While coding, choosing a good simple environment is really vital. The environment you choose plays a huge part in how you code and your efficiency and your productivity rate. Choosing a complex environment may leave you at the clutches of a thing that you can't get grip on. And getting a grip over your code editor is really important and determines whether you ace your coding experience or end up regretting why you even took it up. But don't worry. If you are wondering which editor to go for - this article is for you. We will start off by looking at the difference between Code editors and IDE's. If you already know the difference, skip to segment 2 wherein I will be discussing which code editor or IDE to choose for which language.

Segment 1

What is the difference between a code editor and an IDE?

An IDE or an integrated development environment is an environment that focuses on giving support for 1 language mostly. It tries to give almost all of the features needed for that programming language. Even though it does have support for other programming languages, it does not give features as much as it gives for the main programming language. For example, Pycharm is an IDE that gives support for the Python programming language and gives many features related to that language. Even though it gives support for languages like HTML, it doesn't give as many features as it gives for Python. This is the major disadvantage with IDE's when compared with code editors because code editors provide equal support for many languages whereas IDE provides features for only one language fully and just supports a few other languages.

A code editor on the other hand comes blank with no support for any language. You have to go to the extension marketplace and download the required extension for the specific language and you are ready to use that specific language. The pro in using code editors is, it provides almost equal support and features for almost all languages showing no preference to any whatsoever. And the loving part about code editors is, it is widely customizable. Meaning you can download themes for your editors from the marketplace and even fonts for your code, giving your editor your personal touch. And one good example of an editor which covers everything listed above is Vs Code. It gives many themes and fonts. It gives support for a variety of languages. It also gives intellisense which predicts which code you are going to write next.

Note: you can choose any 2 of the above. But when it comes to my preference I like to use code editors. But again it is a matter of opinion, please proceed with whatever you feel is correct.

Segment 2

Which code editor or IDE should you use for which language

Different code editors and IDE's are preferred for different languages even though all of them provide support for that specific language. But the difference comes in terms of features. One code editor or IDE might offer more features than another one hence it is most used. Here are some most used programming languages and the code editor its most used in

Python: Python is a widely used language in developing various kinds of applications like GUI's, websites, AI's, etc. The IDE which is famous for python development is of course one of JetBrains family of IDE's, Pycharm. The code editor which is preferred for Python is Vs code unarguably. And the reason they are loved by the major part of the community is, they offer a lot of features and plugins which make the workflow with Python easier

Java: One of the oldest and most powerful languages is Java. It has been around for almost a lot of time now. The IDE's which is used a lot by the Java developer community are Eclipse and Intellij Idea. Both are really used a lot and loved a lot. When it comes to text editors, Vs Code again is used the most and liked due to its extensive support offered by the Java Developers.

Web Development: Web Development languages mostly consist of these 3 - HTML, CSS, and JS. The IDE which is mostly used for web development is Jetbrains Webstorm and the code editor is Vs code undoubtedly once again.

C, C++: Again, C and C++ are also some of the oldest languages in existence. The IDE's most used for C, C++ development are Clion and CodeBlocks. The code editors used are Vs Code and Sublime Text.

Other options for code editors and IDE's. Their pros and their cons

Atom: Atom is also one of the widely used code editors. But the reason I have not included Atom is it is really slow when you are making big projects, hence reducing your productivity rate. Even though its maker, GitHub is continuously working to improve it, it is still comparatively slow when compared to other editors like Sublime or Vs Code. But some of its pros are Good UI, beginner-friendly, wide range of plugins.

NetBeans: NetBeans is an IDE for Java Development. The reason which makes it one of the popular is, it's been in the dev community for a lot of time, bringing in a lot of features that the new IDE's may not have. The main con which also makes it unpopular for beginners is, it is really complex to configure making beginners really uncomfortable about using it

Vim: Vim is also one of the widely used code editors. But the factor which makes Vim unique from others is, it is a command-line code editor. This may seem like a feature for people who work with a command line in a lot of their daily tasks. But for people who are not experienced with command-line interfaces, Vim might seem nostalgic to them

Notepad++: Notepad++ is another code editor and is an option for you to download. Notepad++ offers support for a lot of languages which may be considered it's pro. its interface is really understandable as well. But the con which may be considered for Notepad++ is it has not autocomplete. autocomplete these days is very useful for increasing your productivity rate giving you a wide range of suggestions. Without an autocomplete, a code editor or an IDE is incomplete and may lead the beginner to an uncomfortable position

Links to download all the environments:

Which code editor should you choose? General thesis about code editors and IDE's