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Am i missing out if I dont use an IDE? (self.programming)

submitted 1 year ago by Ministar to c/[email protected]

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So, I have been mostly self thaught programmer (C++), as its a big part of my job (not a regular developer). But so far I have been using a simple text editor like Geany to code and I compile stuff either in terminal (linux) or produce my own make file.

I am starting to wonder if I should switch to a full IDE, as I am on linux, I was thinking of trying KDevelop. But I am simply not sure if its worth, do I even need it?

I have never used an IDE, it seems kind of complicated for the start with "projects" and I havent really found any good introductions to how this workflow is supposed to work.

Do you think using and IDE is something everyone should use? Or do you think a text editor with producing your own make files should be enough?

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (13 children)

For my money: yes, you should use an IDE or something like one, but not because you're "missing out" - rather, because a plain text editor will limit your progress.

There are (still!) people around who think it's some sort of badge of honour to only use text editors, but in reality, this means they miss the syntax errors and typoes that we all make because we are human, and end up wasting hours looking for them when an IDE would let them see them.

You wouldn't turn up at a cookery school saying "I'm still a beginner, so I'm only going to use this pair of scissors" - specialised knives and utensils are part of the chef's toolkit, and becoming a better chef is just as much about learning to use them effectively as it is about memorising recipes. It's the same with programming.

[–] green_pyroxene 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

for statically-typed languages, i agree that having powerful static analysis tools can help a lot, but why would you need an IDE just to catch "syntax errors and typos"? any editor with decent syntax highlighting would work for that, right?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

why would you need an IDE just to catch “syntax errors and typos”?

an IDE or something like one

😉

...anyway, there's more to it than syntax and typoes, naturally. They're just an example.

[–] green_pyroxene 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

my point was that OP was opposing Geany, a text editor with syntax highlighting, to "real" IDEs with more features. clearly, it's those additional features that they're wondering the merit of. (personally, i don't think it's as limiting as you're claiming, but it's pretty subjective.)

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