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Am i missing out if I dont use an IDE? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by Ministar@lemmy.world to c/programming

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So, I have been mostly self thaught programmer (C++), as its a big part of my job (not a regular developer). But so far I have been using a simple text editor like Geany to code and I compile stuff either in terminal (linux) or produce my own make file.

I am starting to wonder if I should switch to a full IDE, as I am on linux, I was thinking of trying KDevelop. But I am simply not sure if its worth, do I even need it?

I have never used an IDE, it seems kind of complicated for the start with "projects" and I havent really found any good introductions to how this workflow is supposed to work.

Do you think using and IDE is something everyone should use? Or do you think a text editor with producing your own make files should be enough?

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[–] azrael 1 points 1 year ago

An IDE is pretty helpful for C++ as a project grows. Code navigation helps a bunch, the integrated debugger is far more friendly than raw gdb, and not having to juggle windows is convenient.

As for IDEs, feel free to give several a shot. I highly recommend trying out QtCrearor even if you aren't using Qt at all. It is in my opinion the best C++ ide, and the minimal UI keeps distractions to a minimum.

Also, you mention using make files. You should really take a look at adopting a build tool such as cmake (the most common, but kind of a mess) or meson (which is much friendlier), as hand crafted make files don't scale particularly well.