Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

What Is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE)?

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software set that solidifies the basic tools needed to write and test software.

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides software and app developers with a comprehensive solution for software development. Generally, an IDE includes both a code editor and a debugger, as well as automation tools that help to streamline and simplify the build process.

Developers employ various tools throughout software code creation; creating, and testing.  Development tools usually include text compilers, code libraries, editors, and test platforms. Without an IDE, a developer must choose, use, integrate, and manage all of these tools individually. An IDE draws many of those development-related tools collectively as a single framework, application, or service. The integrated toolset can recognize and minimize coding mistakes and typos. In short, it is composed to simplify software development.

Understanding the Integrated Development Environment

While some software developers work directly within a text editor using nothing more than a command prompt window to create software, many prefer a more comprehensive solution. Enter the integrated development environment or IDE. Essentially, this is software that helps people make more software. There are numerous IDE options out there, and they do not necessarily all work in the same way.

Software developers must choose the integrated development environment they use based on a number of different factors, including the languages that the IDE offers or can handle, the operating system on which it runs, the cost of the IDE overall, and more.

Common features of integrated development environments

An IDE includes peculiarities such as programmable editors, object and data modeling, a source code library, unit testing, and automation tools.

Through an IDE's interface, a team of developers can collect and produce code incrementally and handle changes to source code in a consistent manner. A developer operating with an IDE begins with a model, which the IDE then interprets into a suitable system. The IDE then debugs and examines the model-driven code, with a high level of automation. Once the build is successful and adequately tested, it can be deployed for additional testing through the IDE or other tools outside of the IDE.

How Does an Integrated Development Environment Work?

An integrated development environment can contain a number of different tools that help developers streamline the design and creation process of software and apps. The most common components on offer generally include a code editor, as well as a compiler or interpreter. A debugger is usually included.

IDEs work in different ways, depending on the development environment in question. However, they do share many commonalities. For instance, the design of an integrated development environment is reminiscent of a word processing program, with a robust toolbar available to developers, usually found at the top of the screen, similar to the toolbar in Word.

The tools available within an integrated development environment can vary greatly from one IDE to another. However, you will generally find options that allow the developer to color code, to format source code, to diagnose errors and create reports. Usually, there is also a function that allows the developer to test code incrementally, or in modules to ensure that errors are caught and fixed before the software is deployed. Many IDEs can also integrate with version control libraries developed and maintained by third parties.

While some integrated development environments are still standalone programs that must be installed directly on a machine or server, some have gone the software as a service (SaaS) route. Cloud-based IDEs offer a number of benefits to developers, including access from anywhere in the world, as well as access from multiple devices, rather than a single machine.

Some of the most popular IDEs on the market today include the following:

  • VisualStudio
  • IntelliJ
  • NetBeans
  • Eclipse
  • Windows PowerShell
  • Komodo
  • Aptana
  • Blackadder
  • Geany

There are also web-based integrated development environments out there. These include options such as CodeRun and ShiftEdit.

Benefits of using IDEs

The overall purpose and primary advantage of an integrated development environment are to improve developer productivity. IDEs increase productivity by decreasing setup time, doubling the speed of development tasks, keeping developers up to date, and regulating the development process.

  • Faster setup: Without an IDE interface, developers would require to configure time-consuming multiple development tools. With the application integration of an IDE, developers have an identical set of capabilities in one place, without the necessity for continually switching tools.
  • Faster development tasks: More established integration of all development tasks advances the developer's productivity. For instance, code can be parsed, and syntax corrected while editing. It provides immediate feedback when syntax errors are introduced. So, developers are not required to switch between applications for performing tasks. Besides, the IDE's tools and features help developers create resources, anticipate mistakes, and take shortcuts.

Conclusion

Using an integrated development environment allows software developers to streamline the coding process, ensure accurate testing at all steps, and also helps to shorten the development time while assuring the highest quality product.