A programming environment or integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of a source code editor, build automation tools, and a debugger. Most of the modern IDEs have intelligent code completion. An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software suite that consolidates basic tools required to write and test software.
Developers use numerous tools throughout software code creation, building and testing. Development tools often include text editors, code libraries, compilers and test platforms. Without an IDE, a developer must select, deploy, integrate and manage all of these tools separately. An IDE brings many of those development-related tools together as a single framework, application or service. The integrated toolset is designed to simplify software development and can identify and minimize coding mistakes and typos. Some IDEs are open source, while others are commercial offerings. An IDE can be a standalone application or it can be part of a larger package.
Common Features of Integrated Development Environments
An IDE typically contains a code editor, a compiler or interpreter, and a debugger accessed through a single graphical user interface (GUI). The user writes and edits source code in the code editor. The compiler translates the source code into a readable language that is executable for a computer. And the debugger tests the software to solve any issues or bugs. An IDE can also contain features such as programmable editors, object and data modeling, unit testing, a source code library, and build automation tools.
An IDE's toolbar looks much like a word processor's toolbar. The toolbar facilitates color-based organization, source-code formatting, error diagnostics and reporting, and intelligent code completion. Through an IDE's interface, a developer or team of developers can compile and execute code incrementally and manage changes to source code in a uniform manner. IDEs are typically designed to integrate with third-party version control libraries, such as GitHub and Apache's Subversion.
An IDE can support model-driven development (MDD). A developer working with an IDE starts with a model, which the IDE translates into suitable code. The IDE then debugs and tests the model-driven code, with a high level of automation. Once the build is successful and properly tested, it can be deployed for further testing through the IDE or other tools outside of the IDE.
An IDE can improve the productivity of software developers to fast setup and standardization across tools.
Without an IDE, developers spend time deciding what tools to use for various tasks, configuring the tools and learning how to use them. Many or even all of the necessary dev-test tools are included in one integrated development environment.
IDEs are also designed with all their tools under one user interface. An IDE can standardize the development process by organizing the necessary features for software development in the UI.
Web-based
Language-specific
Multi-language
• Tools and compilation stages are hidden
• Automatic source-code dependency checking
• Debugging made simpler
• Editor with search facilities