Question

Let's begin with a discussion of programming and user environments with special focus on the programming development environments. What are the simplest? What are the more complex environments like? Give some examples of each.

Some hints:

Review what a text editor is versus a word processor
Read online about Microsoft Visual Studio

Answer 1

Let's first discuss the process of writing a program. Let's assume that you have a program P written into your favorite programming language. Now how do we execute it?

1. You write P in a text editor of your choice which is a special program(process) that let's you enter a program in a given programming language.
2. P first needs to be compiled by a compiler which will parse the program and convert it into a binary file, B.
3. The binary file, B will then be run by the operating system underneath.

So, what then is a user environment? It is basically the tools and processes that forms the base for writing the program, i.e. it constitutes the set of softwares and tools that will enable a programmer like you to write your code without any worries that it may not run so that you can only concentrate on your code and not worry about the nitty-gritty of how it will be run underneath the hood.

A programming development environment is then the complete package of tools and processes which help and are necessary for executing any given program. For example in the case discussed above, the tools include the text-editor and the compiler, whilst the processes include those which are run by the OS when it runs the binary file, B.

Now, a development environment may be an integrated one wherein the processes and tools coordinate with each other so that the interface provided to the user is convenient and that he/she can mange the code, see the file structure, compile and run it in the same place. These are commonly referred to as IDEs. Microsoft's Visual Studio is one, another is Eclipse which has support for many programming languages and a nice interface for the user.

A simple environment is that which supports just the coding phase of the application for example, a simple text editor is a simple environment since it doesn't have support for packaging the software etc.

On the other hand a complex environment is that which gives state-of-the art performance to user in terms of software optimisations, better compilers and debugging, better interface to the user for management of code files and a whole packaging pipeline which includes bundling and distribution of code. Examples in this category are Android's SDK, Microsoft's Visual Studio, Eclipse, etc.

Difference between text-editor and a Word-processor:

• A text-editor is an example of a simple programming environment: it let's you write lines of code in your favorite programming language with no support for user interface.
• A word-processor on the other hand let's you do whatever a text-editor can but in addition also provides grammar checks and text formatting like highlighting, bold, etc. Thus a word-processor is an example of a complex environment.