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- The NetBeans source code is found at http://hg.netbeans.org/main.
- NetBeans is modular. Each module consists of Java packages, containing Java source files and related artifacts, as well as metadata for when/how the module is installed/activated/etc.
- Modules are organized in "clusters". Each cluster contains modules that relate to each other, e.g., all the modules providing features for working with Java are in the "java" cluster.
- Clusters are combined to create download bundles, e.g., for NetBeans IDE: http://netbeans.org/downloads.
- When a download bundle is installed, each cluster provides a folder on disk, e.g., for NetBeans IDE:
Note: Only the "platform" cluster is mandatory to all the download bundles of NetBeans IDE, as well as for all other applications created on top of the "platform" cluster. The other clusters are optional.
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