  is a fork of JDK's javac

  • nobody likes forks

  • ironically Arvind's team is part of JDK organization - e.g. it maintains own fork of JDK's `javac`

• Upstream JDK javac hasn't been IDE ready up to JDK15
  • see below for details
• Without NbJavac one needs to run NetBeans on latest JDK to get latest language features
  • Serious disadvantage compared to competitors IDEs
  • They have their own Java parsers and support latest features on any JDK

What is nb-javac?

"nb-javac" consists of two libraries (nb-javac-api.jar and nb-javac-impl.jar) that provide a NetBeans-specific fork of the Java JDK Java compiler.

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