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What is the Ultimate Linux Development Environment?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the do-our-tools-need-improvement dept.

nachmore asks: "I've been programming on Linux for a while now, always content to use vi for my editing and any debugger tools out there (gdb for C/C++, and so forth). As part of my SoC project I was working on Thunderbird (my first huge project on Linux) and I found that , although shell-based tools can do the job, they lack in easy project management, ease of debugging and other development features. I've only ever programmed with a GUI on Windows — and I have to admit that I find Dev Studio to be one of the few programs that Microsoft seems to have gotten (nearly) right. I've played around with Eclipse but find it's C/C++ support still lacking. So what GUIs would you recommend for Linux? I would like something with debugging (single step, step through, step-to-end, etc) support, CVS access and of course, support for large projects (e.g. Mozilla) and especially good support for C/C++. Is there anything really good out there, or is vi the way to go?"

4 of 643 comments (clear)

  1. Its called emacs by bughouse26 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    emacs has all of these features that you are asking for: front-end for gdb enabling highlighting in source code for debugging, integrated support for source control including CVS, and incredibly good support for C/C++ syntax highlighting/editing. If you are coming from vi, you can even change the default keybindings to vi-style bindings.

  2. Eclipse by L7_ · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I've played around with Eclipse but find it's C/C++ support still lacking.


    Care to enlighten us on what was lacking with Eclipse and CDT?

    My only real complaint is the large times it takes to recompile large projects. Slow indexing/parsing times for large amounts (1000+) of files are a given however for any type of tool that is going to cross reference new projects. However, if I have control of the project extraction of projects into logical subcomponents rather than editing huge single projects with Eclipse/CDT will give you a very nice time speed up.

    A personal fave is that the debugger integration in eclipse is second to none.
  3. Don't write off simple tools until you know them by andyross · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Tool choices are clearly an issue of personal taste. And as my tastes clearly don't match yours, I won't be making any suggestions.

    But I will say that, without exception, all the best developers I've known in my career (yes, every single one of them) work with a text editor and a shell window. They use GUI and web tools where needed or useful, but their minute to minute activity is spent at the keyboard, writing, running and reading code.

    I submit that this is not a coincidence. The best developers write their own simple tools for small problems, and the proper environment for running simple tools is the command line. Great programmers work in varied environments and use diverse languages and configuration formats, where IDEs work well only within their target realm and are pretty much useless outside of it (e.g. no PHP mode in MSVC).

    The benefit you get from fancy tools is real, but it's ephemeral. It make the typing of code (and maybe the reading of code) easier. But it does this by simplifying and obscuring the underlying details. Want to add a file to the project? Add it to this dialog. Need to check something in? Click here. Never mind how it all works, and hope that you never get tasked with doing something complicated (like an automated check-out-build-and-package script over a secure remote link).

    By contrast, the understanding inherent in using your tools on the lowest level provides benefits all through the development process. These are the folks who won't think twice about writing a quick shell script to do the remote build.

    So, by all means try out the fancy tools you can. But don't skip the part where you learn how to use the underlying tools well. Use the GUI stuff as an aid for the tasks you do understand, not as a substitute for what you don't.

  4. Re:You might as well ask... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The difference between a religion and a cult is in the beliefs of its leaders. In a religion such as Catholicism, as you go up in the ranks from the lowly follower all the way up to the Pope, the devotion of its members increases. In a cult, it decreases, because its leadership sees the teachings for what they are: a means of control. Furthermore, whether you believe the teachings of a given religion yourself or not, its leadership believes they are acting in the spiritual interests of its followers. They believe they are bettering their members.


    Thankfully, popes and antipopes all had the best interest of their followers at heart.
    I guess Heaven's Gate was a religion since Marshall Applewhite believed strongly enough in it to save his followers' souls and his own soul by committing suicide so they could get on that UFO. After all what is earthly flesh compared to the eternal soul.

    The difference, a religion been around long enough that people forgot it was a cult.

    I'm sure when Christianity started that people said it was a cult. After all, a lot of people didn't immediately recognize Jesus as the Son of God.

    I'm AC because it's bad enough talking religion with friends let alone complete strangers.