In the past few years, tools like Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) and text editors have grown enormously in popularity as more and more people choose to become developers and programmers. IDEs and text editors are programming tools that programmers can use to write and edit the source code of their files.

The main difference between these two is that IDEs are programs that are a complete package and have a lot more features and functionality than text editors. These additional features include built-in debuggers and compilers for compiling and debugging code. IDEs are usually language-specific too, meaning they only specialize in certain languages, as opposed to text editors, which take a more flexible and broader approach.

Because it is free and extremely extensible and customizable, Linux is used heavily in the programming industry today. Hence, it is imperative to choose a Linux based IDE that will give users the best features and allow them to do their job in the most efficient way. When it comes to good editors, KDevelop, the cross-platform, free, and open source IDE developed by KDE, is a top name in this category.

This article will show you how to install KDevelop on your Ubuntu 20.04 system. The article also gives an overview of the functions of KDevelop IDE.

What is KDevelop?

KDevelop is an open source, free, and modern IDE developed by the KDE community. It’s a fully featured IDE that supports multiple languages ​​including C, C ++, JavaScript, and more. Since KDevelop is a KDE product, it runs on every Linux distribution, but is also available for other operating systems such as Windows and macOS.

Functions such as syntax highlighting, project management for different project types such as CMake or Qmake, automatic code completion and support for multiple version control systems such as Git clearly show the performance that lies at the core of KDevelop. In addition, KDevelop has a large plug-in architecture that gives users access to some fascinating additional functions such as regular expression searches. All of these features make KDevelop a proud product of the KDE community.

Install KDevelop

Ubuntu offers users two options for installing KDevelop on their system. The following sections show you how to install KDevelop on your system using these two methods.

a) Install KDevelop with the official Ubuntu repository

KDevelop is included in Ubuntu’s package management system as part of its official repository. So KDevelop can easily be installed in Ubuntu with the apt command.

Before installing KDevelop, however, you must first run the update command so that the apt-cache and packages are updated to the latest version. This prevents problems later during the installation.

To update the apt cache and packages, open Terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or by searching ‘terminal“In Ubuntu Dash. Then enter the following command in the terminal:

KDevelop can now be installed by entering the following command in the terminal:

b) Installation of KDevelop with the AppImage

An easier way to install KDevelop is to use AppImage. AppImages are package applications that can run on Linux without having to install them. They offer an installation process similar to that of applications in Windows and macOS. To install KDevelop’s AppImage, open the program’s official website and select ‘Download’ on the target page. Click on the highlighted text that mentions “AppImage” and the application will download to your system.

If you are more familiar with the command line interface, you can also run the following command to download the KDevelop AppImage to your system:

After KDevelop is downloaded, open the directory path of the download file and make it executable by running the following command:

In my case the command would be like this:

Now double click on the AppImage file, click on ‘Run’ in the command prompt and KDevelop will start.

Using the KDevelop IDE

The world in KDevelop is divided into two main functions – sessions and projects. Sessions are stacks that contain groups of projects that are similar to one another. For example, if you have two different operating systems, you can create different sessions for each system. Projects, on the other hand, are blueprints that have access to all files and folders.

To start a session, go to the ‘meeting‘Drop down tab and click’Start a new session. ‘ This will open a new window in KDevelop showing the beginning of a session. It is important to note that the Originally Session will run at startup unless you start a new session.

With KDevelop you can also create new projects and open existing projects. You can open projects either by fetching the file directly from version control or by opening a project saved on your local hard drive. To create a project from scratch, click the ‘New from template‘Menu item.

Once you’ve opened or created your project, you’re ready to start working with your source code. Use the tools in the sidebar to work with classes, files and directories in the project.

In order to run your program in order to test it, you must first create your program. This can be done by clicking the ‘Build‘Button.

To run the program, open the ‘Run‘Menu and select’Start configurations. ‘ Click here on ‘Add new. ‘ If your build was successful, your project name will be displayed here. Click on the project name.

Then click on ‘OK“To exit the command prompt. Finally go one more time to the ‘Run‘Menu and click’Debug start. ‘

This produces the output of your program.

Why use KDevelop?

KDevelop is a powerful IDE that contains a large ecosystem for plugins as well as numerous features of high standard and quality. Because of its stability and reliability, KDevelop is an excellent choice of IDE for Linux users.