Author Topic: Recommended/Best/Most Useful IDEs for Language insert language? (Read 24531 times)

fowmow · « **on:** August 03, 2007, 06:20 AM »

I tried giving this a search, but couldn't get an accurate bead on anything and thought if it hadn't been posted, would make for a great thread.

What are the best IDE(s) for Python, Perl, PHP, C, C++, C#, Java, BASIC, and any other languages that people deem fit to put here.

The requirements for posting should be:

1. List the IDE.
2. License type, if any.
3. Commercial status (freeware, open-source, et cetera).
4. Any relevant information such as a blurb about why you dig this particular IDE.

I also think advanced editors *could* be included, but *only* if they centralize on a given language.

I don't mean multipurpose editors that can highlight a thousand languages and offer shortcuts or macros to a compiler. I cannot think of even one example of this, but who knows. All I can think of are IDEs, multi-language IDEs, or ASCII editors, be they advanced text editors or no.

Oh, and if this thread has been done before, sorry. "IDE" isn't a very fruitful search.

mwb1100 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2007, 09:10 AM »

Of course, "best" is in the eye of the beholder, but here are some that top my list:

For Perl & Python, nothing I tried came even close to Komodo IDE (http://www.activestate.com). It's the only IDE for these languages that I tried that had any semblance of a modern debugger (ie., one like Visual Studio for C/++). It was able to debug my Perl scripts running in IIS with essentially no configuration on my part. Any other tool basically didn't aupport IIS debugging or required configuring the security/account that IIS ran under or other such headaches. Also it integrates very nicely into FireFox for debugging client-side Javascript. The big drawback to it is that it costs $300. I've heard good things about Eclipse for Perl, python (and pretty much any language out there), but I've never even tried it, so I can''t say. There's a free variant of Komodo (called Komodo Edit), but it doesn't have the debugger, which is what the main attraction of Komodo IDE was for me.

For C/C++ and C#, I give the nod to Visual Studio (2003 or 2005) with the Visual Assist X add-on ($150 from http://www.wholetomato.com). This thing just knows how to navigate C++ code smooth as silk, and it's probably impossible to beat the debugging (at least for Windows programming). Visual Studio costs anywhere from nothing (for the Express version) to many hundreds of dollars.

Again, I've heard good things about Eclipse, which has the very attractive price of nothing. But I've never tried it for more than a few minutes, so I can't say whether I should have saved my money on all those expensive tools (which I'm quite happy with).

So here's the list you asked for:

Perl & Python: Komodo IDE, licensed per user (multiple machine installs allowed), closed source, $300 for commercial use, $50 for a non-commercial student license.
C/C++: Visual Studio with Visual Assist X, licensed per user (multiple machine installs allowed), closed source, price varies.

jgpaiva · « **Reply #2 on:** August 04, 2007, 03:18 PM »

For Java, i recomend [http://www.eclipse.org/]eclipse[/url]. It's just the best ide i've ever used.
Freeware and cross-platform

(too bad it is java based and uses up a lot of mem

)

I'd like to know if anyone who has ever used eclipse for java could tell me if there's a similar IDE for C++/C#. (from what i can see above, it'll probably be ms's VS)

Eóin · « **Reply #3 on:** August 04, 2007, 03:55 PM »

You use Eclipse for C++ too. Though I don't do so myself, I find it just too heavy.

In fact with C++ I tend do use a very basic editor. I'm not a maschocist or anything, I love intellisense and the like. But even in MS's latest intellisense dose not work 100% of the time for C++ and I find a half working feature to be too distracting so I do without entirely. I guess with templates and such C++ is possibly too complicated.

fowmow · « **Reply #4 on:** August 06, 2007, 03:14 PM »

Good posts so far. I'm surprised I'm not seeing a larger sampling though.

iphigenie · « **Reply #5 on:** August 07, 2007, 08:55 AM »

I never had much luck with eclipse on windows

It's not really an IDE but I really like visual slickedit. It's quite pricey so I am a few versions behind as I can't justify the upgrade price for what I am doing at the moment. It works well even for perl/php knowing enough of the syntax that it can analyse your entire project and give you definitions/hints on your own classes and methods. Many editors do this for C/Java but few bother to do the same for perl/php/python (unless dedicated to one language)

f0dder · « **Reply #6 on:** August 07, 2007, 09:37 AM »

Imho SlickEdit is way overpriced, especially since it falls somewhere inbetween "just a texteditor" and an IDE. Considering that Microsoft's Express Editions of Visual Studio are available for free, well... $:-\$

But okay, multiple language support for intellisense might come in handy.

wraith808 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 07, 2007, 01:17 PM »

I used to think that SlickEdit was overpriced too. But then I really got into it and started using it. And the time it saves for me as a contractor more than justifies the price.

Ehtyar · « **Reply #8 on:** August 07, 2007, 06:22 PM »

Notepad++.

Ehtyar.

OGroeger · « **Reply #9 on:** August 07, 2007, 11:56 PM »

For Perl & Python, nothing I tried came even close to Komodo IDE (http://www.activestate.com). It's the only IDE for these languages that I tried that had any semblance of a modern debugger (ie., one like Visual Studio for C/++). It was able to debug my Perl scripts running in IIS with essentially no configuration on my part. Any other tool basically didn't aupport IIS debugging or required configuring the security/account that IIS ran under or other such headaches. Also it integrates very nicely into FireFox for debugging client-side Javascript. The big drawback to it is that it costs $300. I've heard good things about Eclipse for Perl, python (and pretty much any language out there), but I've never even tried it, so I can''t say. There's a free variant of Komodo (called Komodo Edit), but it doesn't have the debugger, which is what the main attraction of Komodo IDE was for me.

-mwb1100 (August 03, 2007, 09:10 AM)

I tried the 30 days download of Komodo because i looked for an IDE for Python and PHP. What i didn't manage is the autocompletion of my own classes. I imported the source of MoinMoin (http://moinmoin.wikiwikiweb.de/) as test, but the autocompletion for these imported classes didn't work. Only for the builtin set. As far as i understood one has to export the files somehow as autocompletion file and import this file once more?! $:-\$

300$ sounds expensive on the first look, but i think that a good piece of software can be worth the price.

iphigenie · « **Reply #10 on:** August 08, 2007, 02:32 AM »

I used to think that SlickEdit was overpriced too. But then I really got into it and started using it. And the time it saves for me as a contractor more than justifies the price.
-wraith808 (August 07, 2007, 01:17 PM)

I would agree - slickedit is an extremely well thought out programmers editor, which has been worked on and refined for over 10 years now.

A lot of commercial software is "overpriced" if you don't need to use them. For example I think Photoshop is overpriced, because there are many tools that can do at least 80% of what photoshop can do and sometimes even better. But if you are a pro and know the tool then the speed and ease at which you can do the work is well worth the price.

I just don't code as much nowadays so I cant quite justify shelling for slickedit privately. Neither can I justify asking the company to buy it for me. Ah well.

Okke · « **Reply #11 on:** October 02, 2007, 05:28 PM »

In case of java the best imho is IntelliJ IDEA. It might be commercial but it saves me so many headaches.
I've tried Eclipse and keep trying it with every new release but I end up going back usually within 30min.

Eclipse has loads of features, mostly because of all the plugins. Which is both a good and bad thing.
It's a pain to find all the right plugins. I'd rather have everything I need or 99% of it available right away.

The thing is, featurewise Eclipse probably surpasses IDEA. Most people compare IDEA and Eclipse and say,
Eclipse can do that too and more. In practice you hardly need most of the extra features. IDEA rocks in
the usability department. It's hard to describe but IDEA never gets in my way, it only asks me stuff when it really
really has to and then lets me move on where I was in the first place. Eclipse on the other hand annoys the heck
out of me. It seems everything takes too many keystrokes and is placed just a menu too far away. Especially the
implementation of "quick fix" in Eclipse is imo terrible. An example comparing the quick fix in IDEA/Eclipse:

Type "Hashtable somen_"
You want to import Hashtable? Well, in Eclipse you have to move the cursor back to Hashtable which interrupts your workflow.
In IDEA you press alt+space and keep on typing. IDEA also automatically removes unused imports which in Eclipse it takes another
quick fix keystroke.

It's all the little things in IDEA that are amazing. I don't need all the fancy features that I'll never use. I rather save hundreds of
keystrokes each day. Eclipse just gets in my way. It forces me to work a certain way and always distracts me from what I'm doing
and that's coding. IDEA on the other hand takes care of most of the annoying work and lets me focus on the important stuff.

Of course it's a very personal opinion. Eclipse is a great editor and you can get all the work done. It's just not for me

urlwolf · « **Reply #12 on:** October 03, 2007, 05:48 AM »

Lashiec · « **Reply #13 on:** October 03, 2007, 09:08 PM »

vim
-urlwolf (October 03, 2007, 05:48 AM)

NO

tinjaw · « **Reply #14 on:** October 04, 2007, 08:26 AM »

vim
-urlwolf (October 03, 2007, 05:48 AM)

NO
-Lashiec (October 03, 2007, 09:08 PM)

Gesundheit!

Renegade · « **Reply #15 on:** October 05, 2007, 07:43 PM »

All for C#:

Have a look at BlackSun for Eclipse for C#.

There's also Improve C# Plugin for Eclipse.

Also, XDevelop is another option.

I'm currently trying out those 2/4 (depending on how you count - 2 are plugins for Ecplise) above and Mono Develop - all for C#.

So far nothing even comes close to Visual Studio. However, I'm going to give them a fair shake. XDevelop is first because I've only got a 30 day trial for it and need to get as much done in the limited time that I have with it.

Mono Develop is now at v1.0 beta 1 (0.16). I was trying out v0.12 and v0.15 and both were rather unstable. I won't be getting back to 0.16 for a bit as I'll be focusing on XDevelop for a while (probably until I get bored of it or frustrated - and most likely frustrated).

The jury is still out on all of the above as I've just started to get into it with my shiny new Suse box. I'll most likely do a review of them for the .NET Preacher Show once I'm more comfortable with them (or gotten frustrated with them). We'll see...

Ehtyar · « **Reply #16 on:** October 05, 2007, 08:11 PM »

For a freeware C# IDE, you can't go past SharpDevelop.

Ehtyar.

Renegade · « **Reply #17 on:** October 06, 2007, 06:44 PM »

For a freeware C# IDE, you can't go past SharpDevelop.
-Ehtyar (October 05, 2007, 08:11 PM)

+1 for SharpDevelop - It's EXTREMELY well done!

urlwolf · « **Reply #18 on:** October 27, 2007, 05:58 PM »

anything for actionscript? I find the flash IDE to be horrible...

tinjaw · « **Reply #19 on:** October 27, 2007, 07:08 PM »

anything for actionscript? I find the flash IDE to be horrible...
-urlwolf (October 27, 2007, 05:58 PM)

I have not personally used it, but other have recommended the open source FlashDevelop.

Armando · « **Reply #20 on:** November 27, 2008, 10:56 PM »

Sorry for reviving this old thread.

I want to start experimenting with another Java IDE... (Currently using BlueJ -- university requirement).

For fun, of course, but also because I want to see what tools are already available (before I start reinventing the wheel for myself).

So... jgpaiva (or whoever feels like commenting)... Do you still recommend Eclipse ? (IntelliJ sounds nice... I could probably get the 99$ student license -- but just for starting... it might not be worth it.)

fenixproductions · « **Reply #21 on:** November 28, 2008, 04:34 AM »

Just quick question from me (as I am not coding for living):

why nobody mentions NetBeans?

I've dealt with Eclipse many times in the past and even currently working with Aptana and the only thing which annoys me the most is the speed. Whatever you have to do with this IDE it takes to much time. I understand that I don't have new PC but anything beats Eclipse in this field. It was really surprising for me to see NB at work and how more responsive it is.

End of my

f0dder · « **Reply #22 on:** November 28, 2008, 04:50 AM »

Hm, on my system NetBeans seems about as heavy as eclipse - and it loads a bit slower, and takes up more RAM. I also kinda prefer Eclipse's GUI, it has a lot of nice defaults that saves a bit of manual work. I only spent around 15 minutes with NetBeans, seemed like a less polished product than Eclipse.

mahesh2k · « **Reply #23 on:** November 28, 2008, 07:54 AM »

For Java : Eclipse,Netbeans, Jcreator, Jedit, Gel,
For C++ : DevC++, TurboExplorer, Netbeans for C++
Python : Pype, Pyedit
Flex : Flex Builder , Any text editor will do

Armando · « **Reply #24 on:** November 28, 2008, 09:42 PM »

I've downloaded Eclipse Classic 3.4.1 (151 MB). Will start playing with it tomorrow.

Author Topic: Recommended/Best/Most Useful IDEs for Language *insert language*? (Read 24531 times)

Author Topic: Recommended/Best/Most Useful IDEs for Language insert language? (Read 24531 times)