Integrated development environment
An integrated development environment (IDE) is the software application people typically think of when they think of writing computer programs. An IDE provides a programmer with tools to help write code like an editor, a build automator, and a debugger. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was common for a programming language to be sold with a fully integrated IDE, however, most modern programming languages now have a clear distinction between the compiler and IDE. The change came when companies began making IDEs that worked on multiple programming languages and developers appreciated being able to use the same interface for multiple languages, but this required both the compilers and IDEs to be written more generically. It was this shift that allowed the developers of the IDEs to focus on their IDE and the developers of the language to focus on the language which results in each being more impressive. Some of the more popular IDEs include Eclipse, the JetBrains IDEs, KDevelop, NetBeans, and Visual Studio.
Personal
The first few languages I learned all came with dedicated IDEs, so I just assumed they were one in the same. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I started working with languages that just came with a command-line compiler and told the developers to figure everything out for themselves did I realize how spoiled I had been. This also greatly colored my understanding of programming to the point where, no matter how elegant or powerful a language may be, if it doesn't have a fantastic IDE, I don't view it as worthy of using. This is no doubt why I was so turned off by Java and Python when I first used them.
Software
The following IDEs are important to me:
- FBIde
- GW-BASIC
- PhpStorm
- QuickBASIC
- Visual Basic
- Visual FoxPro
- Visual Studio
- Visual Studio Code
- WinFBE Suite
- ZeroBrane Studio
Links
