IDE

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IDE means Integrated Development Environment. Just like a normal TextEditor, IDE can edit edit plain text, because source code of programs is saved as plain text. But in addition, an IDE has all kind of features for development of software, like an interface for debuggers, class browsers, and source code control systems. Most IDEs have some internal text editor but some of them can use external text editors as well.

The first popular IDE was probably Borland's old Turbo Pascal for DOS. Turbo Pascal included an editor with a WordStar command set, a compiler for Pascal code, and an integrated debugger. If your code encountered a syntax editor while compiling, you were placed back in the editor, with the offending line of code highlighted.

GnuEmacs and XEmacs were originally just TextEditors , but because of their extensibility they got more and more IDE-like features. In addition they have got many additional extensions, that make them even more like IDE:

See the IDEFamily for a collection of IDEs