Top 10 Developer Tools in 2024

If you’re a developer, then you know that having the right tools can make all the difference. But with so many different options out there, it can be tough to know which ones are worth your time and money. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular developer tools and give you an idea of what each one can do for you. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re looking to add to your existing toolkit, this post will help you find the right tools for the job.

• GitKraken Git Client

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• Visual Studio Code

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• Git

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• Postman

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• Visual Studio

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• GitHub

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• Docker

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• IntelliJ IDEA

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• Chrome Dev Tools

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• Notepad++

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What are Developer Tools?

In computing, developer tools are programs that software developers use to create, test, debug and manage their code. These tools can be either standalone applications or integrated development environments (IDEs).

There are a wide variety of developer tools available, ranging from simple text editors to complex debugger and profiler tools. Some of the most popular developer tools include Microsoft Visual Studio, Eclipse and NetBeans.

Developers often have a preference for specific types of developer tools, depending on their programming language(s) of choice and development methodology. For example, some developers prefer using lightweight text editors such as Sublime Text or Atom, while others prefer more comprehensive IDEs such as Visual Studio or Eclipse.

No matter what type of developer tool you use, they all serve the same basic purpose: to help you write code faster and more efficiently.

You can also read: The best Mac apps

The Different Types of Developer Tools

Different types of developer tools are available depending on the programming language being used. For example, developers using the Java programming language might use the Eclipse development environment while developers using the C++ programming language might use Microsoft Visual Studio. In addition, there are a variety of code libraries and open-source projects that can be used to speed up development.

In The list below we have provided a list of the top 10 Developer Tools:

1. GitKraken Git Client

GitKraken is the world’s most used Git GUI client. This cross-platform tool shows a read-only graphical representation of the current folder and its files, allowing you to visualize the intricate relationship between your folders and commits. This software simplifies complex Git workflows, making it a crucial tool for any developer or team that wants to use GitHub without dependencies on the command line.

Pros:

• Fast and easy to use
• Cross-platform compatibility
• Has a built-in code editor
• Supports multiple languages
• Free for non-commercial use

Cons:

• Not suitable for very large projects
• Does not support some advanced features of Git
• Cannot be used offline

2. Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a great editor for developers who put a high value on design and simplicity. It supports debugging, version control, and task running, giving devs the tools they need to optimize their workflow. This tool has taken the spot for four years in a row! As Microsoft continues to improve and add to this lightweight development environment, we only expect usage to grow.

Pros:

• Sleek code editor
• Supports debugging
• Version control
• Task running
• Lightweight development environment

Cons:

• No built-in refactoring tools
• Limited language support
• No built-in unit testing

3. Git

Git is a version control system that records changes made to files. It is best known for being the origin of the GitHub project hosting service, but has remained an important part of software development and release engineering. Git was written by Linus Torvalds with help from other developers in 2005 and subsequently released under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Pros:

• Free and open source
• Actively maintained
• Used by developers to track changes made to files
• Version control is crucial for remote teams
• Git is back in the top 5 in 2017

Cons:

• No GUI
• Steep learning curve
• Lack of documentation

4. Postman

Postman is a collaboration tool for API development, simplifying and expediting the process. While Postman was originally designed for developers to make testing of APIs easier, it has become one of the most popular tools among teams in software development for creating, managing and debugging APIs, with a ranking of #3 in the Top Dev Tools for 2017.

Pros:

• Simplifies API development
• Expedites API development
• Great collaboration tool
• Top dev tool in 2020
• Easy to use

Cons:

• Can be expensive for some users
• Some features can be confusing to use
• Not as widely used as some other tools

5. Visual Studio

Developing software has never been so easy! Visual Studio is the most popular IDE for software developers. This comprehensive environment offers design and deployment tools for all stages of the software development process, ranging from project creation to post-deployment changes.

Pros:

• Powerful code editor
• Great for debugging
• Supports multiple languages
• Has a lot of features and extensions
• Works on Windows, Linux, and MacOS

Cons:

• It can be slow and laggy
• The interface can be overwhelming for new users
• Not as lightweight as some other IDEs

6. GitHub

GitHub is the best place to share code with friends, co-workers, classmates, and complete strangers. Over a million people use GitHub to manage their code. There are more than 54 million repositories containing everything from global standards like CSS and HTML to Rosetta Code, a friendly collection of programming exercises in many different languages.

Pros:

• The largest open source community in the world
• Easy to collaborate with others on projects
• Great platform for developers to showcase their work
• Offers a variety of features and tools for developers
• Free for public repositories

Cons:

• Private repositories are not free on GitHub
• Learning curve to using GitHub effectively
• Some users find the interface difficult to use

7. Docker

Docker is an open platform that helps to developers and sysadmins to create, deploy and manage applications by making use of containers. It has a wide variety of uses with the most popular ones being automating the deployment of applications inside containers and enabling developers to build libraries for cross-platform compatibility.

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Standardized packaging
• Cross-platform
• Open source
• Popular

Cons:

• Requires Linux kernel
• Can be challenging to learn and use
• Not as popular as it once was

8. IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ IDEA is a Java integrated development environment which provides, but is not limited to, code completion and refactoring support in three languages: Java, Kotlin and Groovy. The core IntelliJ platform also offers project organization through modules, language-aware editing for several languages including code completion as well as resolving and formatting code issues, plugin management with live previews of installed plugins and much more.

Pros:

• Easy to learn and use
• Friendly and customizable
• Many features and plugins that can be used
• Cross-platform and can be used on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Excellent support for Java development

Cons:

• A bit expensive for the commercial edition
• The community edition does not have as many features as the commercial edition
• It can be slow and laggy at times, especially when there are many projects open

9. Chrome Dev Tools

Chrome DevTools is Google’s set of developer tools built into the Chrome browser that enables developers to edit and debug web pages. Whether you want to edit an HTML page with live changes, document JavaScript events, or monitor performance bottlenecks, we have a tool for that.

Pros:

• Free
• Open source
• Cross-platform
• Inspects network activity
• Debugging tool

Cons:

• Can be difficult to learn
• Steep learning curve
• Limited to Chrome browser

10. Notepad++

Notepad++ is a text and source code editor for use with Microsoft Windows. It supports tabbed editing, which allows working with multiple open files in a single window. The product’s name comes from the C postfix increment operator. Notepad++ is distributed as free software. At first, the project was hosted on SourceForge.net, from where it has been downloaded over 28 million times.

Pros:

• Free and open source
• Supports multiple languages
• Syntax highlighting and code folding
• Runs on Windows
• Tabbed interface for working with multiple files

Cons:

• No built-in compiler
• No support for Mac or Linux
• Limited plugins and extensions

Pros and Cons of using Developer Tools

Developer Tools, also known as devtools, are a set of web authoring and debugging tools built into Google Chrome. They can be used to inspect, debug and troubleshoot problems in HTML, CSS and JavaScript code. 

Also Read: How to Update Chrome On Any Device

Pros:

• Devtools can make it easier to find and fix errors in your code.
• They can help you understand how your code works and how it affects the rest of your page.
• Devtools can be used to test changes to your code without affecting the live site.
• You can use devtools to inspect and debug third-party code on your site. 

Cons:

• Devtools can be overwhelming for newcomers. There is a lot of information available and it can be difficult to know where to start.
• The tools are constantly changing and evolving, so you need to stay up to date with the latest features and changes.
• Using devtools can slow down your browser performance.

How to use Developer Tools effectively?

Assuming you are using the Google Chrome Developer Tools:

1. The first thing you should do is open up the Developer Tools window. You can do this by pressing F12, or by right-clicking on any element on the page and selecting “Inspect”.
2. Once the Developer Tools window is open, take a look at the various tabs and panels that are available to you. Each of these tabs provides different information that can be useful when debugging your webpages.
3. The “Elements” tab is probably the most important tab for developers, as it allows you to inspect the HTML and CSS of your webpage. This can be very useful when trying to figure out why something is not displaying correctly, or when you want to see how a certain style is being applied to an element.
4. The “Network” tab can be very useful for performance troubleshooting. It allows you to see all of the network requests that are being made by your webpage, as well as how long each request takes. This information can help you identify bottlenecks in your code that are causing slow page load times.
5. The “Console” tab is where you will execute JavaScript code snippets and view any error messages that are generated by your code. This tab can be very helpful when trying to debug your JavaScript code.
6. The “Sources” tab allows you to view all of the source files that make up your webpage

Conclusion

By now, you should have a pretty good understanding of what developer tools are and how they can be used to improve your workflow. If you’re not already using them, I highly encourage you to give them a try. And if you’re still not convinced, maybe this article will change your mind.