Whether you are a spiritual developer or just a beginner in coding, staying ahead of curve and learning the latest integrated development environment is necessary. To be frank, we aren’t sure about the perfect environment for your needs. The best IDE is the IDE that works best for you, so we have compiled down a list of 10 most popular choices, so you can figure out the best one for you.
The difference between an IDE and a text editor
An IDE is something more than a sample text editor. While Code centric text editors like NetBeans and Eclipse offer many convenient features like profiler, configurability, and java tooling, a simple text editor allows you to write only code. To make this code run into an application, you at least need a debugger and compiler.
Choosing the perfect code editor will ease your excursion of being a beginner programmer. If you write a code of 1000 words and if it gives you an error at line 534, this is where you are at an advantage of using a text editor. It offers a lot of features while writing code that increases efficiency and error free code.
So here’s a list of the top 10 code editors that will allow you to optimize your code efficiently:
1. Notepad++
Notepad++ is a text editor to be used with Microsoft Windows. This text editor is one of the favorite among the developers and coders in the industry due to its expression-based search which is incredibly useful. It’s No. 1 on the list due to the simplicity it offers and sets the kind of language you are using. You can run the code here on different browsers like how Dreamweaver does.
Another feature to adore is it’s the ability to “Count” how many times a keyword appears in a currently open file. This proves beneficial when you know you are not searching the same line of code. The search is extremely quick and painless.
The notepad++ also offers features like splitting file on your screen so that you can compare the code easily. This sounds similar to the window-snapping feature that Ubuntu and windows offer. You will find the feature helpful when comparing differences in the snippets of code.
2. Sublime Text
The sublime text editor is an amazing piece of editor. It is a fast, cleans and quick text editor. It encompasses incredible built in features with the support for plug-ins, snippets and much more. This editor supports many markup languages and coding languages along with a plug-in that can be added by the users. The latest version, Version 3, is very stable and is available as a default download on its website.
The most fascinating feature is the command palette which allows you to access various setting menus, handle sublime projects, change file syntax and so much more. You can access this feature by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P on your keyboard.
For those with a lazy bum, you will be happy to know that this text editor also offers an auto-correct feature which completes your words automatically similar to a dictionary feature on your mobile devices. It figures out what you are typing and suggests you words that fit in well. In addition, you can install additional packages that will enable additional kinds of auto completion.
One of the coolest features that make this editor the second best is the ability to select multiple columns, words and Lines. This feature enables you to change several instances of a word you want to find and replace. Sometimes, when the words you want to change are not the same, you can simply select multiple words by typing’ &’ between the words. For example, class & text & foot.
3. Atom
If you are one of those developers who do not like any type of restrictions on your work, then this editor is the right choice. Atom is an open source text editor which lets you customize every aspect of your application. It is known to be core hackable since it is written in JavaScript, HTML and CSS. It has a fully customized text editor which lets you to use a wide variety of packages available to add features and functionalities to your application.
To talk about its features, Atom does not have the traditional features we see in other editors. Instead, it uses a number of packages that add to its functionalities. This adds to the creativity of designers.
Some key noted features noted in the editor are: –
1. ‘Fuzzy Finder’ which allows you to easily search a project from any location you want
2. ‘Tree Structure’ enables viewing and editing (cut/copy/paste/rename etc.) without the need to actually open the folder in your native window.
3. ‘Package Installer’ allows installing packages from the Settings. You cans search for package and themes and click Install
4. ‘Mini-map’ which allows you to easily view a mini map with the use of plug-ins of your whole source code
5. ‘Merge conflicts’ plug-in allows you o easily resolve conflicts in the code if any.
Do try the editor for additional features and gestures
4. Coda
Here is your MAC text editor. Coda is specifically built for the MAC platform that prefers speed and efficiency in a single editor. The application has come a long way since its release in 2007 from a single text editor to a previewer. It contains crucial features that are needed to build a clear syntax, review and upload the web page.
Features of Coda include: –
1. You can run your program in real time.
2. You can edit and preview in CSS
3. Discover and manage new or existing plug-ins.
4. Quick and easy switching between the tabs.
5. Best supported for HTML and CSS
5. TextMate
Textmate is considered by many programmers as the best editor. It contains all the basic features including syntax high lightening, block selection, and support for languages in the market. It also supports multiple file encodings, multi-level undo, and different line conventions.
This editor put the powerful and massive UNIX command console in an easy to use GUI for the best of both worlds. It combines features like dynamic outlines, auto-indentation, search and replace, expression support etc. It also supports a huge theme support to make the software more appealing.
Textmate does not have any out-of- the box features compared to Atom and Sublime, but one thing to be noted is that it is fully ESTABLISHED. And for a coder who values work, this is what matters the most.
6. Chocolat
The text editor that probably offers the most limited and appealing interfaces on this list. It can be considered as the non-official successor to the TextMate editor which comes handy with similar features. The editor’s aim is to simply create a text editor that encompasses all the features that a programmer wishes to have.
Chocolat offers features like Live Error Checking which constantly checks your code for errors as you are building the app, Split editing offering you to split two files for comparing and editing, auto completion mechanism enabling you to automatically auto check for spellings and words for Python, JS, Ruby, HTML and more.
Other features include: –
• Quick file navigations
• Customized snippets
• Multiple selections with multiple cursors
• Real-time error checking
• Live view of HTML and code
7. UltraEdit
The number of features this editor offers is incredible. UltraEdit is a powerful rich-text editor which has a bag full of features when the developers are looking to crack out their mobile application in the market.
The reason this editor is on the 7th position on the list is that it is a power packed editor which seems to be quite confusing and fussy to many developers. We are sure people using this software right now aren’t even sure about the features it offers. This is useful to those who need a high tool base for editing different types of texts.
The main advantage of this editor is its ability to create projects that contain multiple files. Since Notepad++ and Atom are purely document-centric, UltraEdit provides you with a “Project” feature that arrange several files scattered around you disk.
8. BBEdit
Now here comes the text editor for Macintosh. BBEdit is a leading HTML and text editor specifically crafted for the needs of software developers and web authors with high performance features like searching, manipulating and editing of text. This editor is available for one month as free trial, after which you will have to pay for further use.
With BBEdit you can: –
• Perform total control of your text
• Command folders, files, disks and servers
• Integrate the new into an existing project
• Syntax coloring for various languages
• Grep pattern matching
• Mac OS X Unix supported
9. MacVim
MacVim is an extension to Vim text editor Vim designed for Mac OS X to better integrate with the Mac. Some features that very few other editors on the list offer are: horizontal and vertical split views, project tab completion (most others complete words from the same file), and customization of almost every behavior of the editor.
MacVim supports multiple windows with tabbed editing and a host of other features such as: –
• Backgrounds are transparent
• With automatic font substitution and OS X input methods, it now offers multibyte editing
• ODB editor support,
• And more…
Most importantly, MacVim has now released the full power version of of Vim 7.2 to Mac OS X.
10. Brackets
If you are looking for simple and good features to run your code, this should be your choice. The bracket is a free, open source editor which offers an easy–to–use editor to write our code (PHP, HTML, CSS or any other languages). It has a great extension model, is lightweight and browser-based.
The key feature bracket has to offer is that its code hints property from PSD, which lets you pulls out your preferred design from PSD including gradients, measurements, colors, etc. You can also extract image layers and defined preprocessor variables. It also features real-time connection with the browser where CSS selector is applied. It has the power of a code editor with a built in browser like functionality
Other notable features it offers includes: –
• Using bracket extensions, install additional features
• Blend the visual tools into an editor
• Provides inline editors to open a new window on the code.
Final Verdict: –
Many of us might already have been using or have used the above IDE’s for writing your code. But as you see, the best IDE depends on your requirements and operating system. Your requirements might be practically limitless, but making a wise choice of your best text editor will certainly get you to the top. All the best!
Out of these 10 software i used 2 before. The list is very useful i just wanted this. Thanks for sharing.