IDEs

1. Microsoft Visual Studio

   If you are looking for the definitive IDE for Windows application development, look no further
   than to Microsoft's own developer toolset. Visual Studio products cover languages like C++, C#
   and VB.NET. In addition, you are also able to develop for the Windows x86, Windows RT, and
   Windows Phone. The latest version of Visual Studio is also designed to be optimized for touch,
   just in case you happen to be writing code on a Microsoft Surface. Visual Studio Professional
   will cost you $499.


2. Code::Blocks

   Unlike the other products seen thus far, Code::Blocks, which is built on the wxWidgets framework,
   is exceptionally lightweight in size, yet still quite functional and feature-rich IDE. You can load
   up a number of under-the-hood compiler engines, ranging from GCC and LLVM, to Digital Mars and Open
   Watcom. Code::Blocks also takes advantage of multi-core compiling, allowing you to get the job done
   faster. Code::Blocks is distributed under the GPL v3.0 license which means it can be used freely by
   anyone.


3. Eclipse

   This IDE is quite comprehensive and even similar to Netbeans in a variety of ways, including its
   use of Java and plugin architecture. However, Eclipse as an IDE comes in a wild variety of flavors,
   catering to various needs and objectives in software development workflows. The Eclipse Foundation
   even provides a comparison page to view the differences between the variants of Eclipse. Eclipse is
   free under the terms and conditions of the Eclipse Foundation Software User Agreement unless
   otherwise specified.


4. Aptana Studio 3

   If web and scripting languages are more of your style, Aptana is well suited for the task. PHP, Ruby
   on Rails, and Python are supported as well as the likes of Adobe AIR. Even the studio itself is
   available as a plugin for Eclipse if you prefer the way Aptana handles your work and want to combine
   it with a more comprehensive IDE. Aptana Studio 3 is free and available solely under the GNU General
   Public License.

5. Oracle Netbeans 7

   If you are more of a Java developer, Oracle's got your back with their Netbeans IDE. Of course,despite
   the fact that excellent Java support is its claim to fame going as far back as the Sun Microsystems
   days, other languages like C/C++, Ruby, HTML5, PHP and more are supported as well.Netbeans is extremely
   extensible via its plugin-centric design, allowing you to add additional language syntax support and
   libraries, among other things. Netbeans is free under the Common Development and Distribution License
   (CDDL) v1.0 and GNU General Public License (GPL) v2.