Brian Leonard presented on Java and the NetBeans IDE. Some key points:
- Java allows for write once, run anywhere code through bytecode and the Java Virtual Machine. This made Java popular for both client-side and server-side applications.
- The Java platform includes Java SE for desktops, Java EE for servers, and Java ME for embedded and mobile devices. Examples of Java ME applications and devices were shown.
- NetBeans is an integrated development environment that helps developers write Java code through features like on-the-fly error checking, code completion, refactoring tools, and an interactive debugger.