The NetBeans IDE is written in Java and runs everywhere where a JVM is installed, including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Solaris. A JDK is required for Java development functionality, but is not required for development in other programming languages.

The NetBeans Platform allows applications to be developed from a set of modular software components called modules. Applications based on the NetBeans platform (including the NetBeans IDE) can be extended by third party developers.[1]

NetBeans IDE Bundle for PHP

Netbeans supports PHP since version 6.5. The bundle for PHP includes:

* basic editing, syntax highlighting, code completion, occurrence highlighting
* semantic analysis with highlighting of parameters and unused local variables
* PHP code debugging with xdebug
* PHP Unit testing with PHPUnit and Selenium
* Code coverage
* Symfony framework support (since version 6.8)
* PHP 5.3 namespace and closure support (since version 6.8)

NetBeans IDE Complete Bundle

Sun Microsystems also releases a version of NetBeans that includes all of the features of the above bundles. This bundle includes:

* NetBeans Base IDE
* Java SE, JavaFX
* Web & Java EE
* Java ME
* Ruby
* C/C++
* PHP (Version 6.5 and later)
* GlassFish
* Apache Tomcat