It's funny. To Java devs, code completion is fundamental (me included, to a certain degree). The idea of having to know all of the methods available on an instance and fully type everything out seems draconian. And yet, for the JavaScript and Ruby devs of the world hacking away in TextMate, auto-completion just isn't there (correct me if I'm wrong). But, they still manage to be productive. :)
Yeah, that's true. It seems a must when you are accustomed to having it. But code completion is just one example. There's refactoring, debugging, and other support that a text editor can't give you which has real impact on your productivity. Even organizing your various config files and providing a UI for modifying them is a convenience.
I remember some years ago doing a contract for a large company. I insisted that I was cool with just a text editor. But the client's dev lead insisted that I get with the IDE program because they were paying me hourly and wanted max productivity.
In the end, after making the switch, I had to agree.
