Lesson video

Hello and welcome to Computing.

My name is Mrs. Holborow.

I'm so pleased you've decided to join me for the lesson today.

In this lesson, we're going to be looking at the features of an IDE and how you can use an IDE to support your programming.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit, Programming Sequence.

This lesson is called Features of an IDE, and by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to describe the key features of an Integrated Development Environment or IDE, and explain how they support programming.

Shall we make a start? We will be exploring these key words in today's lesson.

IDE, I-D-E, an Integrated Development Environment is an application that facilitates the writing and running of programmes, and also provides support tools.

Syntax highlighting, syntax highlighting, using colours to distinguish code elements.

Look out for these key words throughout today's lesson.

Today's lesson is broken down into two parts.

We'll start by describing the purpose of an IDE.

We'll then move on to explain how key IDE features support programmers.

Let's make a start by describing the purpose of an IDE.

integrated development environments, IDEs, combine an editor, interpreter, and other useful tools to make programme creation more straightforward.

Here's an example of the Raspberry Pi code editor.

You can access the Raspberry Pi Foundation code editor at editor.

raspberrypi.

org.

If you want to be able to save and download your files, you need a Raspberry Pi Foundation account, and you can sign up and log in here.

Click Start coding Python to begin.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation Code Editor will automatically load with a blank project.

The code editor has three main panels, the sidebar panel on the left, the code panel in the middle, and a preview panel on the right.

You can resize these panels using the handles.

The layout will adapt if you resize your browser window or if you're working on a device with a smaller screen.

The code editor offers accessibility features which can be accessed in the Settings menu.

Z You can switch between light and dark mode, and then you can increase the text size.

The project bar is at the top and it shows the name of your project with an edit button, so you can change the project name, a button to download the project files, and a link to log in if you haven't already done so.

Each project will automatically have a file called main.

py.

This is the code that will run for your project.

Let's have a look at some of the features of the code editor.

When you add new lines of code, line numbers will automatically be added for you.

Syntax highlighting improves the readability of your code by applying colours to different elements.

The code editor will automatically format your code with auto indentation.

Let's click Run and see the code in the preview panel.

Sam has a question, "Why should I use an IDE?" Maybe pause the video and see if you can think of any reasons.

An IDE combines multiple coding tools into one application.

It makes coding faster and easier, and it helps programmers write error-free code.

Andeep's got a great question, "What did programmers do before IDEs were created?" Programmers used to use a text editor to write code.

They'd manually compile the code using a separate tool.

They'd find and fix errors without automatic debugging, and they'd manage multiple tools separately, which really slowed down the process.

IDEs were created to give programmers all the tools they needed to write programmes all in one place.

They allow you to write, run, and debug code without having to switch programmes.

They were designed to make programming easier.

Time to check your understanding.

What is the main purpose of an IDE? Is it A, to make computers run faster, B, to combine multiple programming tools into one application, or C, to translate code into different languages? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

That's right.

I knew you'd get that.

The purpose of an IDE is to combine multiple programming tools into one application.

Well done.

An IDE provides a code editor, a space to write and format code, a compiler or interpreter, which converts code into a programme, and a debugger, which helps find and fix errors.

Using an IDE helps programmers by saving time.

It automates repetitive tasks, reducing errors by detecting mistakes before running the code, Improving organisation, so keeping code files in one place, and helping beginner programmers by providing suggestions, explanations, and auto-complete.

Popular IDEs include IDLE, a simple IDE for Python, the Raspberry Pi Code Editor, a Python and HTML IDE for use by school children, Thonny, beginner-friendly for Python programming, Visual Studio Code, a powerful IDE for many languages, and PyCharm, an advanced Python IDE.

How does an IDE help programmers write code? Is it A, to make computers run faster, B, by automating tasks, detecting errors, and providing helpful suggestions, or C, by slowing down the coding process? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

That's right, and IDE helps programmes write code by automating tasks, detecting errors, and providing helpful suggestions.

Okay, we're moving on to our first task of today's lesson.

I'd like you to explain what an IDE is and what main tools does it combine.

Pause the video whilst you have a go at the task.

How did you get on? Let's have a look at a sample answer together.

An integrated development environment or IDE is a software application designed to simplify programme creation by combining multiple coding tools.

The main tools included in an IDE are a code editor, which provides a space to write and format code, a compiler or interpreter, which converts code into a programme, and a debugger, which helps find and fix errors.

If you need to pause the video here and add any detail to your answer, you can do that now.

Okay, we're moving on to the second part of today's lesson, and you're doing a fantastic job so far, so well done.

We're now going to explain how key IDE features support programmers.

IDEs make it easier to write code because they provide helpful tools like syntax highlighting colour coding.

So here, we have some code written in a basic text editor.

Beneath that, we have the same code written in an IDE, and you can see in the IDE example, some of the key words have been highlighted in a different colour.

So the if statement is a light purple colour, and the text in the print statement is highlighted in green.

Ideas can also highlight important syntax structures to remind you to include them.

So here you can see on the second code for the IDE example, that the colon and brackets have been highlighted.

This helps you to remember not to miss them out.

They will often automatically indent code for you.

Python is very particular about indents.

The IDE will remind you if it thinks an indent is required by putting one in for you.

Time to check your understanding.

How does syntax highlighting in an IDE make it easier to write code? Is it A, it makes the code run faster, B, it changes the programming language, or C, it helps to visually distinguish different parts of the code.

Pause the video whilst you have a think.

That's right.

It helps you to visually distinguish different parts of the code.

Well done.

IDEs can also auto complete lines of code that are often used.

So here when I started writing the word import and then t, the IDE came up with a list of modules that I may want to include.

In programming, the language specific code that you write in has its own syntax.

The syntax is unique to that programming language.

An IDE can point out any syntax errors that you have made.

This means you can check them and then fix them.

So in this example, the IDE is picking up that I have a close bracket, but I don't have an open bracket, so I can see that that's missing and I can go back and add that to my code.

In Python, the IDE will call the interpreter to translate the code and allow you to run and test the programme.

This means that you can test your code as you write your programme, which is a really helpful tool.

Without an IDE, you would have to write all of your programmes in a basic text editor.

You would then need to switch programmes to translate the code and test it.

An IDE helps programmers because it bundles together all of these processes.

Time to check your understanding.

What does an IDE do automatically that a code editor doesn't? A, write code, B, save code, or C, translate code.

Pause the video whilst you have a think.

That's right.

It's C, translate code.

Well done.

Okay, we're now moving on to our second task of today's lesson, and you've done a great job so far, so well done.

I'd like you to describe three IDE features and explain how each one helps programmers to write and test code more efficiently.

Pause the video whilst you complete the activity.

How did you get on? Let's have a look at a sample answer together.

IDEs help programmers code more efficiently with features like syntax highlighting for better readability, automatic indentation for correct code structure and error detection to find and fix mistakes quickly.

These features save time and prevent errors.

Remember, if you want to pause the video and add any detail to your answers, you can do that now.

Okay, we've come to the end of today's lesson and you've done a great job, so well done.

Let's summarise what we have learned in this lesson.

An integrated development environment, IDE, is a software application designed to make software development easier by providing a set of tools.

These tools include a code editor for writing code, a debugger for finding and fixing errors, and a compiler for translating code into a form that the computer can understand.

Features of an IDE, such as syntax highlighting, auto completion and error detection, are designed to improve coding efficiency and accuracy, helping programmers to write better code faster.

I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson, and I hope you'll join me again soon.

Bye for now.