At work, we use Java. A lot of java, really. Because of this, using an IDE is pretty darn indispensable. Mind you, i've got my opinions about IDEs, and to sum things up, it's pretty neutral. Still, IDEs generally prove their worth whenever it comes time to use someone else's framework (or even your own). IDE's are in effect, an editor that's been loosely tied to a database that can remember all the crap you can't.
When there are things like hundreds of classes with thousands of methods and fairly precise ordering of arguments (Ah, strong typing, how you make life an adventure. Kind of like drinking a Mexican jalapeño smoothie.), such loosely bound database is pretty damn spiffy. It frees up your mind for other things like, remembering to breathe and recognizing loved ones.
So, with the growing complexity that is modern Javascript frameworks (i'm lookin' at you YUI), IDEs are starting to become more and more useful. i'm still on the fence about ones like Komodo Edit, but i have to admit that once i did things like set it up to use VI edit commands (emacs is also available for sadists), and figured out how to get it to pull remote SCP files (hint, don't let it time out), having the YUI, jQuery, PHP and a bunch of other libraries pre-baked in is darn handy.
All in all, it's not bad. It's a kinda handy tool in the chest and i recommend grabbing a copy and seeing what you think. All i can say is that it's gotten a heck of a lot better over the past few years.
Save This Page
The advantage of adventuring with precise ordering of arguments vs. a Mexican hot pepper smoothie is that with the argument-ordering adventure, the adventure doesn't begin anew four hours later.
One hopes.