Updated March 29, 2023
Introduction to IntelliJ Version
An integrated development environment by JetBrains that can be used for developing any computing environment and developed in Java coding language is called IntelliJ. It is called IntelliJ IDEA as an ‘Integrated Development Environment’. It connects the symbols across all the coding languages and projects created inside the language by analyzing the code and this data is used for error handling, project analysis, and navigation of files. We have shortcuts for everything in IntelliJ along with duplicate detection and quick fixes of codes in the system. Code analysis is done On-The-Fly and solutions are provided right away.
Versions
- IntelliJ was initially released in January 2001 & this became the first IDE for Java programming with proper code navigation and any refactoring abilities in the coding structure. Now, we are not able to see any of the earlier versions and their support on the IntelliJ support page. The versions available in IntelliJ pages are from 2017 and the support available is only for few versions. We have versions of 2017.1, 2017.2, 2017.3, 2018.1, 2018.2, 2018.3, 2019.1, 2019.2, 2019.3, 2020.1, 2020.2, 2020.3, 2021.1 and 2021.2. It is important to update to the latest version to get support from IntelliJ team. Other oldest versions of IntelliJ are 11.0, 12.1, 13.0, 13.1, 14.0, 14.1, 15.0, 2016.1, 2016.2 and 2016.3
- 2017.1, 2017.2, 2017.3 versions do not have IntelliJ support and these are the oldest versions available now. Guidelines for the versions are provided along with Android Development, Grail, and Groovy. We can also use Scala language in the versions. We have different frameworks such as AspectJ, Android, CoffeeScript, ColdFusion, Docker, EJB, Erlang, and Java different frameworks so that we can use any coding language in IntelliJ. Here Python and Ruby plugins were also available so that developers can install and use any languages in early versions of IntelliJ. There is Ultimate and Community editions for all IntelliJ versions and all the operating systems are supported here.
- Along with all the frameworks of the 2017 edition, the 2018 edition offered migration from Eclipse and NetBeans. This helped developers to move their code from Eclipse or NetBeans to IntelliJ and make necessary changes in the code framework based on their requirements. Java EE version was also supported in IntelliJ version and this made developers to write any code in Java format and make changes. Grails 3 version was offered in this version which can be opened only via Ultimate edition. We can open any editions of Groovy, Scala, and Gradle where projects can be created directly from the UI of IntelliJ.
- 2019 versions are still supported in IntelliJ documentation but it is called an earlier version of the application. Community and Ultimate editions are offered directly in the documentation where community edition is a free edition and Ultimate comes with 30 days trial period where additional tools are offered for application development. We can either install directly or use a toolbox to install the application. Linux offers another solution called snap package that installs the updates automatically so that the user does need not to update the newer versions. A minimum of 2GB RAM and 2.5GB disk space is required in the system for IntelliJ 2019 version installation. It works on 64-bit systems and Java should be pre-installed in the system for IntelliJ IDEA to get installed.
- 2020.1 edition saw the change in all the supporting languages. Java, Kotlin, Scala, and Groovy languages are the recognized JVM languages that can be used in the IDE where it can be compiled to JVM bytecode. Most of the popular languages such as Python, JavaScript, Ruby, PHP, Go, SQL, Dart, and HTML languages are supported in the IDE with the plugins. Though C or C++ is not officially supported in IntelliJ, we can use CLion plugin to code in C/C++. There are separate IDE’s for the coding languages and it is better to use the concerned IDE for the underlying coding language. Edu edition is also provided in 2020.1 version which provides lessons for Java and any other programming languages with interactive tasks. We can customize the user interface based on our requirements and make it look familiar like other IDEs.
- Built-in profiler tools can be created in 2020.2 edition so that CPU-consuming time can be noted down. We have Async Profiler and Java Flight Recorder which records CPU time and Java Virtual Machine time in the system. Shortcuts are provided for everything in 2020.3 edition and code completion is done by context-aware mechanism. This helps developers to identify the errors happening during code completion.
- 2021 edition brought many changes in the application. Any official plugins can be found in the marketplace and we can install the same for IntelliJ usage in the system. Early access programs are provided in the latest versions so that new features will be known to developers early. If there are any bugs present, we can make the support team know the same. The environment is editor-centric that brings all the tools to the application directly and make it useful. Recent files can be accessed from the UI and the shortcut ctrl+shift+E helps us to find the recent locations of the files.
- Refactorings were provided from the early editions onwards which helps to update the names of all the references if we update only the name of the project. It asks for confirmations as well so that we can give permission to update the naming conventions. Also, 2021.2 edition came with static analysis of codes so that bugs and performance issues of the codes can be easily analyzed and corrected. We have code templates that generate codes and paired characters to add and generate any type of constructors in the coding interface.
Conclusion
IntelliJ IDE is the recent most successful IDE used by developers for its intelligence and smartness of tools. We can have the codes from GitHub so that anyone can use the same. Code completion and inspection tools make it a good friend for beginners in Java or any other coding language.
Recommended Articles
This is a guide to IntelliJ Version. Here we discuss the Introduction, list of IntelliJ Version for better understanding. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –
