A programming tool or software development tool is a
computer program
A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to Execution (computing), execute. It is one component of software, which also includes software documentation, documentation and other intangibl ...
that is used to
develop another computer program, usually by helping the developer manage
computer file
A computer file is a System resource, resource for recording Data (computing), data on a Computer data storage, computer storage device, primarily identified by its filename. Just as words can be written on paper, so too can data be written to a ...
s. For example, a
programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming.
The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...
may use a tool called a
source code editor to edit
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer.
Since a computer, at base, only ...
files, and then a
compiler
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that Translator (computing), translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primaril ...
to convert the source code into
machine code
In computer programming, machine code is computer code consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For conventional binary computers, machine code is the binaryOn nonb ...
files. They may also use
build tools that automatically package executable program and data files into shareable
packages or
install kits.
A set of tools that are run one after another, with each tool feeding its output to the next one, is called a
toolchain
A toolchain is a set of software development tools used to build and otherwise develop software. Often, the tools are executed sequentially and form a pipeline such that the output of one tool is the input for the next. Sometimes the term is us ...
. An
integrated development environment
An integrated development environment (IDE) is a Application software, software application that provides comprehensive facilities for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source-code editor, build automation tools, an ...
(IDE) integrates the function of several tools into a single program. Usually, an IDE provides a source code editor as well as other built-in or
plug-in tools that help with
compiling
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...
,
debugging
In engineering, debugging is the process of finding the Root cause analysis, root cause, workarounds, and possible fixes for bug (engineering), bugs.
For software, debugging tactics can involve interactive debugging, control flow analysis, Logf ...
, and
testing.
Whether a program is considered a development tool can be subjective. Some programs, such as the
GNU compiler collection
The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a collection of compilers from the GNU Project that support various programming languages, Computer architecture, hardware architectures, and operating systems. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) distributes ...
, are used exclusively for software development while others, such as
Notepad, are not meant specifically for development but are nevertheless often used for programming.
Categories
Notable categories of development tools:
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Assembler Converts assembly language into machine code
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Version control system Stores and tracks versions of files
See also
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References
Software Development Tools for Petascale Computing Workshop 2007*
External links
{{Software engineering
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