Integrated Drive Electronics, or IDE, is a standard interface used to connect storage devices like hard drives and optical drives to a computer's motherboard. It allows for the transfer of data between the drives and the computer, enabling the system to read and write information efficiently. IDE uses a ribbon cable to connect multiple devices, typically supporting two drives per cable. This technology was widely used in personal computers before being largely replaced by Serial ATA (SATA), which offers faster data transfer rates and improved performance.