Geany

Geany is an open source project that delivers a lightweight Integrated Development Environment built on top of GTK, targeting developers in need of a speedy application that can help in both the making and the compilation of the code.

What sets Geany apart from the rest of the IDEs available on today’s software market is its light size, its processing speed, as well as the low level of dependencies. It works fine on an average computer, with GTK installed (the package is also made available during the deployment process).

Also opposed to other IDEs is the user interface approach, which in Geany’s case is much more appealing, less cluttered and overall, more user-friendly.

As expected from a respectable IDE, Geany features rich support for input file formats, including C, C#, CMake, Cython, Fortran, Ada, PHP, Java, SQL, Shell, Perl, Lua, Matlab, XML, YAML, Scala and Verilog to name just a few.

Another benefit of Geany is the possibility to start off a project using preset templates, which will contain the basic code skeleton for a specific programming language.

Most of the main window is dedicated to the code itself, however, the lower part of the GUI is populated with a log where details or messages fetched from the compiler are made available. Also in this area, you’ll find a Scribble menu that can be used as a scratchboard.

Other features include syntax highlighting (of course), auto-completion for symbols, call tips, easy navigation of the code, code folding and obviously, the possibility to compile and build the application after the code has been written.

Geany makes a decent asset for any programmer and can bring large contributions to simple and complex projects equally. It is easier to use than a regular IDE, but also lighter in what the feature set is concerned.