IDE

IDE

1. Editor

   • All IDEs have an editor – this is the part where you type your code

2. Automatic Formatting

   • An IDE with automatic formatting will help format your code This could be as simple as indenting after an IF (as Thonny does) More advanced IDEs will close brackets and speech marks automatically or reformat your entire code to indent it correctly

3. Automatic Line Numbering

   • If you can’t figure out what this is, GCSE Computer Science isn’t for you

4. Automatic Colour Coding

   • Most IDEs will colour code strings and known keywords More advanced ones will recognise variables from earlier in your code and highlight them later on The colour coding makes it easier to find certain parts of your program, and helps identify errors

5. Linker/Loader

   • Many IDEs will include the facility to load multiple source files and link them together. Greenfoot does this well – it will load the source files for all the classes in the program. Mode advanced IDEs include a browser to show all the files grouped together

6. Libraries

   • Libraries are collections of pre-made routines that can be used by programmers For example, PyGame is a library of routines for creating games in python, developed by pygame.org Many IDEs (including Thonny) provide a way to install and manage third party libraries