Programming toolA programming tool is a program or application that software developers use to create, debug, or maintain other programs and applications. The term usually refers to relatively simple programs that can be combined together to accomplish a task, much as one might use multiple hand tools to fix a physical object. The history of software tools began with the first computers in the early 1950s that used linkers, loaders, and control programs. Tools became famous with Unix in the early 1970s with tools like grep, awk and make that where meant to be combined flexibly with pipess. Tools were originally simple and light weight. As some tools have been maintained, they have\nbeen integrated into more powerful integrated development environments (IDEs).\nThese environments can make searching and editing much easier, however they lack the\nability to massage code, like old Unix tools. The distinction between tools and applications is murky. For example, developers use simple\ndatabases (such as a file containing list of important values) all the time as tools.\nHowever a full-blown database is usually thought of as an application in its own right. For many years, computer-assisted software engineering (CASE) tools were sought after. Successful tools have proven elusive. In one sense, CASE tools emphasized design and architecture support, such as for UML. But the most successful of these tools are IDEs. The ability to use a variety of tools productively is one hallmark of a skilled software engineer.
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