Should I be needing an IDE to code in C++?

You don't need an IDE, but for larger scale projects, I find that IDE features do save time.

However, with some effort (and some rough edges), Emacs can be configured to do anything a "dedicated" IDE can do.

The main timesavers for me are navigation (quick open file, browse tree, jump to definition) and refactoring (find & rename references). Emacs can do all these. You might want to look into setting up ctags, speedbar, syntax highlighting & indentation prefs etc.

A quick google finds a couple of guides:

  * http://truongtx.me/2013/03/10/emacs-setting-up-perfect-environment-for-cc-programming/
  * http://tuhdo.github.io/c-ide.html

Which both seem quite approachable. I didn't see refactoring covered, but it's also do-able.

IDEs win if you need fancy refactoring features or are working on an unfamiliar codebase (or, heaven forbid, one whose build system only works in an IDE). Otherwise, if you like Emacs, enjoy it.

in fact, xcode and emacs are not in same category exactly. emacs isn't complete ide, it is full-featured text editor. because you think it is an ide, it has some lack. if you work on mac osx, xcode may be more appropriate for your demand.

Thanks for all the replies.