could anyone suggest an editor (or IDE)to
write java code and compile and debug java programs.

i have used vi for a very short time, for c programming, it is fast. i tried to use it for java, the editing part was fine. but when it came to running the code, i got stuck with it. i don't want to open another terminal and then compile.
would emacs be a better choice?

sometimes i just want to write a single class and test run it. i don't want to generate a lot of project settings files (like the IDEs do).

what about emacs? i have heard of it but never used it.

many thanks.

You can compile from vi or vi clones just like you can do it with C.

I've heard good things about JEdit over the years:
http://www.jedit.org/

If you wanted a full-fledged IDE, the two most popular Open Source alternatives are:

Eclipse:
http://www.eclipse.org

NetBeans:
http://www.netbeans.org

if you just want to compile real quick without having a second terminal or exiting vi all you gotta do is write a script that will compile and execute you java projects, kinda like a make file, i wrote a tiny script if you want, actually two, "short" is supposed to just compile all the java files under the directory, it will not run the main file; "run" is the file that compiles all java files, makes a jar file (executable with a double click), executes program, and removes all temp files and class files (clean up). here they are:

short:
======
clear
javac -Xlint:all -g *.java


run:
====
clear
javac -g -Xlint:all -g *.java
jar -cvf jarfile.jar *.class *.jpg
echo Main-Class: Driver> manifest.mf
echo Sealed: true>> manifest.mf
jar -uvmf manifest.mf jarfile.jar
java -jar jarfile.jar
rm *.class

to execute from vi, just enter command mode with escape and then type ":!run" or ":!short", you'll see your files compile and after execution of the script file, you'll be asked to press enter.

one last thing, i suggest you copy these 2 files to all your projects, and have each project in a different directory because, the script is going to look for the main file which i always name Driver.java, if you want to name your main class something else, then just change it in the run script: on the line that says Main-Class, just change "Driver" with the name of your main file without the .java extension

peace out

You can also use real Makefiles or better, ant files.

Another IDE is BlueJ.