To me, an IDE basically just means "an editor with a built-in debugger". I really don't know where else you'd draw the line. However, for many languages, there's no such thing as a built-in debugger (most interpreted languages, for example).
I've used Visual Studio for C# and C++, and Eclipse for Java.
For Python, Javascript, Go, and editing random files, I prefer Sublime Text. It loads and runs way faster than VS or Eclipse. Setting up plugins is usually a one-time thing that only takes a few minutes to follow some directions off the web. There usually zero "configuration". Just install and you're done.
My guess is that your day job is using Java, C++, or a .Net language, and that's why you feel tied to an IDE (probably VS or Eclipse). Other languages don't really need that much integration into an IDE (unlike others, I don't think needing an IDE is really a bad thing, generally it means there's just a lot of stuff you can do with the language besides writing logic).
I mainly write Go at work, and Sublime is great for that. There's not really a Go debugger yet (there's a couple bad choices, but not ones I'd want to use on any kind of a regular basis), and there's not really a way to write GUIs either... so what's left is "write code, format code, run tests, run program". The last two are purely command line, and the first two are what my editor does.
> To me, an IDE basically just means "an editor with a built-in debugger"
Yes, at least an integrated project support, debugger and compiler (but could be more, such as profiler, testing, designer). You are correct I use the large OO langs, and I agree that IDEs are only really useful for languages with strict types, large class libraries and large projects (so for example C++, and the JVM and .NET languages).
> write code, format code, run tests, run program
But isn't there a frustrating number of unnecessary roundtrips involved here? At least in go, which is strictly typed, if you misspell a type or function name, when will you notice? Can you configure Sublime so that you at least get compiler support (so a typo will be noticed when you make it rather than later?).
And can you make sublime help you with displaying documentation hints or with completing statements? If you have a compiler error, how do you navigate to where it is? Do you have to read the line number in the compiler output and then open the offending file/tab in Sublime and navigate manually to the line? At least for most langs in Emacs you get compiler message parsing so you can jump straight to the problem.
Coming from the IDE world, I'd just never get off the ground with a new language if I had to go from autocompletion and squigglies under typos, to having to remember type names and function names in my head (yes IDEs have basically done that to my head, I can no longer remember even the smallest bit of language trivia).
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, the plugin for Go for Sublime will tell you when you type something that won't compile. It has autocomplete for functions and types etc. It has go to definition. Some plugins will let you compile straight from sublime, though I don't use that, generally I just use the command line for that, I don't really find it to be a problem...
Integrated project support is not really needed for Go, at least. There's no project file that defines what's in a project, it's just the directory layout, and everything is embedded in the .go files themselves, so there's no need to parse something to know what's "in" or "not in" the project.
I've used Visual Studio for C# and C++, and Eclipse for Java.
For Python, Javascript, Go, and editing random files, I prefer Sublime Text. It loads and runs way faster than VS or Eclipse. Setting up plugins is usually a one-time thing that only takes a few minutes to follow some directions off the web. There usually zero "configuration". Just install and you're done.
My guess is that your day job is using Java, C++, or a .Net language, and that's why you feel tied to an IDE (probably VS or Eclipse). Other languages don't really need that much integration into an IDE (unlike others, I don't think needing an IDE is really a bad thing, generally it means there's just a lot of stuff you can do with the language besides writing logic).
I mainly write Go at work, and Sublime is great for that. There's not really a Go debugger yet (there's a couple bad choices, but not ones I'd want to use on any kind of a regular basis), and there's not really a way to write GUIs either... so what's left is "write code, format code, run tests, run program". The last two are purely command line, and the first two are what my editor does.