Re: C Integrated Development Environment
On Thu, Jan 31, 2002 at 01:35:38AM -0500, Scott Henson wrote:
| Im setting up a machine for a friend and he needs an IDE for developing
| C and C++. Anyone have a recomendation on a good one he could use.
I recommend Debian for the IDE!!
What do I mean by that? Well, here is a major difference between MS
Windows and UNIX (others have contributed to this conclusion as well) :
An install of MS Windows results in a system which _runs_ (no flames
;-)) but which is incapable of developing new software. There is no
compiler and the included editors and disk utilities aren't powerful
enough to be worthwhile for significant usage.
An install of a UNIX system (ie Debian) gives not only a system that
runs, but which also includes a compiler, a build manager ('make'),
several powerful editors with syntax highlighting, auto-indenting and
other advanced features, and many file utilities ('bash', 'ctags',
'find', 'grep', 'sed', 'awk', etc) to work with a source tree.
The difference is that Windows people must purchase separate software
specifically made for software development, whereas UNIX folks have a
powerful system already at their hands and don't need any extra
bundles.
I've looked at a number of (free!) GUI-based development tools, and
none of them are particularly good in my opinion. Instead I've
increased my proficiency with vim to the point where I don't want any
other input style. (I've canceled my VSS checkin at work so many
times because I hit ESC so I could move the cursor and edit my
comment) I've also increased my proficiency with bash, find, etc, so
that I can work with large numbers of files quite easily. The 'ctags'
program really helps so that vim (emacs too!) can jump between certain
locations in files very easily (jump to functions, classes, etc).
The moral of the story : learn to use UNIX to its full extent and
you'll need nothing else. As a bonus, all those utilities are useful
even when you're not coding!
-D
--
Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten what He has made crooked?
Ecclesiastes 7:13
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