programming-for-dummies

Writing a Program with an Editor 95
Standalone
A standalone editor is nothing more than a separate program that you run
when you want to edit your program. You run the compiler separately.
If you regularly write programs in different programming languages, you
might want to use a standalone editor. That way you can get familiar with all
the features of a single editor.
You can buy standalone editors, but here are two popular free ones. Both of
these editors run on multiple operating systems (such as Windows and Linux):
Book I
Chapter 4
Programming Tools
✦ GNU Emacs (www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html)
✦ VIM (www.vim.org)
The sidebar, “Common editor features,” lists features you find in most editors,
including standalone editors.
Integrated development environment (IDE)
An integrated development environment (IDE) combines an editor with a compiler
in a single program so you can easily edit a program and compile it right
away. An IDE gives you access to these features within a consistent user interface,
as shown in Figure 4-4.
If you mostly write programs in a single programming language, using an IDE
can be more convenient than a standalone editor.
Menu to compiler
Menu to debugger
Figure 4-4:
An IDE
provides
access to
multiple
programming
tools
within a
single user
interface.