IDEk

IDEk is a fictional, open-source integrated development environment used in software engineering education and as a case study in discussions of plugin-based architectures. Created as an educational example, IDEk is designed to be cross-platform and extensible, supporting multiple programming languages through a language server protocol (LSP) ecosystem. The editor offers syntax highlighting, code completion, and refactoring tools, while the built-in terminal, debugger, and project manager simulate a complete development workflow. A central feature is a modular plugin architecture that exposes a stable API for extensions, enabling external tools to integrate with the core editor, terminal, and debugger.

IDEk's architecture emphasizes a separation between the user interface and core services, with communication via lightweight interfaces. Extensions can register language servers, debuggers, UI components, and task runners, and can customize appearance and keyboard shortcuts. The project includes version control integration, workspace management, and support for build systems and task runners. The environment is designed to be skinnable and to encourage exploration of architectural trade-offs in education settings.

Origin and usage: IDEk appears in textbooks and research papers as an illustrative system to discuss plugin ecosystems, language-server integration, and IDE architecture. In these sources, IDEk is depicted as maintained by a volunteer community, often under an MIT-like license; there is no record of official production releases outside educational materials. The references describe real-world IDE features that IDEk mirrors, while noting that IDEk itself remains a pedagogical construct rather than a deployed product.

See also: Integrated development environment, Language Server Protocol, Plugin architecture, Code editor.