Every year I train a group of people passed out from college and start their career in the IT industry. Before they start writing a “Hello World” program I tell them, that they should never use any IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and use notepad or any simple text editing tool to write the programs. Why, because IDE is for a developer who has got used to the programming language’s syntax and semantics. IDE’s can aid developers in completing the program faster without worrying about silly typos and syntax errors. Errors and typos are highlighted by the IDE immediately and could be corrected then and there. This is important because cumulatively it can save a lot of time during the projects. But as a starter when you are learning something new, you need to learn by mistakes, even if it is a typo or a syntax error.
You get used to the language, the compilation/interpretation and the file structures easily when you work with minimal tools like a notepad or a simple text editing tool. This is not only applicable when you are learning a programming language, but in lot of other areas as well, like for example learning RDBMS (Relational Database Management Systems). There are many tools which you can use to create database, tables and insert data without you even knowing SQL (Structured Query Language). But it is not going to help you learn the intricacies of the language. If you get used to using sophisticated tools from the beginning, later you will find it difficult when you run into trouble and the IDE/tool does not help you in fixing the problem. So starters, start learning right using right tools.
