Recommend a general purpose IDE

[Gwen7]

i keep getting dragged into more and more coding projects where I work.

i'm proficient in python, and can do basic C++ and hold my own in most projects where PHP is involved.

up until now i've used whatever editor/IDE came with the package i was using. but now that it looks like i'm going to be doing more of this than i want to i'm in the market for a more general purpose tool.

what i'd like is something that can handle c++, php, python, and probably java with equal aplomb. I don't need extensive project management or version control features since most of what i get asked to do are simple ~ 100-line sysop utility programs and add-ons. folding is important to me because i often work on a small screen laptop. and multiplatform would be a major plus since i work on BSD and Windows workstations. having the same tool on both environments would simplify my life greatly.

i tried Eclipse but didn't really care for it. it seems to make everything more complicated than it needs to be. i'm not stupid. and i'm always willing to put the time into learning something useful. but using Eclipse almost feels like a job in itself. 

some people recommended i try NetBeans, which i haven't yet.

does anyone have some favorite ide they'd like to suggest? 

[jpprater]

Notepad++.  I use it for almost all my coding.   

[steeladept]

Doh, someone beat me to it.  For every one of your requirements, especially the multiplatform, and the fact that they are small programs, Notepad++ is the way to go!  I don't really program much, but when I do I use TextPad because that is what we have at work.  It's clip library is a great feature as well that really makes it worth using if you are only on Windows.

When I do similar things at home, I found Notepad++ almost as easy to use and it is free (and portable).  Many of it's features are actually slightly nicer in my opinion to TextPad, but I haven't found a clip-library type of feature that is comparable.  I miss this greatly when I use Notepad++ as it speeds development significantly.  I suppose I could create something similar on a different tab, but it still isn't the same.  If the clip-library isn't a big deal to you, then I would say TextPad isn't the tool you are looking for.

As for Netbeans, I used it in the past, so I though I am talking about it, it may have expanded significantly since I used it last.  That said, my experience with Netbeans is it is great if you are making Java specific GUI's.  Otherwise it is just another Java platform that works well, but not exceptional.  It definitely does not (well did not) do all required languages easily or treat them equally well.  Moreover, it is (was) rather bloated as IDE's go.  In general, Notepad++ (and other similar apps) are over glorified Text Editors that have some of the most common IDE features to extend their capabilities.  Netbeans, Eclipse, et. al. are more full featured and purpose specific; but do not really add much for the small programs and/or languages you talk about.  In fact, even in school, I took a Java course where the instructor specifically suggested TextPad or Notepad++ because we would not use the features of Netbeans until the last week of school and they were far more difficult to setup and use.  The only feature we used during that last week of school was the GUI creation, because you can put it together visually, then code the functions of each section later.  That was all we used Netbeans for.  TextPad/Notepad++ was used for everything else in the curriculum.

[40hz]

I don't consider myself a coder* so take this for what it's worth, but I use Notepad++ for doing work very similar to what you're describing. Between the core app and some of the available plug-ins, I haven't run into any limitations.

I just recently started learning C++. The book I'm using spoke well of a cross-platform IDE called Code::Blocks. From my admittedly limited perspective, it's a very nice devtool. But I don't think it supports very much beyond C++.

[attachthumb=#]

Link: http://www.codeblocks.org/home

The open source, cross platform, free C++ IDE.

Code::Blocks is a free C++ IDE built to meet the most demanding needs of its users. It is designed to be very extensible and fully configurable.

Finally, an IDE with all the features you need, having a consistent look, feel and operation across platforms.

Built around a plugin framework, Code::Blocks can be extended with plugins. Any kind of functionality can be added by installing/coding a plugin. For instance, compiling and debugging functionality is already provided by plugins!

We hope you enjoy using Code::Blocks!

The Code::Blocks Team

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* Now that I think about it - nobody else does either! 

[daddydave]

I also don't consider myself a coder, but a lifelong coder wannabe. I don't really have a clue what the answer would be, but I noticed a few things.

up until now i've used whatever editor/IDE came with the package i was using. but now that it looks like i'm going to be doing more of this than i want to i'm in the market for a more general purpose tool.

First of all, by "in the market" do you mean you or your company is willing to pay money? (can't help you there, I haven't even looked at payware)

what i'd like is something that can handle c++, php, python, and probably java with equal aplomb.

So you have ruled out getting the best IDE for each individual language -- so noted. And you have ruled out having the most common language-specific application frameworks, libraries, templates, function calltips, and external tools already set up for you so you can get coding right away -- so noted.

I think C++ in particular benefits from the IDE developer's awareness of needs specific to that language. I wonder if you would consider shooting for one IDE for C++ and one for everything else.

folding is important to me because i often work on a small screen laptop

Fortunately, thanks to the Scintilla component, there's no shortage of code folding freeware editors these days.

. and multiplatform would be a major plus since i work on BSD and Windows workstations. having the same tool on both environments would simplify my life greatly.

Notepad++, which was mentioned twice (and I use it myself), is Windows only, although I've seen screenshots of it running under WINE. Consider SciTE, the editor by the author of the Scintilla component; it is multiplatform, one downside (to me) is that to configure the tiniest thing, you have to dig into the properties files and search the help to find out what each setting means. However SciTE is the only freeware editor I know that supports function calltips, and the only reason I know this is that SciTE4AutoIT3 set this up for me in the realm of AutoIT3 scripting.

[attachimg=#]

It's even able to suggest variables I created whenever I type "$" (AutoIt variables start with a dollar sign.) So my only suggestion is to give SciTE a spin and see if it is to your liking.

[Stoic Joker]

folding is important to me because i often work on a small screen laptop

Fortunately, thanks to the Scintilla component, there's no shortage of code folding freeware editors these days.

Now that's interesting (thinking of an old project that may be dustoff-able).

[tinjaw]

Cross-platform general purpose (GUI - to me, that is what is implied by) IDE? Eclipse and NetBeans is about all there is.

Otherwise there is emacs and vi(m) of course. These are editors only to those who don't know how to use them. IDEs to those who do.

[f0dder]

Otherwise there is emacs and vi(m) of course. These are editors only to those who don't know how to use them. IDEs to those who do.

Editors on speed & steroids, yes - IDEs, no. Emacs probably does come close, and I know you can integrate CTAGS with VIM... but full-blown debugging, project building (built-in, not depending on makefiles), refactoring, proper codebase browsing, proper (project-wide) intellisense, ...?