.NET integrated development environments, or .NET IDEs, are software platforms that provide programmers and developers with a comprehensive set of tools for software development in a single product, specifically in the .NET framework. .NET IDEs are built to work with specific application platforms and remove barriers involved in the lifecycle of software development. .NET IDEs are used by development teams to build new web pages, backend web structures, and services, delivering a single tool with all the features needed to accomplish these tasks and removing the need for integrations. .NET IDEs are used to program code for a specific platform or platforms, and have integrated features specifically designed for use within these platforms including capabilities to compile, debug, or intelligently complete code automatically.
To qualify for inclusion in the .NET Integrated Development Environments category, a product must:
Provide .NET programming capabilities through a text editor or a GUI (graphical user interface)
Integrate with at least one platform without a separate plugin
Expose a platform’s application programming interface (API) and allow for compiling, debugging, version control, platform-specific code suggestions, or code deployment