Unusable? I wrote java with a text editor for three years and got a lot done. I wrote C++ for about 10 years with a text editor (It was called an IDE but it was

Unusable? I wrote java with a text editor for three years and got a lot done. I wrote C++ for about 10 years with a text editor (It was called an IDE but it was a text editor with a debugger). But having a language that enables the functions of an IDE is a big advantage. A good text editor that manipulates characters efficiently is absolutely valid. But an IDE that treats code as an AST gives you a lot. After all when you think of code you think of it in trees/graphs: You go to fix a bug, one of the first things you will probably ask is "what calls this code?". Being able to do that, right up to the top of the call hierarchy, instantly, without having to run the system is a huge advantage. An IDE gives you the tools to reverse engineer the design (or lack of it) from the code.