Software · 4 question types
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 4% of your exam marks.
Compiler vs interpreter differences are a recurring 3-mark question.
An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a single piece of software that combines all the tools a programmer needs to write, test, debug and run programs.
Without an IDE, a programmer would have to switch between a text editor, a translator (compiler or interpreter) and a debugger as separate programs. An IDE bundles everything into one application.
Common IDEs: PyCharm (Python), IntelliJ IDEA (Java), Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Eclipse, Thonny, IDLE, NetBeans.
A specialised text editor for writing source code. Useful features include:
Tools to spot, locate and fix errors:
The IDE can run the program from inside itself and show its output in a panel beside the source code. The programmer does not have to leave the IDE to test changes.
A built-in translator means the programmer can press a button or use a keyboard shortcut to compile and run (for compiled languages) or simply run (for interpreted languages), without having to install the translator separately.
The syllabus only names the four above, but real IDEs include many more useful features: