I'm thinking of getting a Mac for the family. I'd lke to also do some light Java development (netBeans) with it and maybe even toy with Apple's free tools. What's the cheapest one I can get by with, or what are the minimun requirements for the various tools? I'm thinking 1GB RAM and any Core 2 processor? Keep in mind this is not for professional development.
2007-03-06 08:52:06 · 2 answers · asked by scott 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Programming & Design
Pretty much any Mac that will run Tiger will meet the system requirements for nearly any development tool. 1GB and a Core 2 would certainly be nice to work with, but a G4 with 512MB would work too. That's plenty for Netbeans as well as Apple's tools.
If you haven't done development on a Mac before, it's definitely worth playing with Xcode and Interface Builder. You'll probably also want to check out TextMate. Also, online membership for the Apple Developer Connection is free!
2007-03-06 15:18:56 · answer #1 · answered by L S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Given that I was happily running NetBeans on a 266Mhz Pentium 2 a few years ago, I think you'd have a hard time finding a computer that isn't enough!
Obviously the requirements for more recent versions are a bit chunkier. The specifics can be found at http://www.netbeans.org/community/releases/50/relnotes.html#system_requirements - but the spec you outlined in still more then enough for it.
2007-03-06 09:59:22 · answer #2 · answered by David D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋