Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)

• IDEs, or Integrated Development Environments, provide tools and features to aid programmers.
• Common IDEs include Visual Studio (for C#, VB), Eclipse (for Java), and IDLE (for Python).

Code Editors

• IDE editors offer additional features beyond basic text editors.
• Examples of these features include line numbers and syntax highlighting.
• Prettyprint improves code readability.
• Auto-completion and auto-correction help speed up coding and fix minor errors.

Line Numbers

• Line numbers allow programmers to easily reference specific lines of code.
• Error messages often include line numbers to pinpoint the location of an error.
• Code folding enables programmers to hide sections of code, improving readability.

Syntax Highlighting

• Syntax highlighting uses color to differentiate parts of a program.
• Different colors can represent booleans (true, false), keywords (while, not, if, else), and type conversions (str, int).
• Strings use a unique color, and all operators, variables, and function names use another dedicated color.

Prettyprint

• Prettyprint automatically applies indentation and formatting to code.
• Consistent formatting makes the code easier for other programmers to read and debug.
• Prettyprint also aids in identifying errors like missing braces.

Error Diagnostics

• Error diagnostics help programmers find mistakes in their code.
• IDEs identify errors with corresponding line numbers.
• The code may be underlined or highlighted to show errors.

Debugging Code

• Breakpoints, set by the programmer, pause execution mid-way to analyze the code.
• Stepping through code line by line is a useful tool for checking logic.
• Variables can be monitored which makes it easier to detect bugs.

Variables

• During debugging, the values of variables can be examined at breakpoints.
• The variable ageGuessed can have a value of false in the example.
• The oldestAge variable is given the value of 120 in the example.
• The youngestAge variable can have a value of 0 in some contexts.
• The calculated currentGuess can have a value such as 60.
• The correct variable can be assigned a value of null if it has not yet been assigned.
• The args represent an argument sent to the program when it is called.

Run-Time Environment

• Allows programmers to test programs while running.
• Provides information and useful message in case of program crashes.
• Ensures libraries are accessible.

Translators

• Translators are necessary to run and test code.
• Translators might compile or interpret code - running it line by line.
• Compiling will compile the code in a temporary folder and then run the code.

Auto-Completion and Correction

• Auto-completion suggests variable names and keywords while the programmer is typing.
• Programmers may be able to increase the speed at which they write the program.
• This may also automatically add tabs, brackets, and braces to the code.
• Auto-correction identifies and fixes syntax errors.
• Some programmers may not prefer these tools, which could add errors to the code.