Coding Environments

A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.

Good for simple programs when debugging is not necessary.

May or may not offer syntax highlighting.

Examples:

• Notepad
• Notepad++
• TextEdit
• nano
• vi / vim
• emacs
• gedit
• Sublime Text
• Atom

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application used to develop software.

More complex than a text editor.

Examples:

• VS Code
• Visual Studio
• Eclipse
• NetBeans
• IntelliJ IDEA
• PyCharm
• Xcode
• Android Studio

Features

The following features are common in IDEs. Some text editors may also offer these features.

Syntax Highlighting

Syntax highlighting displays code in different colors and fonts according to the category of terms.

Makes the code much easier to read.

Auto-Formatting

Auto-formatting automatically indents and formats code.

Code Completion

Code completion automatically suggests code as you type.

Debugging

Debugging is the process of finding and resolving defects or problems within the program.

A debugger is a computer program that is used to test and debug other programs. IDEs usually include a debugger.

• Step through code
• Set breakpoints
• Inspect variables
• Watch expressions

Version Control Integration

Version control is a system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later.

Git is a popular version control system.