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Integrated Development Environment

4 August, 2015 - 09:58

For most programming languages, an IDE can be used. An IDE provides a variety of tools for the programmer, and usually includes:

  • an editor for writing the program that will color-code or highlight keywords from the programming language;
  • a help system that gives detailed documentation regarding the programming language;
  • a compiler/interpreter, which will allow the programmer to run the program;
  • a debugging tool, which will provide the programmer details about the execution of the program in order to resolve problems in the code; and
  • a check-in/check-out mechanism, which allows for a team of programmers to work together on a project and not write over each other’s code changes.

Probably the most popular IDE software package right now is Microsoft’s Visual Studio. Visual Studio is the IDE for all of Microsoft’s programming languages, including Visual Basic, Visual C++, and Visual C#.