Using Older Versions of Software[]
Due to the ever-increasing power of smartphones, Java ME development has largely been restricted to embedded applications (such as the Raspberry Pi). Consequently, newer versions of the Java ME (J2ME) Software Development Kit only include the tools necessary for developing embedded applications.
NetBeans IDE 7.4
The latest version of the SDK that supports mobile application development is version 3.4. Likewise, the declining popularity of Java ME means that newer versions of NetBeans no longer include Java ME plugins and other integrated features that previous versions did. Technically, newer versions of NetBeans does still support Java ME. However, older SDKs (like the one needed for mobile apps) encounter numerous errors. The newest version of the Java Development Kit supported by NetBeans 7.4 is Java 8. Specifically, 8u112. Trying newer versions will cause NetBeans to throw an "Automatic detection of platform failed" error when adding the Java ME platform later on. See this page for more information why.
Mercifully, these older versions still run on Windows 11.
Setting Up the IDE[]
To develop applications for Java-capable feature phones using NetBeans you will need the following:
- Java SE Development Kit 8u112
- Java ME (J2ME) SDK 3.4
- NetBeans IDE 7.4
- Java ME SDK 3.4 Plugins for NetBeans
- Visual Mobile Designer Plugins 7.12 (See below)
Download all four and install the first three in the order listed. Extract the Java ME plugins wherever you downloaded it into. Then, open Netbeans.
Activate Java ME[]
Go to Tools > Plugins, then to the Installed tab.
Make sure that Java ME and Tools are activated. If not select both and click Activate.
Once done, click Finish and exit out of the plugin manager.
Add the Java ME SDK Platform[]
Go to Tools > Java Platforms, then click Add Platforms.
Select Java ME CLDC Platform Emulator, then click Next.
The wizard will now prompt you to select the directory that you had installed the Java ME SDK. Once selected click Open. Then once the directory appears under Platform Folders mark it then click Next.
The wizard will now detect the platform and configure it automatically. If you had installed a version of the Java Development Kit higher than 8u112 then this is where the process stalls. Going back and adding the platform as a Custom Java ME CLDC Platform Emulator and providing it with a different name will work. However, you will not be able to use the emulator.
Click Finish. Then exit the Platform Manager.
Install Plugins[]
Reopen Plugins, then go to the Downloaded tab.
Click Add Plugins... then go to the folder where you extracted the Java ME plugins. Select all plugins then click Open.
Click Install. You will prompted to accept a few conditions and after installation to restart the IDE.
Install Visual Mobile Designer Plugins[]
While not strictly necessary, the VMD will make creating a GUI for your app much easier. Unfortunately, NetBeans stopped bundling this after version 6 and made it a plugin. Since plugins are no longer available for pre-Apache versions of NetBeans, you will need to install them manually similar to the Java ME ones from Oracle. The latest one still available online is for NetBeans 7.12. However, these work perfectly fine in version 7.4.
The files needed have been packaged for convenience and can be found here. If you want to download it yourself, the repository can be found here.
Within the api/ directory find and download any module that has vmd in the title. Do the same in the modules/ directory.
To install these plugins, follow the same process as in Install Plugins above. Then, restart the IDE.