IDEs

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Introduction

What

Professional software engineers often write code using Integrated Development Environments (IDEs). IDEs support most development-related work within the same tool (hence, the term integrated).

An IDE generally consists of:

  • A source code editor that includes features such as syntax coloring, auto-completion, easy code navigation, error highlighting, and code-snippet generation.
  • A compiler and/or an interpreter (together with other build automation support) that facilitates the compilation, linking, running, and deployment of a program.
  • A debugger that allows the developer to execute the program one step at a time to observe the run-time behavior in order to locate bugs.
  • Other tools that aid various aspects of coding, e.g., support for automated testing, drag-and-drop construction of UI components, version management support, simulation of the target runtime platform, modeling support, AI-assisted coding help, and collaborative coding with others.

Examples of popular IDEs:

  • Java: Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, NetBeans
  • C#, C++: Visual Studio
  • Swift: Xcode
  • Python: PyCharm
  • Multiple languages: VS Code

Some experienced developers, in particular those with a UNIX background, prefer lightweight yet powerful text editors with scripting capabilities (e.g., Vim or NeoVim) over heavier IDEs.