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Published Apr 17, 2024 ⦁ 8 min read

Developer software list reveals top tools

Finding the right developer tools and software is challenging with the many options available today. To help, we aggregated data and metrics from DevHunt to compile this list of the most popular and highly-rated developer tools across key categories like IDEs, testing, databases, DevOps, and open source. Whether you're looking to optimize your workflow or explore trending solutions, this list makes it easy to evaluate top choices loved by developers. Read on to explore the leading options and uncover tools to boost your productivity.

Top 5 IDEs

Integrated development environments (IDEs) unite essential coding, testing, debugging, and deployment tools in one interface. These feature-rich editors can greatly improve productivity. Here are 5 popular IDEs based on community reviews and usage:

Visual Studio Code

This flexible, open source code editor from Microsoft offers debugging, version control, and extensions.

  • IntelliSense provides smart autocompletion based on variables, functions, and imports.
  • Built-in Git commands simplify pushing code changes.
  • Extensive Marketplace has thousands of extensions for added functionality.
  • Highly customizable with changeable themes, shortcuts, and settings.

IntelliJ IDEA

Robust IDE with advanced autocompletion, error checking, and refactoring.

  • Project wizard simplifies configuring projects for Java, Spring, Gradle, etc.
  • View database schemas and leverage SQL autocompletion.
  • Integrated version control for Git, Mercurial, Perforce and more.
  • Free Community edition or feature-packed Ultimate edition.

PyCharm

Python-focused IDE enabling smarter code inspections, debugging, profiling, and testing.

  • Interactive Python console allows executing code snippets and experiments.
  • Powerful debugger helps identify issues by stepping through code and analyzing values.
  • Backs web frameworks like Django and Flask.
  • Robust database tools for editing SQL, viewing schemas, and querying data.

Eclipse

Extensible open source IDE supporting multiple languages via plugins.

  • Content assist, syntax checking, formatting help productivity.
  • Integrated building, debugging, profiling, and version control.
  • Popular Java IDE with thousands of plugins available.
  • Flexible for many languages like JavaScript, PHP, Python, and more.

NetBeans

Free and open source IDE great for Java, HTML5, PHP, C/C++, and more.

  • Drag-and-drop GUI builder streamlines creating Java interfaces.
  • Integrated Maven support enables project management and comprehension.
  • Powerful debugging and profiling analyze code performance.
  • Large plugin ecosystem expands languages, frameworks, and functionality.

Top 5 Testing Tools

Testing tools ensure code quality by validating functionality, identifying bugs, and boosting reliability. Here are 5 top options used by developers:

Selenium

Open source tool enabling cross-browser testing on many platforms.

  • WebDriver API allows browser automation for tests.
  • Integrates with frameworks like JUnit, NUnit, and TestNG for organization.
  • Works with languages including Java, C#, Python, JavaScript, and Ruby.
  • Headless browser testing enables GUI-less browser control.

JUnit

Simple, open source framework for unit testing Java and building test suites.

  • Annotated tests and assertions validate code during execution.
  • Extensions like JUnitParams enable advanced parameterized testing.
  • Integrated into most Java IDEs and build tools.
  • Supports test organization, error reporting, and performance tracking.

Cypress

JavaScript testing framework purpose-built for modern web apps.

  • Runs directly in browsers for accurate tests without mocks.
  • Interactive interface helps debug via screenshots and videos.
  • Smart stubbing and parallel test runs.
  • Open source with helpful community support.

Jest

Zero config testing framework for JavaScript.

  • Built-in assertions, mocking, and code coverage analysis.
  • Snapshot testing captures component states for change detection.
  • Parallel test execution improves performance.
  • Integrates smoothly with React, Angular, Vue, and more.

Postman

Streamlines API workflow with development, testing, and documentation.

  • Build, organize, run API requests; integrate automation.
  • Monitor test runs and visualize trends.
  • Auto-generate code snippets and API docs.
  • Integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and more.
  • Free and paid tiers available.

Top 5 Database Tools

Choosing the ideal database impacts application performance and scalability. Here are 5 leading options for data management:

MySQL

Widely used open source relational database management system.

  • Enables building structured databases with related tables.
  • Supports stored procedures, views, triggers, ACID compliance.
  • Available on most platforms and integrates with popular languages.
  • Robust access control and security capabilities.

MongoDB

Leading open source document-oriented NoSQL database using JSON-like documents.

  • Flexible schema simplifies modifying data models over time.
  • Tunable consistency balances speed, scale, and data accuracy.
  • Powerful querying via aggregation framework and operators.
  • Sharding enables horizontal scaling and high availability.

Redis

Open source in-memory data store for strings, lists, and more.

  • Ultra-fast lookup and modification of key-value pairs.
  • Great for transient data like sessions, caching, pub/sub messaging.
  • Atomic operations on data structures.
  • Replication and persistence options available.

Elasticsearch

Distributed RESTful search and analytics engine built on Apache Lucene.

  • Near real-time search for structured and unstructured data.
  • Scales easily via document sharding across nodes.
  • Powerful aggregations for metrics and business intelligence.
  • Integrates with Logstash and Kibana for analytics.

Apache Cassandra

Distributed, open source NoSQL wide column store database with tunable consistency.

  • Linear scalability and no single point of failure.
  • Fast writes optimized for write-intensive apps.
  • Query language resembles SQL for familiar syntax.
  • Data stored on disk in keyspace with column families.

Top 5 DevOps Tools

Deploying software quickly, reliably, and at scale requires robust DevOps tools. Here are 5 essential open source options:

Kubernetes

Orchestrates containerized application deployment, scaling, and management.

  • Automates container rollouts and rollbacks.
  • Provides infrastructure agnosticism through abstraction.
  • Powerful API enables automation and customization.
  • Built-in features like service discovery, load balancing, and secret management.

Docker

Packages apps and dependencies into lightweight, portable containers.

  • Isolates apps from infrastructure for consistency.
  • Images become containers at runtime with everything needed to run.
  • Streamlines development and deployment workflows.
  • Integrates with orchestrators like Kubernetes.

Terraform

Infrastructure as code tool for managing, versioning, and deploying cloud resources.

  • Codifies APIs into declarative configuration files.
  • Supports major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
  • Validates and renders incremental execution plans.
  • Can integrate with CI/CD pipelines.

Ansible

Simple open source IT automation using human-readable YAML playbooks.

  • Agentless, so no daemons or databases required on nodes.
  • Large library of modules to automate common tasks.
  • Leverages SSH and sudo for security.
  • Active community with many integrations.

Jenkins

Open source automation server for building, testing, and deploying software.

  • Easy configuration via templates, global settings, and plugins.
  • Triggers builds on code changes with source code integration.
  • Scalable master-slave architecture.
  • Robust plugin ecosystem adds notifications, reports, and more.

Top Open Source Frameworks

Many popular web and app frameworks are open source. Here are some leading options:

React

JavaScript library for building reactive user interfaces.

  • Declarative, component-based approach to UI development.
  • Virtual DOM determines minimal DOM updates for performance.
  • Strong ecosystem of open source React tools and libraries.
  • Developed and backed by Facebook.

Angular

TypeScript-based web framework for building single-page applications.

  • MVC architecture separates concerns for cleaner code.
  • Powerful CLI tooling for building and scaffolding apps quickly.
  • Integrated best practices like dependency injection encourage modularity.
  • Great documentation and large community support.

Node.js

JavaScript runtime enabling server-side scripting and asynchronous I/O.

  • Single-threaded event loop model minimizes overhead and maximizes throughput.
  • Package ecosystem (npm) provides access to hundreds of thousands of libraries.
  • Allows real-time web apps using WebSockets, WebRTC, etc.
  • Pairs nicely with front-end frameworks like React.

Spring Framework

Robust Java framework for building web and enterprise apps.

  • Dependency injection enables loose coupling between components.
  • Declarative programming model reduces verbose configurations.
  • Integrates with popular tools like Hibernate ORM.
  • Backed by Pivotal, which provides support and training.

.NET Core

Modular, cross-platform framework for building web, mobile, desktop, and IoT apps.

  • Open source implementation of .NET Framework from Microsoft.
  • Integrated support for ASP.NET Core web apps and cloud services.
  • Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
  • Interoperable with existing .NET code/libraries.

Conclusion

This list highlighted popular developer tools and open source software across key categories, with leading options based on community feedback and usage data. While these represent top choices, many high-quality alternatives exist for each category. We hope this list provided a helpful starting point for evaluating tools to boost your workflows.

DevHunt aggregates insightful reviews and usage metrics on many more developer products. Check out their site to keep exploring tools tailored to your needs.

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