Here's what I think is a good IDE:

• It doesn't get in the way of an experienced user. Or, more strongly, it's aimed at the experienced user. Remember, you're only a newbie for a short time, and experienced for a lot longer.
• It works right out of the box. Even without your personal configuration file, it should feel "home". Little configuration should be needed in general.
• It should be there when the OS is freshly installed, for any OS I work with.
• It should come with a manual page. Manual pages are written in *roff. Not in infodoc. Not in HTML. Not in XML.
• It shouldn't be geared towards a specific language. It should be equally usable whether I write Perl, C, LaTeX, SQL, an email or a plain text file. I don't want different IDEs for every task I work on.
• It should run on any console or terminal that's capable of cursor movement.
• It should be fast enough that it can work over a network.

Luckely, vi and its lookalikes have been doing that for me for about 30 years.

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