Table of contents
1.
What are Java Visualizers?
2.
Types of Java Visualizers
2.1.
1. Standalone Visualizers
2.2.
2. Data Structure Visualizers
2.3.
3. IDE Visualizers
2.4.
4. Debugging Visualizers
2.5.
5. Web-Based Visualizers
2.6.
6. Performance Visualizers
2.7.
7. UML Visualizers
2.8.
8. GUI Visualizers
3.
Examples of some best Java Visualizers
3.1.
1. BlueJ VisualVM
3.2.
2. Eclipse Debugger
3.3.
3. IntelliJ IDEA Debugger
3.4.
4. Jeliot 3
3.5.
5. Netbeans
3.6.
6. Zooming code visualizer
3.7.
7. JProfiler
3.8.
8. CodeHS
4.
Advantages of using Java Visualizers
5.
Disadvantages of Java Visualizers
6.
Frequently Asked Questions
6.1.
What do Java Visualizers do?
6.2.
What are the factors for choosing the best Java Visualizers?
6.3.
What is the best Java Visualizer that can be used for debugging?
6.4.
Mention some features of BlueJ VisualVM.
7.
Conclusion 
Last Updated: Jan 16, 2025
Medium

Best Java Visualizers

Author Rinki Deka
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The Java Visualizers help in changing big lines of code into visual representations that improve the understanding of code, thus making debugging easy and simple.

Java Visualizers simplify complex code by transforming it into visual representations, enhancing understanding and debugging efficiency. These tools allow developers to observe their Java code's workflow in real-time, offering insights into variables, control flow, and data structures. With features like interactive graphs, Java Visualizers are invaluable for improving performance, debugging, and learning programming concepts.

Best Java Visualizers

What are Java Visualizers?

Java Visualizers are the tools that help programmers view the workflow of their Java code. With Java Visualizers, we can have interactive representations in the form of graphs that help developers have a detailed understanding of their code and how it behaves during runtime. Java Visualizers can give information on variable values, control flow, data structures, etc.  

Thus we can view the call stack and objects on the heap memory, which helps debug the Java program. These visualizations also help in performance analysis and learning, allowing developers to identify and fix bugs. 

Some of the best Java Visualizers are Eclipse's debugger, VisualVM, NetBeans Visualizer, and Java VisualVM.

Types of Java Visualizers

types of Java visualizers

There are many types of Java Visualizers, each having its own functions and properties.

  1. Standalone Visualizers
  2. Data Structure Visualizers
  3. IDE Visualizers
  4. Debugging Visualizers 
  5. Web-Based Visualizers 
  6. Performance Visualizers 
  7. UML Visualizers 
  8. GUI Visualizers

Let's take a closer look and understand each of them one by one.

1. Standalone Visualizers

These are the tools that allow developers to view their code outside the Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). They come with many visualization and error-handling features. With the help of Standalone Visualizers, programmers can check the state of variables and data structures at each step.

2. Data Structure Visualizers

These visualizers help in viewing complex data structures like trees, linked lists, graphs, stacks, queues, and arrays. The data structures can be defined with graphs and charts, thereby allowing programmers to see how they are processed during runtime.

3. IDE Visualizers

IDE visualizers are tools that allow programmers to study their code and perform real-time debugging and code analysis. These visualizers improve the features of the IDE by helping to visualize the code. That is, programmers can directly use the visualizer within their IDE, which they are working on.

4. Debugging Visualizers

Debugging visualizers are useful in identifying bugs in the code by providing breakpoints, keeping track of real-time execution, etc. It allows programmers to observe code processing as it executes and understand its behavior. It also helps by identifying errors in the code. 

5. Web-Based Visualizers

With the help of Web-based visualizers, programmers can have a look at Java code directly in web browsers without installing any software locally on the computer. As they are web-based, they can be accessed from any device, having a web browser and an internet connection.

6. Performance Visualizers

These visualizers are online tools that are mainly used for analyzing the performance of the application. It provides tips for improving the code, reducing memory usage,  etc. Performance visualizers also provide testing tools with the help of which reports containing the summary of the performance of the code can be generated.

7. UML Visualizers

These tools help generate Unified Modelling Language (UML) diagrams from Java code, which in turn help programmers to better understand class diagrams and sequence diagrams from the Java code. Thus understanding the framework, relationships, and communication between the different elements of Java application programs becomes easier.

8. GUI Visualizers

GUI or Graphical User interfaces visualizers are useful in designing the User-Interface UI for Java applications. These visualizers provide a drag-and-drop feature that helps programmers easily create GUI elements without writing any code. Also, GUI visualizers come with a preview feature to see the visual representation of the GUI while creating it.

Examples of some best Java Visualizers

Some of the Best Java Visualizers that are widely used in Java programming are:

1. BlueJ VisualVM

BlueJ VisualVM is a tool that helps developers analyze the performance of their Java code. It provides visualizations in the form of charts and graphs to understand the workflow of the program. 

Pros: It provides a thorough and detailed understanding and analysis of the performance of the Java program. The best part is that the visualizer is free to use.

Cons: The BlueJ VisualVM does not come with any advanced features.

2. Eclipse Debugger

The Eclipse debugger is a powerful Java Visualizer that comes with the Eclipse IDE. It provides many features and tools for identifying errors and debugging the code by adding breakpoints and checking variables and expressions during runtime. By providing a visual representation of the call stack, it allows the developers to understand the workflow of code at runtime.

Pros: The Eclipse Debugger is a part of the Eclipse IDE, which makes it very easy to use and one of the best Java Visualizers.

Cons: The main focus of the Eclipse debugger is on Graphical User Interface (GUI) development, and it does not come with other advanced features.

3. IntelliJ IDEA Debugger

IntelliJ IDEA is a visualizer tool for programmers that helps them visualize their Java code in real-time execution and gain important information from it. It comes with features like syntax highlighting and code completion.

Pros: Visualization of Real-Time execution.

Cons: Programmers need to pay a fee of $14.90 to avail full features.

4. Jeliot 3

Jeloit 3 is one of the best Java Visualizers created to help students better understand programming terms and processing of code. It has the different features of an engaging and animated platform where students can see the working of their code step-by-step.

Pros: It simplifies the learning process by visually representing the behavior.

Cons: It does not support some of the advanced programming terms and data structures.

5. Netbeans

Netbeans is a widely used Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that also comes with a Java Visualizer. The NetBeans Visualizer allows developers to understand difficult Java code with the help of graphical diagrams, also called UML diagrams, code highlighting, profiling, and error handling and debugging. 

Pros: It provides many features that can be used for free.

Cons: It requires more resources and is less user-friendly than other visualizers, making it a bit difficult for beginners to learn.

6. Zooming code visualizer

Zooming is a powerful UI visualizer that can be used to add indentations to code, which can be viewed with the help of charts and graphs. It brings visual representations to life by allowing users to zoom in and out of the GUI elements. Thus giving the users a more interactive experience.

Pros: There is enhanced clarity and detailed examination as a result of the zoom-in and out feature.

Cons: With the increase in the zoom level, memory usage increases, thereby decreasing performance.

7. JProfiler

JProfiler is also one of the best Java Visualizers. It allows developers to analyze and improve the performance of their Java applications. Its user-friendly UI and many features make it a good choice for developers.

Pros: There can be many tasks that can be performed with the help of a JProfiler visualizer, such as identifying memory leaks, hotspots, etc.

Cons: It includes a licensing cost to access all the features.

8. CodeHS

CodeHS is another online Java Visualizer that helps with visualizations for object-oriented programming OOPs and complex data structures. It also allows new learners and users to practice and view their code in real time.

Pros: CodeHS has engaging exercises for both educators and trainers.

Cons: It requires programmers to pay a fee to access full resources and features.

Advantages of using Java Visualizers

Java Visualizers come with many advantages to developers. Some of them are:

  • Java Visualizers provide a visual representation of code, thus making it easier for new learners to understand the step-by-step working of the code.
  • Handling bugs is easy with some of the best Java Visualizers, as they help check the variables, object states, and method calls.
  • Java Visualizers help programmers to move between function calls smoothly.
  •  Java Visualizers help to keep track of real-time objects on the heap memory, allowing developers to observe object creation, deletion, and changes in real-time. 
  • Java Visualizers come with an easy way to identify the references to methods and variables.
  • Studying the performance becomes easier with Java Visualizers as they provide information on CPU usage, unused memory, time taken, etc. This helps programmers to improve their code.
  • Class graphs and charts are easier to view with Java Visualizers.

Disadvantages of Java Visualizers

Although Java Visualizers are an important tool for understanding code execution and handling bugs, it also has some disadvantages, such as:

  • The use of Java Visualizers can affect the performance of the application negatively.
  • Java Visualizers introduce an extra layer of complexity to the code. Adding a Java Visualizer requires an extra setup.
  • It requires more time and effort to learn a new tool. It can be a disadvantage for developers working on small projects as they have to spend extra hours studying Java Visualizers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do Java Visualizers do?

Java Visualizers are the tools that help programmers view the processing of their program code. With Java Visualizers, we can have interactive representations in the form of graphs and charts that allow developers to understand the working of their code during runtime.

What are the factors for choosing the best Java Visualizers?

While choosing the best Java Visualizers, you should consider the features of the Java Visualizers, the ease of use, user-friendliness, performance, cost and Licensing, community support, etc. You can also check out the reviews and advice from other developers.

What is the best Java Visualizer that can be used for debugging?

The best Java Visualizers for debugging code depends on the needs of the programmer. IntelliJ IDEA debugger, Eclipse debugger, Visual VM, and JProfiler are some of the widely used Java Visualizers for handling errors in Java code.

Mention some features of BlueJ VisualVM.

BlueJ VisualVM is a tool that helps developers analyze the performance of the Java application. It provides visualizations in the form of charts and graphs to understand the workflow of the program.

Conclusion 

Java Visualizers are essential tools for developers, enabling them to debug efficiently, analyze performance, and understand complex code with ease. While they offer immense benefits like real-time tracking and interactive diagrams, factors like cost, learning curve, and performance impact should be considered. By leveraging these tools effectively, programmers can streamline development and elevate their coding practices.

Keep learning! We suggest you read some of our other articles on Java: 

  1. Java interview Questions and Answers
  2. Strings in Java
  3. Convert String to Date in Java
  4. Abstract class in java
  5. Addition of two numbers in java
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