Tools of the trade
The ability to develop code fast is crucial. Having a tool to do so helps you not only with speed, but it can usually help you with formatting and correctness as well.
A development environment is a unique set of tools and features that a developer can use to write software. Some of these tools have been customized for developer-specific needs. They might change over time as developers change priorities in work or personal projects, or when they switch to a different programming language. Development environments are as unique as the developers who use them.
Editors
One of the most crucial tools for software development is your editing environment. An editor is where you write your code and sometimes where you run your code.
Developers rely on editors for their helpful features, including:
- Debugging: Helps you discover bugs and errors by stepping through code, line by line. Some editors have debugging capabilities, or they can be customized for specific programming languages.
- Syntax highlighting: Adds colors and text formatting to code, making it easier to read. Most editors allow customized syntax highlighting.
- Extensions and integrations: Add specialized features that provide access to other tools that aren't built into the base editor. For example, many developers also need a way to document their code, to explain how it works, or to install a spell check extension to check for typos. Most of these additions are intended for use within a specific editor, and most editors come with a way to search for available extensions.
- Customization: Most editors are customizable, which allows developers to create their own unique development environments. Many editors also allow developers to create their own extensions.
Here are some popular editors and web development extensions: