Programming Fundamentals/Introduction/Using an Online IDE

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides code editing, build automation, and debugging for the software development process. This activity introduces an online IDE which may be used to develop and test programs. This activity will help you understand IDEs and the software development process.

Objectives

• Understand the features included in integrated development environments (IDEs).
• Use an online IDE to run a simple program.

Prerequisites

• Review Wikipedia: Integrated development environment.

Introduction

Review the following Python3 Hello World program.

# This program displays "Hello world!"
#
# References:
#     https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Non-Programmer%27s_Tutorial_for_Python_3/Hello,_World

print("Hello world!")

Questions

• What symbol is used to indicate annotations or comments?
• Is any word used to indicate the beginning of a program?
• Is any word used to indicate the end of a program?
• What word is used to indicate output?
• What capitalization and punctuation rules are followed?
• How is sequencing used in Python?

Further Research

• Use the TIOBE Index to review current programming language popularity. Where is Python currently located on the index?

Activity

Compare two or more of the following free online development environments.

• GDB Online
• Ideone
• InterviewBit
• paiza.IO
• Programiz
• PythonTutor
• Python Fiddle
• repl.it
• RexTester
• Trinket
• TutorialsPoint
• Python Online
• Python Playground
• LabEx
• Python-Fiddle
• Python Sandbox

Questions

1. Compare and contrast the features included in the different IDEs. Which IDE has more features? Which IDE seems easiest to use?
2. Copy the Python3 Hello World program code and try to run it in your selected IDEs. Which IDE do you prefer?

Applications

• Consider how IDEs are used in the software development process.
• Identify specific steps you will want to take when writing and testing computer programs.
• Discuss your activity experience with your classmates. What surprised you? What have you learned that you can apply to your own school or work environment?