So, I have been mostly self thaught programmer (C++), as its a big part of my job (not a regular developer). But so far I have been using a simple text editor like Geany to code and I compile stuff either in terminal (linux) or produce my own make file.

I am starting to wonder if I should switch to a full IDE, as I am on linux, I was thinking of trying KDevelop. But I am simply not sure if its worth, do I even need it?

I have never used an IDE, it seems kind of complicated for the start with “projects” and I havent really found any good introductions to how this workflow is supposed to work.

Do you think using and IDE is something everyone should use? Or do you think a text editor with producing your own make files should be enough?

  • For C/C++ and make, I use geany and a terminal. Right now, out of curiosity for GitHub Copilot, I’m trying VSCode, but it’s a bit too much for my taste.

    The only situation I would use a big IDE would be the development of a user interface for a Visual C++/Windows project or a Unity game. Hopefully, most of the time I don’t have to.