10 Tools Every Software Developer Should Use in 2018

The main problem I noticed about most programmers is that even though they know about latest software development tools, they never really spend significant time to learn them well. As a programmer, I always try to learn new tools and latest technologies. At the same time, I also look to improve my knowledge of tools which I have been using for many years.

Whether you're a front-end developer, full-stack programmer or part of a DevOps team, you should familiarize yourself with the latest development tools to increase your productivity.

Today, you will find that there are many tools available which simplify development tasks. Each tool has their own strengths and purposes but how will you pick the right one for your project? Choosing the right software development tool is like picking the right tool to tighten a screw - choose wrong, and you will waste precious development time.

To make your decision easier, I am providing a list of 10 best software development tools that every programmer should consider in 2018:

1.     GitHub 

GitHub is a popular tool widely used by many developers for collaboration. Basically, it's a web-based repository where you can host and review code, manage projects, and develop software with millions of other programmers. GitHub comes with excellent source code management functionality and the powerful Git version control system. Git allows you to upload different versions of your software and assure that no version of your program is ever lost. It is also used by many software developers and designers to share their code with the open source community.

2.    Slack 

Available for free, Slack is another cloud-based team collaboration tool. The tool provides developers with an opportunity to collaborate and cooperate in a quick, enjoyable, and professional way. Slack makes communication easier among development teams with several exciting features such as private groups, persistent chat rooms, and direct messaging.

3.    Diffblue 

Though running automation tasks, fixing bugs and writing tests are all significant part of development, they aren't the most pleasant and usually become tiresome for developers. Diffblue automates everyday coding tasks such as test writing, bug fixing, locating exploits, translation, refactoring code, and creating original code to meet specifications. Diffblue is a powerful automation tool that not only helps programmers with several time-consuming tasks but also refactors their code.

4.    SASS 

Sass helps you keep your style sheets concise. This allows you to modularize your code by leveraging additional features not available in regular CSS. It is considered the most sophisticated and professional grade CSS preprocessors.  The codebase is actively maintained and developed by hundreds of developers and tech companies. Sass helps you to write easy, clean, and less CSS fast while keeping your code organized in a less redundant way.

5.    Jenkins 

Jenkins is another popular automation software which is primarily used as a tool to develop, test and deploy software. This open-source software allows programmers to detect and resolve defects in a code base and to automate testing quickly. With 1000+ available plugins, Jenkins makes it easy for programmers to organize their development environment as per their specific needs.

6.    Snort 

Securing your code should be a primary focus for every programmer when it comes to software development. Trusted by many developers, Snort is one of the most reliable tools which allows for real-time monitoring of network traffic which ultimately helps DevOps teams in detecting and preventing possible security threats to a network. The global Snort community continuously examines, tests, and suggests improvements to the source code, leading to the collective knowledge of security teams.

7.     Apache Spark 

Apache Spark is an open-source cluster-computing framework which executes batch-processing faster than MapReduce or any other tool. It supports multiple languages such as Java, Python Scala, and R. It also helps programmers analyze a large number of datasets in real time. With 1000+ contributors from 250+ institutions, Apache Spark has become the largest open source community.

8.   Sublime Text 

Being a developer, you always look for a good text editor that does not only save you time but also helps you work more effectively. Though you will find several text editors in the market, Sublime Text is considered as the most powerful editor widely used by most programmers today. Sublime Text is a cross-platform source code editor which comes with a Python application programming interface. With this advanced text editor, you get multiple cursors and hundreds of useful shortcuts for commands. Sublime Text also allows you to install unlimited packages and navigate through several files of code without having to open new pages or projects.

9.    Atom 

Designed by the GitHub community, Atom is a free and open-source text and source code editor recommended by many tech enthusiasts and developers. With Atom, you can customize the editor to meet your development flow and style. Atom also makes it easy for programmers to collaborate on code while sharing knowledge to develop better software. With a complete host of modifications available, Atom allows you to share your workspace and edit code in real time.

10.   Stack Overflow 

Launched in 2008, today Stack Overflow is known as the most reliable Stack Exchange Network. Aspiring programmers actively use it like forums to ask questions, edit, upvote or downvote the answers. Whether you are looking to confirm if your code is correct, or which platform or language to use for a particular project, Stack Overflow is an ideal platform where you can get the right solutions. Pieces of evidence advocate that 50 million developers every month visit Stack Overflow to learn new things, share their knowledge, and help each other.

The daily routine of a programmer is to deal with several bugs and errors and find a right solution to resolve them. All the tools mentioned above will help you make development tasks easier and quicker in 2018.

Remember, “Your code is like your girlfriend, the more you take care of it, the less it will bug you.”

Choose the right tool for your upcoming development task and get rid of the bugs!

Author Bio

Isaac Barnes is the co-founder and CTO of Eminent IT; an award-winning information technology firm focused on helping government organizations improve their business processes and technologies. He developed, lead, and implemented over 50 IT projects for the Department of Defense, Executive Office of the President and other organizations over the past 16 years.