AquaQuokka

IDEs vs Code Editors

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AquaQuokka
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2 min read

Ok, so you've fired up your favourite text editor Notepad, and you think:

"GOOD LORD, HOW DO PEOPLE LOOK AT THIS FOR HOURS?!"

It's quite simple really. They don't.

Most professional (and intermediate) developers use IDEs or Code Editors.

So, in this article I will go through a list of some of the differences between IDEs and Code Editors, so you can decide what works best for you!

IDEs

IDEs (Integrated Developer Environments) are a special type of text editor made for advanced developers. They often include many features for ease of development, most of which will not be used by beginners.

Common Features in IDEs

  1. Syntax Checking and Highlighting

  2. Code Previews (HTML/CSS)

  3. Run programs from the IDE

  4. Wide range of plugins and extensions

  5. Built-in interpreter/compiler

  6. Easy code refactoring

  7. Advanced warning and error system

  8. Error fixing suggestions

  9. Autocomplete

  10. Text prediction

  11. Features are often pre-installed

  12. Built-in package manager

  13. Data caching

Code Editors

Code Editors are text editors made specifically for editing code. They are beginner-friendly and are often much more lightweight than IDEs.

Common Features in Code Editors

  1. Syntax Highlighting

  2. Run programs from an integrated terminal

  3. Wide range of plugins and extensions

  4. Simple warning and error system

  5. Text suggestions

Differences between IDEs and Code Editors

  • IDEs can usually edit and run code, while Code Editors usually can only edit code.

  • IDEs are usually a little resource-intensive while Code Editors are usually lightweight.

  • IDEs usually are much more configurable than Code Editors.

What should I use?

The type of software you should use for coding/programming/development highly depends on what you need. It's up to you to decide what to use.

Popular IDEs

  1. JetBrains IDEs (I use JetBrains' IDE PyCharm for coding in Python.)

  2. Visual Studio (I use this for making Windows apps.)

  3. NetBeans

  4. Android Studio

  5. Xcode

  6. IDLE

  7. BlueJ

  8. Eclipse

  9. Komodo

Popular Code Editors

  1. Visual Studio Code (This is probably one of the editors I use the most!)

  2. Sublime Text (You do have to pay for this one.)

  3. Atom

  4. Notepad++

  5. Vim (Should not be used by beginners.)

  6. Emacs

  7. Neovim (Fork of Vim.)

  8. Spacemacs (Fork of Emacs.)

These suggestions are not ordered.

If I made any mistakes, let me know!