What is the function of the "out" and ".idea" folder in Intellij?

Question

Can someone clearly explain what is "out" and ".idea" folders in the project structure indicate? Though I'm not a beginner in Java, I need help understanding how all the components in a typical IDE work together. I previously used BlueJ which was very easy to use, but it masked all the background processes which I have difficulty understanding now.

Edit: Sorry I didn't check thoroughly for ".idea" but the "out" folder hasn't been defined in a general sense.

Answer 1

Read official doc here :- .out :- .out folder intellij

And .idea :- .idea folder

In Short all the project specific files goes to .idea folder and it will be recreate if you delete the project.

And .out folder contains the output of your project when you build/compile it ie contains .class files.

Answer 2

When you use a JetBrains product such as Intellij Idea all the project specific settings are stored in the directory .idea. Here is a link from JetBrains documenting .idea directory: Documentation.

As for the out folder it contains all your compiled classes, when you run your program from the IDE, all your classes are compiled in the out directory.