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1. The NetBeans source code is found at http://hg.netbeans.org/main.
   
   
2. NetBeans is modular. Each module consists of Java packages, containing Java source files and related artifacts, as well as metadata for when/how the module is installed/activated/etc. 
   
   
3. Modules are organized in "clusters". Each cluster contains modules that relate to each other, e.g., all the modules providing features for working with Java are in the "java" cluster and all the modules providing features for working with PHP and in the "php" cluster, etc. I.e., clusters provide high-level groupings mostly focused on languages, e.g., Java, JavaScript, C/C++, PHP, Groovy, etc, as well as clusters for common integrated development environment features, e.g., "ide".
   
   
4. Clusters are combined to create download bundles, e.g., for NetBeans IDE: http://netbeans.org/downloads.
   
   
5. When a download bundle is installed, each included cluster provides a folder on disk, e.g., for the "All" NetBeans IDE download bundle:
   
   
   
   Note: Only the "platform" cluster is mandatory to all applications created on the NetBeans application framework (NetBeans Platform). In the case of NetBeans IDE and other software development environments created on the NetBeans application framework, each download bundle also includes "ide", for generic tooling and APIs. The other clusters are optional. 

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In Apache terminology, the "platform" cluster is "core" to NetBeans, while the other clusters are "optional modules". Oracle is donating to Apache the core of NetBeans, as well as the optional modules that define NetBeans IDE.
 

Each cluster is described in detail below. All clusters in bold are mandatory, i.e., "core" to NetBeans, i.e., this is only the "platform" cluster.
 

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