Difference Between IDE and Text Editor

Selecting between an IDE and a text editor is one of the important questions every developer needs to answer. Even though ide is used for writing code and editing, it comes with different levels of capability. IDE tends to include debugging tools, source control systems and project management tools installed within a single environment besides just text editing tools while a text editor is comparatively smaller with dedicated tools for text only. This knowledge helps you to choose a proper tool depending on the needs of your development team and the level of project difficulty.

What is IDE?

IDE is an all-in-one application used to develop computer software allowing a program to contain features in it to make development easier. It usually displays an editor for the source code, a debugger, and build tools in a single interface. Integrated development environments make work easier as they provide code suggestions, coloured codes, and intelligent auto-completion features. They also tend to incorporate means for version control, testing, and utilization of other libraries incorporated into the development process.

Some of the Popular IDE's with respective to different category

1. General-Purpose IDEs

• Visual Studio Code (VS Code): It is a low-powered IDE used by programmers working with diverse languages like JavaScript, Python and C++.
• JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA: A very effective integrated development environment primarily designed for use with Java but also compatible with a host of other languages.
• Eclipse: Originally developed for Java and also for languages like Python, C++, and PHP.

2. Web Development

• Sublime Text: A light and speedy text editor and code editor supporting HTML, CSS, JavaScript and plugins for other languages.
• Atom: Considered relatively flexible, built by GitHub, designed for, front-end, and full-stack web development.
• Brackets(Discontinued): Focused on the web design and utilizes live view for front-end development of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

3. Mobile App Development

• Android Studio: The official Integrated Development Environment of Android development oriented to Java, kotlin, and C++.
• Xcode: The official IDE for Apple platforms and it supports iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS programming languages and it supports both Swift and Objective-C.

4. Data Science & Machine Learning

• Jupyter Notebook: Popular for Python coding for data science and AI projects and is characterized by an ability to execute code within the notebook.
• PyCharm: Python programming language is well supported with the latest frameworks and gives excellent support with various data science libraries like NumPy, pandas, TensorFlow, etc.

5. Embedded Systems Development

• Keil uVision: Printed circuit boards for ARM microcontroller development.
• Atmel Studio: Used widely with an AVR and ARM microcontroller while programming.

Benefits of IDE

• Code Completion and Productivity: Features such as code suggestion, syntax coloring while typing, and error checking which assist in minimizing coding errors and increasing working rate are exhibited by IDEs. This increases efficiency by enabling the developers to spend more time on logical aspects of their code and not language structure.
• Integrating Debugging and Testing: The development environment provides users with debuggers that enable testers and developers to monitor the code as it runs, place breakpoints on certain lines of code, and work through whatever code they are interested in. Some of these also come with the support of integrating with testing frameworks for enabling unit testing and bug hunting.
• Version Control Integration: Nearly all current IDEs integrate version control systems such as Git: which assist the user in version control, handling revisions, and sharing repositories with other members of a development team, all from within the IDE.
• Project Management and Build Automation: Integrated development environments allow to structure of project files and their dependencies, commonly the IDE offers tools in build automation, which simplifies the compiling and deployment of the application. This makes the project execution to be more efficient and effective.
• Cross-Language Support: IDEs are compatible with several languages, integrating the works of programming in several different languages in different frameworks to be more elastic and less tender.
• Customization and Extensibility: Almost all IDEs permit developers to alter elements such as themes and keyboard shortcuts, alongside plugins and extensions for customized development. This reduces the complexity of the environments that are set around the development, and the flexibility enables developers to set the environment to their preferred settings.
• Collaboration Features: Most of the current IDEs come equipped with integrated features for collaboration like pair programming or remote debugging. Live code sharing, project synchronization and the features that support team communications are highly beneficial when working with developers in a remote environment.

Limitations of IDE

• Resource-Intensive: Most IDEs take up a lot of system memory and processing power since they perform so many tasks and can hinder development on slower computers.
• Steep Learning Curve: Some of the newest IDEs are enhanced with numerous functions and features, wide settings, and complicated graphical user interfaces that take time to understand, learn, and apply.
• Overhead for Small Projects: Simple or small-scale projects may not require a full-blown IDE because the tools that come with an IDE are more than what is required for those small projects.
• Limited Flexibility with Custom Toolchains: Some IDEs fit well with certain languages, frameworks or toolchains. Some of the customizations or the implementation of the integrations with tools that do not conform to the norm may be cumbersome, thus restricting flexibility in some areas.
• Platform Dependence: Some IDEs are particular to an OS (e.g., Xcode for macOS, Visual Studio for Windows), and it may be cumbersome to work together or simultaneously on a project if a team uses different IDEs.
• Potential for Overreliance: It may also expose developers to certain conveniences such as autocomplete where they invest more time on a particular feature rather than acquiring mastery over coding essentials.
• Expensive Licensing: Some of the IDEs for professionals are even paid, although there is a free version, such as JetBrains products (for example, IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate).
• Can Hide Errors or Complexity: This means that IDEs can sometimes hide issues with build tools or error messages from the developers, particularly when a problem has manifested outside of the IDE.

What is a Text Editor?

A text editor is a type of computing application dedicated to the creation and modification of plain text data; it meets needs that encompass writing, editing, and saving a piece of code or any other text. Text editors are much lighter than IDEs, and are specifically designed to work with plain text, although they may not include functions such as debugging or building. Text editors are good for coding, scripting, and general text manipulation; offer irredeemable search and replace, syntax highlighting, or file operations/management. Some of the examples include Sublime Text 2, Notepad++ and VIM which meet different users’ skill levels and preferences.

Some of the Popular Text Editors with respective category

1. General-Purpose Text Editors

• Sublime Text: An efficient text editor that is extended with complement lists for additional programming languages. But the most recognizable feature is speed and ease of usage, which makes it popular among the developers.
• Notepad++: A widely used text editor for Windows, freeware, designed for everyday use by office employees and programmers. It supports numerous programming languages and offers features like syntax highlighting and macro recording.

2. Code-Focused Text Editors

• Visual Studio Code (VS Code): An extremely shiny and maybe one of the most active projects from Microsoft, supporting multiple languages and having a lot of extensions to make the coding experience something close to an IDE.
• Atom: Atom is an open-source editor that is highly customizable and coded with Github, features include support of Git, support for multiple operants at once, and support for multiple plugins.

3. Command-Line Text Editors

• Vim: A keyboard-oriented text editor, which is fast but quite hard to learn, and can effectively manipulate the text. It is suitable for the user working in terminal-oriented mode.
• Emacs: A very flexible and expandable text editor which is much more than the editor itself it’s used in project management, email, browsing or even terminal.

4. Simple and Compact Editors

• Nano: A basic and easy-to-use command-line text editor, which is easy to learn and has high popularity that can be found in Unix systems. It is used for making minor changes in text during terminal continued terminal sessions.
• TextEdit (macOS): A built-in app in macOS used in composing messages with simple text formatting tools. Great for any other type of underlined or primaried text as well as some very basic HTML or script formatting.

5. Web-Based Text Editors

• Brackets(Discontinued): Browser-based and an open-source text editor that performs end-user web development for web applications, supporting live preview.
• CodeSandbox: Originally an online text editor associated with JavaScript and front-end design, allowing for fast and effective prototyping and project sharing over the internet.

Benefits of a Text Editor

• Lightweight and Fast: Text editors are usually small applications with low system requirements, which can work quickly even on computers with weak hardware, which makes them useful for simple operations or making changes to code.
• Ease of Use: Most text editors, particularly the simple ones such as Notepad or Nano, have a simple user interface. This makes them easy to use without having to learn all the various aspects or even command them through the device.
• Highly Customizable: Other text editors, such as Sublime Text, Atom and Vim boast of enhanced functionalities offered through the addition of plugins, themes and key bindings. Subscribers can customize the editor according to their requirements and convenience.
• Multi-Language Support: There are lots of text editors, and most of them still have support for syntax highlight and most basic code completion for several languages, which makes them good for an application developer who may be programming in several technologies.
• Cross-Platform Availability: Some of the commonly used text editors today include Visual Studio Code, Atom, and Sublime Text which have versions for Windows, macOS, and LINUX giving developers a familiar interface across their operating systems.
• Low Resource Consumption: Text editors consume less memory and offer fewer processing options as compared to IDEs, making them suitable for developers who wish to avoid system lag while working on large codebases or multiple files.
• Flexibility: Text editors are not exclusive to code, they can edit any type of text file. They are not limited to code editing but find handy use in managing configuration files, scripts, markdown, and even plain texts.
• Portable and Fast Setup: Most text editors are capable of being run as portable (like vim or Notepad ++), which tools do not need to be installed and can be run off USB flash drives. This makes them ideal for when you wish to use the template on one device or just edit it using another device.

Limitations of a Text Editor

• Lack of Advanced Features: As opposed to IDEs, text editors often have fewer amenities like integrated debuggers, code beautifiers, and builders, to name a few, making text editors inefficient for massive or intricate applications.
• No Built-in Compiler or Debugger: Most text editors lack features that allow a user to compile their script or debug the code the same way an IDE does. This now forces developers to constantly flip between the editor and any command line tools or other applications necessary for their work which in turn slows down development.
• Limited Code Assistance: Most text editors provide such features as syntax highlighting, and very basic autocompletion, but do not include advanced features in code completion, error prediction and folding, which are typically part of IDEs, and aid in minimizing coder errors.
• High Learning Curve for Great Customization: GUI text editors such as Vim and Emacs are very flexible but the user needs to memorize the command and basic configuration. This high learning slope is disadvantageous to new users in a specific sense.
• No Project-Wide Tools: For large-scale development, text editors usually do not provide solutions for dealing with the project as a whole: workspace organization, dependence management, changing or the simultaneous change in several files, etc.
• No Integrated Version Control: Many of the smarter text editors have version control plugin support but lack integrated Git or another system interface as do the IDEs which make it difficult to do flow control and mmerge within the editor.
• Decreased Facilitation of Team Interactions: Most text editors lack functionality aimed at collaborative work involving pair programming, real-time code sharing and other features that are becoming more and more vital given today's development environments.
• Fewer language-specific features: Editors usually do not support or give language-specific features such as code browsing, type deduction, or language constraint violation checking which are available in new-age IDEs.
  

IDE vs Text Editor

Also read

• What Is IDE ?
• 10 Best IDE For Web Developers
• Best IDEs For Machine Learning

Conclusion

In conclusion, both IDEs and text editors have specific applications that are indispensable in software development but designed for distinct purposes. Compared to text editors, IDEs have a rather rich set of features including debugging, project management, and others which make IDEs suitable for large projects with sophisticated workflows. Text editors, on the other hand, are less heavy, less slow and can be highly customised according; they are ideal for quick modifications, scripting or small coding jobs. The decision between the two boils down to the project; the developer’s workflow; and whether or not the project requires other tools and/or services. They can also both be part of a developer’s tool set.