Blackberry Development using Netbeans

Please let me know if you find any errors or missing steps.

Installation and setup:

Step 1 - download and install Suns Java SDK

Step 2 - download and install Netbeans IDE

Step 3 - download and install Netbeans Mobility Pack

Step 4 - download and install RIMs Blackberry JDE

Step 5 - Launch Netbeans, from the toolbar select tools > java platform manager > add platform and select ‘custom java micro edition platform emulator’

Step 6 - Enter (or paste) Rims JDE home directory, for example: ‘C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry JDE 4.2.0′ as the Platform Home, then add ‘Platform Name’ (eg. Rim) and ‘Device Name’ (eg. Blackberry)

Step 7 - Select ‘Next’, From the ‘Bootstrap Libraries’ list, remove every item except ‘net_rim_api.jar’

Step 8 - Select ‘Next’, Ignore the ‘Sources’ pane but add the path to the Blackberry javadocs, for example: ‘C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry JDE 4.2.0\docs\api\’ then click ‘finish’

Step 9 - Restart Netbeans

Create a simple Blackberry Application:

Step 1 - Create a new project by selecting ‘mobile application’ from the ‘mobile category’, uncheck the ‘Create Hello Midlet’ option

Step 2 - Select the Blackberry platform that you’ve just created above

Step 3 - Add this xml data to the build.xml file which is visible if you select the ‘Files’ pane

Step 4 - Next you need to create an .alx file which is a Blackberry ‘Application Loader’ xml file, in the ‘Files’ pane, right-click and select ‘new’ > ‘empty file’
Name the file the same as your application (eg. myApp.alx), and add this xml data [important - only use numerics in the version number, any letters can cause issues for OTA installing of the application when you’re done, for example do not use any ‘beta’ version notifiers like b1.0

Step 5 - You’re now ready to start writing your application, switch back to the ‘Project’ pane and create your application, native Blackberry apps extend the UiApplication class instead of Midlet so you’ll have cheat Netbeans by entering your main class as the Midlet: right click on your application in the project pane and select ‘Properties’, under ‘Application Descriptor’ > MIDLets enter the name of your class that extends UiApplication (ignore any warnings)

Step 6 - Right click on your project and select ‘Clean and Build’, once you know your application will build select ‘Debug’ from the same menu. Netbeans should spawn the ‘Rim Remote Debug Server’ and the Blackberry Simulator, all your System.out.println statements will appear in the Debug Server not in the Netbeans output pane.

that's it....

--Ujjwal B Soni