Top IDE Software for Developers to run C C++ in 2020

Integrated Development Environment or IDE is an application or software which provides comprehensive facilities to programmers for programming, managing, compiling, interpreting, debugging or documenting their code in efficient way. IDE has mainly three parts: 1) Editor, 2) Compiler and 3) Debugger. IDE also comes with additional features like object and data modeling, unit testing, source code library and a lot more. In my student life I used DOS based Turbo C/C++ IDE which had integrated compiler, debugger. Presently there are many IDEs for C/C++ programming. Let’s introduce with you here top ten IDEs in the current market place.

1. Visual Studio Code

It is an open-source code editor developed by Microsoft for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. It is the most popular developer environment tool among others. Furthermore, this IDE is also customizable which lets programmers change the theme, keyword shortcuts and preferences. It support for Debugging, Syntax highlighting,,Intelligent Code completion, snippets and code refactoring, EmbeddedGit Control,,Completely portable,,Easy customization.

2. Eclipse

It is one of the most popular, powerful and useful IDEs used by developers for C/C++ programming. It is an open-source software which is simple and easy to use. Originally, it was used for Java & Android Programming but now it is used for various languages.  Eclipse can run Windows, Linux and Mac OS. It has a great Graphical User Interface (GUI) with drag-and-drop functionality. It supports static code analysis, smart code completion, Git integration.

3. NetBeans

It is one of the most used IDEs. It is a free and open-source IDE that is written in Java. This IDE consists of an interface that comes with a drag-and-drop feature and a list of convenient project templates. You can use NetBeans to create C/C++ applications with dynamic and static libraries. It allows programmers to create C/C++ applications from existing code. Additionally, it provides a great set of tools for C/C++ programmers. NetBeans has numerous plugins that can extend the software. Developers can also remotely monitor their project’s development. It support cross-platform (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Solaris), multiple programming languages, simple and efficient project management, smart code editing, rich set of plugins

4. Sublime Text

It is a cross-platform source code editor which supports several languages and markup languages. Sublime Text has a Python application programming interface and has a slick user interface along with incredible features and amazing performance. Programmers can also add additional functions with numerous plugins that are community-built. It has Go To Anything- Quick navigation to symbols, lines or words, Go To Definition- Can automatically generate a project-wide index of every class, method and function, allows multiple selections, command palette, powerful API, highly customizable, cross-platform supporting (Windows, Mac and Linux), syntax highlighting, auto-completion, some important plugins and integrations.

5. Atom

It is one of the highly configurable text editors which is free for personal and commercial developments. It was designed and developed by GitHub and has a very large community. A multitude of plugins are available for this editor which extends its features and makes it more customizable. It also supports Windows, OS X and Linux, and has a very simple interface to work on. It has smart auto completion, package manager plugins, multiple panes, option to find and replace text, command palette functionality.

6. Code::Blocks

It is a free, open-source IDE that was developed in C/C++. Code::Blocks is an extensible and highly customizable IDE that supports Windows, Linux and Mac. Initially, it was created for C++ but now you can also run C programs. It has smart code completion, easy navigation, integrated intelligent syntax highlighting, full-featured debugger functionality.

7. CodeLite

It is an open-source software that can run on all major platforms including Windows, Linux and OS X. It provides great support for compilers and also allows users to know more about the errors by just clicking on it. It has spell checker, word completion, clang based code completion engine, database explorer functionality.

8. CodeWarrior

It is a complete IDE known for providing a highly visual and automated framework for fast development of an application. CodeWarrior was published by NXP Semiconductors for editing, compiling and debugging software. This IDE can run on Windows and Linux. It has Easy-to-use GUI, allows a single gateway to all components, project manager, highly optimizable, powerful macro assembler, provides fast access to different source code elements like variables, classes and others, smart linker, programmers can build custom libraries, colorized, multi-paned and syntax-directed editor.

9. Dev-C++

It is a full-featured IDE for C or C++ languages. For compilation, it uses MinGW port of GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) or any other GCC compilers. It is supported on Windows for the Software Development. It has integrated debugging, syntax highlighting, code completion, project manager, editable shortcuts, tool manager functionality.

10. MinGW

MinGW is Minimalist GNU which provides GUI based IDE for MS Windows applications. It also has compilers for C, C++, FORTRAN and ADA. It is an open-source programming toolkit, fast and simple, runs on Microsoft Windows platform. It is suitable for the development of native MS-Windows (x86) applications.