The IT industry has constantly been growing since its inception in the 20th century. Software applications save a lot of time and resources, allowing entities to focus on tasks that require human intervention. Software developers and web developers are always in demand as firms, governments, banks, educational institutes, and individuals use software/websites for their functioning.
What is a Software Development Tool?
A software development tool can be defined as a computer program that software developers use to create, edit, support, and debug other applications. Some of these tools are favorites among software developers due to their all-around usefulness. At present, there are thousands of such tools available, and choosing the right one for you can be a difficult task. However, certain factors should be considered, including applicability to the environment, company standards, usefulness, integration, prior experience using the tool, and cost.
In this blog, we will discuss ten favorite tools of software developers, their features, and applications.
Tool#1 Ultraedit
UltraEdit is a text editor created in 1994 for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and OS X. It has programming tools, including macros, code folding, configurable syntax highlighting, and project management.
It is an excellent choice for your main text editor due to its flexibility and security. It can load and handle large files with power, performance, and startup. Ultraedit can load, customize, configure, and re-skin the entire application, not just the editor.
Key features of UltraEdit
- Allows opening and editing of large files up to 4 GB
- Native 64-bit architecture
- Find, compare, and replace files with lightning speed
- Access your servers & open files directly from the Native FTP/SFTP browser or SSH/telnet console
- Document Map Navigation
- Auto-closing XML and HTML tags
- Smart templates for code completion
- Quickly parse and reformat XML and JSON using built-in managers
Tool#2 embold
It is a software analytics platform that analyses source code and identifies issues that affect stability, robustness, and security. It is a vital component in the DevOpstoolchain to manage and monitor the quality of your software projects. Fixing bugs before the software is deployed saves time and energy.
Key features of embold
- With its plugins, you can pick up vulnerabilities as you code
- Unique anti-pattern detection prevents unmaintainable code compounding
- Integrate with Github, Azure, and Bitbucket
- Get faster checks as compared to other code editors for over ten languages
Tool#3 Genexus
The vision behind this tool is based on three decades of experience in automatic generation. It is an intelligent platform for developing applications that automatically develop and maintain programs and databases in multiple languages. All applications developed in GeneXus can be modified with business changes as well as generated in a new programming language and deployed on any major platform.
Key features of Genexus
- AI-based automatic software generation
- Highest flexibility with a large number of databases supported
- Future-proof as it allows the evolution of the system over long periods
- Deploy apps on-premises, on the cloud, or in hybrid mode
- Application security module included
Tool#4 Zoho Creator
It is a low-code platform that enables rapid development and delivery of web and mobile apps and enables you to build powerful enterprise software ten times faster. There is no need to write a large number of lines of code to build an application. Zoho Creator has over 4 million users globally and 60+ apps.
Key features of Zoho
- Create applications with less effort
- Connect your business data & collaborate across teams
- Create insightful reports
- Secure & robust
Tool#5 Delphi
Embarcadero Delphi is a powerful Object Pascal IDE to develop native applications for multiple platforms using a single codebase, adjustable cloud services, and IoT connectivity. It is used to deliver powerful apps for Android, Linux, iOS, Windows, Mac OS, and the cloud.
Key features of Delphi
- It is five times quicker at designing hyper-connected apps for multiple database platforms, desktops, and mobiles
- Supports RAD and features like visual window layouts, application frameworks, and native cross-compilationThe key
- Provides integrated debugger, a robust database, a code editor with code completion, and real-time error checking
- Quick Edit Support, the FireMonkey framework for building cross-platform apps
Tool#6 Linx
Another low-code software development tool that is used to automate and develop web services and backend applications. It hosts APIs, integration, and automation without needing code, frameworks, or infrastructure.
Features of Linx
- Drag & Drop and an easy-to-use interface
- Speeds up the development and automation of business processes
- Easy integration of databases and systems
- Over 100 in-built programming functions and services for rapid development
- Allows deployment of applications to any cloud server or local server with a single click
- Support REST & SOAP web services
- Supports file formats like text and binary, SQL or NoSQL databases
Tool#7 GitHub
It is a powerful collaboration tool and development platform for code review and code management. Users can build applications and software, manage projects, host the code, and review the code. It allows developers to document their code easily and can host the same from repositories.
Key features of GitHub
- Project management tools of GitHub include code security, access control amongst team members and integration with other tools
- Can be hosted on servers and cloud platforms and run on Windows, Mac OS
- Free for open-source projects and public use
Tool#8 Cloud 9
Cloud9 IDE is a web-based platform for scripting, running, and debugging the code on the cloud. Users can work with serverless applications, which help in switching between remote and local testing and debugging activities.
Key features of Cloud 9 IDE
- Code completion suggestions, debugging, file dragging, etc. make it a powerful tool
- An IDE for web and mobile developers to collaborate
- Makes it easy to start new projects
- Development environment comes prepackaged with tooling for more than 40 programming languages
- Direct terminal access to AWS
- Write, run, and debug applications using only a browser
- Team members can code in real-time and chat within the IDE
Tool#9 Atom
Atom is an open-source text editor and can be customized to do anything without the need to modify the config file. It helps programmers write code faster with smart auto-complete. The Atom is compatible with working with Windows, Linux, and MacOS. It is compatible with many operating systems, including OS X, Windows, or Linux.
Key features of the Atom
- Built-in package manager, find & replace feature
- Used to build cross-platform apps with web technologies using the Electron framework
- Easily browse and open whole projects or multiple projects in one window
- Interface can be split into several panes to compare and edit code across files
- Helps developers write code faster with smart and flexible auto complete
Tool#10 NetBeans
NetBeans is an open-source and free development tool written in Java to develop world-class web, mobile, and desktop applications easily and quickly. NetBeans uses C, C++, JavaScript, Java, etc., and supports cross-platform work with Linux, Solaris, Windows, and Mac OS.
Key features of NetBeans
- Efficient Project Management process
- Helps to write bug-free code
- Rapid User Interface development
- Dedicated support from the community
- Powerful GUI builder, support for Java platforms & out of box working
Conclusion:
Although we have discussed ten favorite software tools of developers, many other tools can be used per requirement. A software tool should be chosen based on its features and usability during the software development process. Choosing the wrong tool can badly affect the success of a project. Good knowledge of these tools will help the software developer in building robust applications.
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