Funny I feel the same way about IDEs as the author does about calculators. They have their place, but they can also be a crutch that contributes to mental weakness. I know devs who can't write code without Visual Studio prompting them every step of the way.
There is a contention in the subject article that "deep understanding of mathematical concepts is related to basic number sense" and that e.g. students who must use a calculator to compute 3 X 5 = 15 are lacking that.
I was implying my feeling that there is something similar going on in programming... if you are helpless without an IDE, then you are lacking some "basic sense" about your craft. Though I can cite no studies to back that up.
I think someone could understand object oriented concepts and event drivent programming concepts quite well, either form reading about them or being familiar with them in one language. That persone could them start trying to program in Java/Eclipse or C#/VS, and, with the aid of the IDE, effectively implement the program idea they have in their mind. Being able to program without an IDE is usually a function of being very familiar with the language's syntax, but syntax and programming concepts are different things.
Possibly a counterpoint, but I have no study to back this up. In the whole "deliberate practice" paradigm, they often say that immediacy of feedback strongly correlates with continued improvement. But maybe that presupposes you've developed the "basic sense" of your craft already.
For me: if you are helpless without an IDE, that probably says more about where you are as a programmer than it does about where you are going as a programmer.
Absolutely. They'll never be able to experiment with a platform that Visual Studio doesn't support. Or with the many fine languages that don't have a fancy IDE.
They will artificially limit their career and opportunities based on a tool.
