Definitions of editor and IDE?

[Kirk Sluder]

In article <1170587864.512288.217940 at h3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
 "Paddy" <paddy3118 at netscape.net> wrote:

> On Feb 4, 9:01 am, Necmettin Begiter <necmettin.begi... at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Can't give definitions, but here is the difference: if you use an editor, 
> > you
> > will have to run your script or program from outside the editor; if you use
> > an IDE, you will press a key or key combination in the IDE (say F9 or F5) 
> > and
> > your program/script will run...
> 
> Hmm, is vim an editor or an IDE?
> By the above definition it would be an IDE because under the tools
> menu you can run make or compilers/interpreters.
> It has probably got to the stage that its a continuum from something
> like Eclipse or SPE that are definitely IDE's through to ed and
> notepad which are editors.

I would define an IDE as a system that supports multiple tasks of 
the development process using a related set of interfaces.  Some of 
these tasks may include:

Searching and browsing reference documentation.
Writing source code.
Building/compiling projects. 
Evaluation using a shell or REPL.
Debugging and testing.
Production of graphical elements.
Production of documentation.
Packaging.
Project management and version tracking.

I'll agree that it's a spectrum with the most comprehensive IDEs 
supporting more different tasks of the development process.  

> 
> - Pad.