1 The Components of an IDE

What’s the minimum that we expect in an IDE?

• editor

• build support

  • maybe no more than compiler & linkerinvocation
  • with error messages captured/interpreted/walked by editor
• run/execute programs
• debugger

The Components of an IDE (optional)

What would we like to see in an IDE?

• syntax highlighting & aid in editor

  • Do we need to wait until we actually run the compiler to be notified of simple mistakes?

• documentation (API) look-up
  • e.g., I know this variable m is a pointer to a std::map<int,string>, so what can I write after “m->”?
• flexible/configurable build support
  • What if our project uses multiple programming languages?
  • What if we have a program that generates part of the source code and so needs to be run before we start compiling?

• packaging/deployment options

  • preparing zip, jar, and war archives
  • packaging code as a static or dynamic library
  • posting compiled code to an online repository

The Components of an IDE (deluxe)

What makes us positively giddy when we see it in an IDE?

• smart feedback in the editor
  • learns API of code we wrote
    • e.g., I know this variable p is a pointer to a MyOwnADT, so what can I write after “p->”?
  • suggestions
• coding aids in editor
  • templates
  • common refactoring (transformations)
• documentation generation
• test integration
• integration with version control

2 IDE Examples

2.1 emacs

The *nix swiss army knife of editors, emacs has long functioned as a basic IDE:

• syntax-highlighting editor
• build support (invokes *nix make)
  • parses error messages from compilers & other tools
• debugger interface
• works directly with many version control systems

2.1.1 emacs Strengths and Weaknesses

• highly portable
• supports virtually any language you would have a compiler for
• even in windowed mode, leans toward keyboard rather than mouse
  • (Not sure if that’s a pro or a con – personally I hate having to lift my hand from the keyboard to reach for my mouse every few seconds. YMMV.)
• outdated interface

• high learning curve

2.2 Microsoft Visual

Visual Studio

• syntax-highlighting editor
  • background compilation provides quick feedback on simple errors
• built-in build manager
  • limited configurability
• debugger interface
• some designer tools (e.g., design classes in UML)

2.2.1 Visual Strengths and Weaknesses

• wide variety of languages (but Microsoft processors)
• single-OS
• closely integrated with Microsoft compilers
• modern, mouse-oriented interface

2.3 NetBeans

Free IDE originally distributed by Sun as “the” development platform for Java.

• Still largely Java centric, though some support for other languages
  • particularly web-related languages like Javascript, CSS, XSL
• Portable (written in Java)
• Tends to track the trends and hot topics in the Java world promptly
• editor, build manager, debugger
• moderately extensible

2.4 Single-Language IDEs

The open source community has produced numerous single-language IDEs.

Many are focused on educational use.

Examples:

C++

Bloodshed Dev-C++, Code::Blocks

Java

BlueJ, Dr. Java, jGrasp

3 Eclipse

Probably the hottest IDE in the open source world:

• syntax-highlighting editor, multi-language support
  • strong hinting based on both standard and user-written APIs, interface aid
  • templates and refactoring
• build support
  • easily configured or switched to other build tools
• background compilation for quick detection of language errors
• integrated *unit testing support
• solid debugger, intuitive handling of threads
• some packaging & deployment support
• integrates with most version control systems
• modular plug-in extensibility with a rich variety available

3.1 Availability