Integrated development environments (IDEs)

Last time

Before we start: last time, in High-level and low-level languages, and translators, you learned these points. Here they are again on one card. Keep them in mind, because today builds on them.

A workshop for programmers

A carpenter keeps a saw, a hammer and a ruler in one toolbox. A programmer needs tools too: somewhere to write, a translator, a way to test, a way to find mistakes. An integrated development environment puts them all in one place. In this lesson we meet the seven functions Cambridge asks about.

What is an IDE?

An integrated development environment, an IDE, is software that provides tools in one place. The tools help a programmer to write, translate, test and debug programs. Using one means less switching between programs, and fewer mistakes.

Seven functions

Learn these seven. The code editor, where the code is written. The run-time environment, where it runs. The translator, a built-in compiler or interpreter. Error diagnostics. And three that help as you type: auto-completion, auto-correction and prettyprint.

Code editor and run-time environment

The code editor is where the program code is written and edited. The run-time environment lets the program run inside the IDE. The programmer sees the output straight away, and can test as they go.

The translator

An IDE has a built-in translator, so the code can be converted to machine code. It may be a compiler, an interpreter, or both. The programmer does not need a separate program to translate the code.

Error diagnostics

Error diagnostics find errors in the code, and highlight them. They also give information to help the programmer fix each one. That makes debugging much quicker than searching by eye.

Diagnostics at work

Look at this code. The loop is started with the name Count. At the end, the programmer wrote Cuont by mistake. The IDE highlights that line, and explains that the name was not declared.