754 Part VI . Programming in (Cool web site) Linux Understanding
754 Part VI . Programming in Linux Understanding Programming Environments Conventionally understood, a programming environment is either graphically or command-line oriented. However, the Linux programming environment also consists of the services and capabilities provided by the system itself, that is, by the kernel and the core system components. Whether you use a mouse-driven IDE or a text editor and make, Linux imposes certain requirements and provides a number of capabilities that determine what the code you write in an IDE or text editor must do and can do. In this chapter, the term programming interface refers to the rules or methods followed to accomplish a particular task. As with programming environments, programming interfaces are usually thought of as graphical or command line: . Graphical interface Uses the X Window System to receive and process user input and display information. . Command-line interface A strictly text-based affair that does not require a windowing system to run. For example, Firefox, a Web browser, has a graphical interface; it won t work if X isn t running. Pine, a popular e-mail client, has a command-line interface; it works whether X is running or not. There is a third type of interface, however, an application programming interface, or API. An API provides a structured method to write a program that performs a certain task. For example, to write a program that plays sounds, you use the sound API; to write a program that communicates over a TCP/IP network, you use the socket API. Neither playing a sound nor communicating over a TCP/IP network necessarily requires a graphical or command-line interface; both graphical and command-line programs can play sounds or use TCP/IP, provided they use the proper API. Using Linux Programming Environments Linux boasts arguably the richest programming environment of any operating system currently available. As mentioned earlier, this chapter uses the term programming environment to describe the tools used to write computer programs on a Linux system and to refer to underlying services that make programming on a Linux system possible (or, perhaps, worthwhile). This section looks first at the fundamental services and capabilities that inform and constrain programming on a Linux system. Next, you examine a few of the most popular graphical IDEs for creating programs on a Linux system. The section closes with a look at some of the command-line tools used for writing programs.
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