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Caroline Ko
Caroline Ko

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Developer tool recommendations

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If you are in the early phases of a career change into the tech industry or just thinking about it, I hope this blog will help you think about the developer tools that can help you along your journey.

From someone coming from a non-technical background, like me, you can get confused about which developer tools you should use. This is because there are so many different types of tools and many of these tools are intended for the same reason so you may not know which one to start and choose from. When I first started studying software development, I was 100% lost on which developer tools to use and didn't know which ones would be beneficial. It can be daunting to someone who is new to software development since there are so many different developer tools out there. Over the course of transitioning into the tech industry, I have come across many different types of developer tools and these are some of the tools I found that were helpful to me. Please keep in mind that I am using Windows so these tools for Mac may be different. Also, everything on this list is free (which is a plus)!

  • Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS code)

VS Code is a tool that will help write your code faster and more efficiently. It also has a built-in terminal that supports debugging and running tests. Lastly, this is tool is very user-friendly and has the ability for IDE customization.


  • Chrome DevTool

Chrome DevTool is a built-in developer tool in the browser where you have the ability to edit the website without altering the actual code. Also, there is a console inside the built-in developer tool that developers often use to debug and test their codes without editing their files.


  • Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an open-source operating system on Linux.


  • Postman

Postman is an API platform that helps simplify and expedite API development.


  • GitHub

GitHub is a code hosting platform where collaboration and version control takes place. This platform makes it easy for you to work together with other people and collaborate with them easily.


  • Git

Git allows developers to be able to maintain and track the changes to their code easily. It also allows you to revert back the changes through Git if need be.


  • Slack

Slack is a communication platform that is used by not only developers but everyone. It is commonly used by developers as it provides an easy way to communicate and collaborate with fellow developers.


  • MDN Web Docs

MDN Web Docs site is created by Mozilla and provides a vast amount of information regarding web development, including HTML, CSS, and APIs. You will find pretty much anything you need through the documentation they provide on this website.


  • Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is a knowledge-sharing platform that is used by most developers. This is a site that is community-based where developers can ask questions and get answers from other developers. Many developers use this platform to learn and share their knowledge to help others.


  • Netlify

Netlify provides you with the platform to deploy your website for free! Also, you are able to build dynamic websites, e-commerce stores, and web applications through this platform.


  • Node.js

Node.js is an open source server environment where you can run JavaScript outside the client's browser.


  • Bootstrap

Bootstrap is an open-source HTML, CSS, and JavaScript framework that makes it easier to build responsive and mobile-first projects on the web.


  • Repl.it

Repl.it is an online code editor that allows you to run code live in your browser if you don't want to download an editor.


  • Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace where you can collaborate, write notes, organize tasks, and so much more!


  • Notepad++

Notepad++ is a free source code editor that supports several languages. However, be mindful that this is only supported with Microsoft Windows. This is a replacement of the basic Notepad as it is a more advanced text editor that supports variety of file types.


As I have mentioned before, there are so many different developer tools out there; however, I have listed some of the tools I found to be helpful in hopes that you will find them helpful as well! These recommendations are 100% my opinions. I am pretty certain that this list will change and grow, so feel free to let me know if there are any other cool developer tools I should give it a try!

P.S. Thank you for reading my first blog! I hope it was informative and feel free to give feedback/comments 😊

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