IDE for realtime collaboration that works with C/C++, C#, .Net [closed]

Asked 5/10, 2012 at 20:49 Answered 3/4, 2015 at 1:15

I'm looking for an IDE that I can collaborate with other people. I'd like to have real-time editing and color coordination (meaning if Bob is online and changes some code it will high lite his changes, similar to sharing a Document on Google).

I've tried searching via Google but I can't find anything that actually suits my needs. I'm currently a college student and have projects to do with other class mates, but using Pastebin is a bit cumbersome as I have to have an IDE open + a web browser, then copy paste, share etc.

Is there any IDE out there that will compile for C/C++, C#, .Net etc with real-time collaboration? If I have to set up a server on my desktop to make it work I have no problems doing so

Fortaleza answered 5/10, 2012 at 20:49 Comment(4)

The homework tag is deprecated. – Motorbike 5/10, 2012 at 20:50

you have just found a niche market, now go and make some money. – Pinniped 5/10, 2012 at 20:56

I don't think it is a market for simultaneous co-programming in C. – Tamis 5/10, 2012 at 20:57

If you've got multiple people editing the same file, you're doing it wrong. Break up your classes into multiple files, and assign each one to a different person. Define interfaces early and avoid WTFs at all costs. – Soutine 5/10, 2012 at 21:2

I believe that in practical terms, using a distributed versioning system (like git, perhaps thru gitorious or github) is a wiser idea, at least for usual programming languages like C (and you need a social convention, at least like Bob is working on file foo.c or on function foofoo while Alice focuses on bar.c or on function barbar). You may want to communicate in real time using IRC, chat, pastebin, etc .... in addition of git. You probably won't edit the same line (or perhaps even the same function) two distant people at a time.

The semantics of programming language like C is not fit to the idea of a simultanous edition of a single source at the very same time. (Defining languages friendly to this co-development idea is still a research topic).

BTW, you don't need an IDE to code in C or C++ (especially on Linux, which gives you a lot of other tools emacs or perhaps vim or gedit or geany, grep, make, ctags, git, awk, ... to use together). A big lot of very large C or C++ free software programs (GCC, the Linux kernel, Gnome/GTK, Qt/KDE, LibreOffice ....) are coded by many qualified people without IDEs. This is IMHO quite significant.

Tamis answered 5/10, 2012 at 20:55 Comment(4)

I second git + IRC. Getting acquinted with rock solid technology is a big win for students. – Coyotillo 5/10, 2012 at 20:57

This I know, I just don't feel like installing Linux atm. I was planning on re-installing Mint (don't ask why I don't have it anymore), on the weekend. – Fortaleza 5/10, 2012 at 21:17

If you think of it as distributed pair programming then it's a little more reasonable. You wouldn't want to use it instead of a VCS like git, but it might be a nice supplement to have for working on the bits that make sense to do pair programming for. – Alderney 5/10, 2012 at 21:17

I edited my answer to mention vim or gedit or geany – Tamis 6/10, 2012 at 11:49

I suggest to try:

http://moonedit.com/ - simple real-time editor
http://www.saros-project.org/DemoVideo - real-time editor for Eclipse (so you could use C++ there)

at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_real-time_editor there are plenty suggestions.

Geographer answered 5/10, 2012 at 20:59 Comment(2)

Saros project looks really promising! – Landbert 5/10, 2012 at 21:23

Warning: Firefox now reports moonedit as a malware site (assuming it hasn't before). – Cornfield 4/9, 2017 at 22:51

This is an old thread but in case others are still interested in this topic/capability there are a bunch of web based IDEs nowadays. If you Google "web ide", you'll get a decent list of collaborative web IDEs. For completeness, I'll list one that I've used and liked:

Cloud9 IDE

Aside from small homework assignments, you are better off using a version control system like GIT or Hg. Though they are overkill for most small homework assignments; especially if it's an intro class and most students are already having a hard enough time learning the programming material by itself.

One other note is that a web based IDE is not necessarily mutually exclusive to using VCS. You can use GIT inside of Cloud9 IDE.

Polygamy answered 3/4, 2015 at 1:15 Comment(0)

Have a look at EFC, http://www.eclipse.org/ecf/. More specifically Cola, http://vimeo.com/1195398.

Vicarial answered 5/10, 2012 at 20:57 Comment(4)

A "build your own" approach looks like a big task for someone who is learning to program in college... – Cascade 5/10, 2012 at 21:0

I'm looking at Eclipse right now, I just tried to open my class.c file and its blank inside of the IDE... – Fortaleza 5/10, 2012 at 21:1

This doesn't really help me since i have no idea how to set it up, I've spent the last 2-3 hours trying to figure it out – Fortaleza 6/10, 2012 at 2:34

I've set it up once in the past; As far as I can remember it was a one click install from software updates. However I'd like to add that version control is a better way to go about it. – Vicarial 6/10, 2012 at 22:13

Save yourself the trouble and use version control of some sort. Be it git, hg, svn, or what have you. Pick your poison, but this is a large part of what version control exists for. For communication? AIM, IRC, Skype, it doesn't really matter.

In this case, you can either have good version control, a good IDE, and a good Chat program or you can have one program that syncs your code, allows you to chat, and allows you to edit code, but does all of the above poorly.

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