JavaScript is almost everywhere, and its global presence on the internet is undeniable. Most applications use it in one form or another. Moreover, any product owner who is serious about the internet should utilize JavaScript. If you already have adequate knowledge of javascript, be sure to continue learning new JavaScript IDEs, libraries, frameworks, and tools because JavaScript is a gradually evolving language.
The JavaScript community has a tremendous open-source environment, leading to some excellent JavaScript code editors. The versatile movement is strong, and there are many code editors that you can use to edit your JavaScript program.
This blog is to showcase various JavaScript code editors. This list of advanced text editors almost matches the power of an IDE(Integrated Development Environment) and that you can utilize to do anything on your Javascript product.
Why Is JavaScript Editor Important?
Ahead of looking at the editors, though, let’s first answer why a JavaScript editor is important in the first place.
Do you know where almost all product owners spend most of their time? On a code editor! A code editor is required to edit the source code of various programs. If you are utilizing JavaScript, you are going to need a JavaScript editor. JavaScript helps in imparting a visually pleasing appearance to your website. JavaScript’s features like dynamic content generation, Fast loading, etc., make a website lively. Back in the old days, Product owners used Notepad++ for building JavaScript codes.
But for huge projects, more features are required; product owners needed something different and advanced. They required features like auto-complete, Git integration, plugin support, etc. Since a classic text editor can’t provide such compatibility, the need for a code editor arose.
In the modern world of technology, various code editors help product owners to put their code in Git. The majority of editors have plugins to beautify the code or IntelliSense to auto-complete the code. In the following section, we’ll discuss famous JavaScript editors. We will also look at the features and determine which one is the best to choose for your needs.
Eclipse with JSDT
You might have used one of the most well-known IDEs, Eclipse, with other programming languages as it offers compatibility with all the major ones. Eclipse’s compatibility for JavaScript comes by using JSDT or JavaScript Developer Tools.
JSDT offers a lot of features on the basis of Java Developers Tools. You can utilize these comprehensive tools to build JavaScript web apps or JavaScript apps in general.
Eclipse isn’t well known for its speed; it’s relatively slower than other text editors; however, it has become a mature technology over the years. Speed would not be an issue for current development systems with a powerful deal of processing power.
Some key benefits of using Eclipse with JSDT are:
- Proper Syntax Highlighting
- Autocompletion
- Compatible with JSDoc Element Generation
- Flow Analysis
- Refactoring
Atom
Atom is a 21st-century hackable text editor made for product owners who love to customize their text editor. It readily crosses the limitations of a straightforward text editor and can be considered a Javascript IDE. You can modify almost everything that Atom has to provide by adjusting the config file.
The complete installation process is smooth and simple—the first download, install and then code. To make the development process easier, Atom comes with an exclusive package manager that you can utilize to install various packages to extend and improve its features.
If you are working on front-end development with Atom and want to make the most out of it, you will have to install these plugins and packages. Some of the remarkable Atom plugins that you can utilize to enhance your coding experience are Atom TernJS, Atom Beautify, Auto-update packages, Autocomplete modules, DocBlocker, Editorconfig, etc.
Some of Atom’s key benefits:
- Autocompletion
- Multiple Work Panes
- Cross-platform compatibility
Brackets
The exclusive text editor for front-end development, Brackets, is primarily built for front-end engineers. Adobe introduced it with the help of three primary programming languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you are working on a JavaScript project, you can hack into Brackets with ease.
Lightweight, High reconfigurability, and the ability to utilize an excellent user interface make Brackets a suitable choice for modern-day product owners. Advanced features are continuously being added to Brackets to update it to modern JavaScript development standards. Also, You can enhance Brackets features by using various extensions available online.
Some key benefits of Brackets:
- Live Preview
- Great Compatibility with Adobe products
- Compatible with LESS and SCSS
- Supports JavaScript frameworks for the ease of development
- Compatible with autocompletes, indentation, and other crucial code writing, editing, and compiling functionalities
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is the young one on the block. This open-source code editor is built for developing web and cloud apps. You can consider it as an effective alternative to Visual Studio. Product owners interested in quick execution can choose Visual Studio Code, but they won’t get the comprehensive functionality of Visual Studio.
Visual Studio Code has all the features that are essential for handling JavaScript development. It has a top-notch and modern User Interface. You can debug, edit, and change the JavaScript code on the fly. It is also compatible with features like Peek, Rename Symbol, Find All References, and so much more. You can also utilize Visual Studio Code extensions for their customization according to your requirements.
Some key benefits of using Visual Studio Code are:
- Compatible with IntelliSense
- Automatic type acquisition
- Smooth Configuration
- Debugging for client and server-side
- Snippets compatibility
Sublime Text
The open-source, cross-platform JS editor Sublime Text offers adequate room for customization. Its user interface is free of clutter, which makes it a user-friendly technology. Some of its excellent features are enhanced Pane management and an impressive speed boost. Also, you can download various packages like SideBar Enhancements for Move, Rename, Copy, and Paste.
Setting up the various things can take some time in the beginning. But once you become familiar with it, Sublime Text for sure offers a smooth experience. If you are going to try out Sublime Text, here are some popular plugins you must download and install: SideBar Enhancements, DocBlockr, SublimeLinter, and JSformat.
The best part is you can try most of the features you want without spending a single penny. This JavaScript editor also provides a trial version so that product owners can understand its working pattern.
Benefits of Using Sublime Text
- Distraction-free editing mode
- Easy to work with multiple development projects
- Automation Compatibility
NetBeans
The multiplatform IDE NetBeans uses modules for JavaScript application development. Thankfully, the time gap between the installation and utilization of NetBeans is less than with various other editors. Some of the advanced features of NetBeans are smart code completion, syntactic and semantic highlighting code, and Subversion. Others include built-in Git support and Mercurial.
Here’s another useful functionality for you! It’s advanced and easy to modify the workspace of NetBeans. Apart from that, you can reposition tabs in the application frame by dragging. And, of course, every product owner has a unique development style. With NetBeans, you can customize the toolbar icons according to your convenience and technique. And another handy feature for you is that Users can build keyboard shortcuts of their own!
Benefits of Using NetBeans
- Powerful for Automation
- Efficient Refactoring
- Excellent Service Management
PhpStorm
The cross-platform IDE PhpStorm is developed on top of the IntelliJ IDEA platform. Though it is built especially for PHP development, it has some advanced features like JavaScript IDE.
Same as IntelliJ IDEA, the features of PhpStorm can be extended with the help of various plugins. PhpStorm is entirely compatible with zero-configuration debugging in addition to error prevention, syntax highlighting, automated refactorings, and on-the-fly code analysis.
To improve the code quality, PhpStorm offers hundreds of code inspections. It eventually verifies the code as it is built and offers quick fixes for enhancing the code quality. Tapping Alt and Enter together will show you various options over the screen for each inspection.
PhpStorm offers you inbuilt tools for profiling and testing. It offers a unified UI to work with numerous popular Version Control Systems, including Mercurial, Git, and Perforce. Moreover, the IDE offers you various tools to work with SQL and databases in a project.
Key Factors to Choose the Best JavaScript Editor
When it comes to JavaScript editors, you have to consider a few factors before choosing one:
- Flexibility
- Integration Compatibility
- Better project management
- Performance
- Effective Debugging
Wrapping Up
You might have noticed that this list has various text editors as they offer almost everything you will need for a proper IDE. Atom, Brackets, Visual Studio Code are text editors, and they give you all the features required for appropriate JavaScript development. You can debug, edit, upload, etc., without leaving the editor.
