Friday, 26 October, 2018 UTC
Summary
JavaScript Editor: As a programmer, the text-editor is your toolbox, and each feature comes with a different tool. Using a barebone editor (eg Notepad) to write code is like building a house with just a hammer: it’s possible, but a lot more effort than it’s worth and the end result is not very good.
JavaScript is a dirty language to start with, you need all the help you can get. A proper, well-equipped text editor lets you code faster, cleaner code
These days, there are only five editors each case worth considering when writing JavaScript. Find dozens of alternatives, but none of them hold a candle to this so do not waste your time.
1. WebStorm – JavaScript editor
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
WebStorm is the only full-blown IDE on this list – the rest are advanced text editors. That means two things: First, all its best features are integrated and official, and second, the entire coding environment is a coherent whole. Other editors that tend to be a hodgepodge of third-party plugins.
WebStorm is a rich app with many features you will not find anywhere else:
- The best auto-completion JavaScript editor
- Excellent code help for frameworks like Angular, React, and Meteor
- Catch hundreds of inspections, code problems as you write
- Full debugger for client and server-side code
- Advanced navigation Keyboard shortcuts for traversing many files
- Integration with karma, mocha, jigs and gauges for unit tests
- Interfaces for the build-tool configuration, including Grunt and Gulp
Put simply, WebStorm is designed for JavaScript professionals working on large projects with many workflow tools. It’s absolutely overkill if you just want to edit stray scripts here and there. If you’re skeptical, note that WebStorm from JetBrains, the same group behind other beloved IDEs like IntelliJ (Java) and PyCharm (Python).
Unfortunately WebStorm is not free – you will have to subscribe to a monthly or yearly plan. The good news is that the subscription price goes down the longer you keep activating your plan.
Download – WebStorm ($ 13 per month, 30-day trial)
2. Visual Studio code – JavaScript editor
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
First things First, Visual Studio Code is not the same as Visual Studio. Considering that Visual Studio is a bloated mess, an IDE, Visual Studio code is a customizable text editor that can be as simple or complicated as you need, thanks to its third party extension repositories.
First released in 2015, Visual Studio code has come a long way since. It comes complete with a bunch of built-in functions, lifting it high above the other text editors:
- Contextual auto-completion based on variables, functions, modules, etc
- Solid debugger with break points, call stacks and the interactive console
- Multiple productivity tips and features
- User-definable template snippets for often reused code patterns
- Native integration with Git source control
- Fast, responsive, and themable interface
But maybe the best part of Visual Studio code is that it’s open source. In fact, it is hosted directly on GitHub. And as one of the most active projects on GitHub, you can be sure that this editor has nowhere to go, but only up.
Download — Visual Studio-Code (Free)
3. Sublime Text – JavaScript editor
Available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
When Sublime Text came on the scene in 2008, everyone lost their minds. A software engineer announced his job at Google to create the ultimate text editor, powered by three simple principles: minimal interface clutter, text, should be the focus, and all screen estate should be used. All these things are true, even today.
Sublime text comes several notable features that prove your value:
- The fastest and most efficient performance of any text editor
- Edit tab groups and multiple split area
- Project-based organization and editing of files
- Command palette for entering commands instead of using the mouse
- Workflow productivity features
- how to search multiple cursor and project-wide
- Massive repository of third-party extensions
Sublime text Pioneering many of the features that make the modern text editors as big as they are. Unfortunately, enough time has passed for the competitors to catch up. And since many of these competitors are completely free, it’s always harder to justify Sublime text is the high price and closed-source code.
Download – Sublime Text ($ 70, Unlimited Free Trial)
Available on Windows, Mac and Linux.
When Atom Javascript editor was first released in 2014, many called it the “Sublime Text Killer.” Even while the Atom has a sizable fan base, it never quite managed to surpass sublime text in popularity. And now that Visual Studio code is creating all the eyes its way, it’s possible that Atom is now at its peak.
Not to say that atom is evil. It’s perfectly maintained, with its handful of features:
- Flexible auto-completion with the help of plugins
- Smart interface for managing topics, packages and settings
- Edit tab groups and multiple split area
- Productivity, workflow features like fuzzy finder
- Highly customizable interface with HTML, CSS and JS
I have always seen atoms as the poor man’s subliminal text. There are even plugins aimed at replicating some of Sublime Text features, such as the minimap. My biggest problem with Atom is its lack of power – it’s not exactly slow, but it’s not fast. I like my text editors lighting fast.
But it’s free and open source, so it seems silly to complain about such things. If you do not have Stomach Visual Studio code for some reason, and you do not know how the proprietary nature of Sublime Text, Atom is then the perfect compromise.
Download – Atom Editor “(Free)
5. Brackets – JavaScript Editor
Available on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Brackets is a text editor launched by Adobe at the same time-atom has in 2014. Unfortunately, it’s never really caught on. Most users were happy with Sublime Text, who is not already committed Atom and brackets not enough to lure, either in the group in the conversion.
But in recent years, braces, has accumulated a small but fervent fan base. It offers a handful of nice features, which are mainly aimed at web developers:
- Live preview of web code with a real-time connection to your browser.
- Inline editors for displaying blocks of code without jumping between files.
- Extract function, convert details from the PSD format and into CSS.
- Groups tab and split area Edit.
- Customizable and extensible with third-party plugins.
My biggest complaint about parenthesis is the performance – it’s just the slowest and clunkiest of all the editors on this list. This is a deal-breaker for me, but maybe not for you. Many users are happy with braces leads, so try it. Maybe it does not bother you so much. Also brackets is completely open source!
Download – Brackets (Free)
What is your favorite text editor for JavaScript coding? If you prefer one that we do not mention, let us know and make your case! Please let us know in a comment below.
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