Introduction

As a summary of 2017 in developer land, we’d love to share with you all the tools we’ve used this past year for developing the software you see on our website today. We’ve never done this before but in case software development is something you’d like to get into, here’s our extremely useful to have tools and software in order to develop applications for Windows, Android and Java systems.

Now, please keep in mind that this is all personal preference. This post isn’t sponsored in any way.

Our tools

Operating systems

Very important. Without Operating Systems life would be very different today. Let’s get started.

• In case you’re more into Windows Development, the most obvious choice is Windows 10. Windows 10 is the latest and greatest addition to the Windows OS family and has some major improvements over the previous iterations. Especially if you’re also into gaming, the latest DirectX versions can’t really hurt!
• For java development and debugging we’d prefer to use Fedora Linux, although Windows is definitely not bad either. But because Java is such a large and diverse software language, why not test out its versatility by using a Linux OS for a change? Besides, if your daily driver is Windows, you’ll learn a lot about how the Linux OS works simply by using it to develop software on. Have I told you it’s also 100% free to download and free to use? You don’t need a license key or sign some kind of agreement to sell your soul in order to use it. It’s also packed with the latest features in Linux world.
• Android development. Well, you definitely need Android for that. How else would we test our tools? Fortunately, Android Development can be done on pretty much any operating system. All you need is some kind of Android emulator or your personal Android phone.

IDE’s

Developing without an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) would be hell, to say the least. A good IDE does a lot of things for you in order to save time, money and a lot of headaches. Depending on what kind of platform we’re developing for, there are a couple of IDE’s out there that will always have a warm place in our hearts.

Windows Development

• Visual Studio 2017. Absolutely the greatest IDE there is in order to develop and debug .NET applications. What more can we say? Honestly the only negative about this one is that it could take some time to load it up sometimes depending on the extensions and tools you’re using. Unfortunately this IDE in its fullest form isn’t available for Mac or Linux users but I’m pretty sure one of these ‘iterations’, Visual Studio will release a version that is suited for other operating systems.

Android development

• Android Studio. This IDE was designed specifically for Android development and comes with an Android emulator. If you’re not too busy working, you can also play some of the more popular Android games on the emulator (as long as the boss doesn’t notice, of course). Also, did they take a peak at Microsoft for naming this IDE?

Java development

We’re gonna be honest here, we simply couldn’t make up our minds about these great IDE’s for Java development. All are equal in our eyes and very much suited to develop amazing Java software.

• Eclipse. Besides that it looks a bit dated now that it’s 2018 (The logo screen is pretty much the most modern look and feel it has which is kind of disappointing), it’s actually a really great IDE for java development. Eclipse can also be used to develop Android applications although we’d still prefer to use Android Studio for that due to the hassle with plugins and extensions.
• Netbeans. Simple, neat, clean and does what it’s supposed to do. What more can we say? It comes with support for multiple languages including HTML, PHP, Java and C/C++.
• IntelliJ IDEA. Refactoring, refactoring, refactoring. This one will save you a lot of time and money to prevent you from making silly bugs and mistakes that other IDE’s wouldn’t have noticed. It’s almost like an auto-correct that actually works properly. You still need to know what you’re doing though. It won’t do everything for you! Unfortunately IntelliJ isn’t free, but if you’re a student or an open-source developer you could apply for a free license to get all the goodies!

Website development

Website development is very important today. Because pretty much any device these days can access the internet and also allow the user to browse the internet, website development is a very popular concept to develop multi-platform tools. For this category, there are two tools we really can’t live without.

• Netbeans. That’s right, the same IDE used for Java development is listed here again, for exactly the same reasons. It’s nice, simple, clean and does what it’s supposed to do without giving the user a headache (which is great).
• WebStorm. Another IDE by JetBreans. Man, these guys know how to make good quality tools! WebStorm is particularly great for developing JavaScript based websites. It’s not free, but the cost of WebStorm is pretty much worth it, considering all the time it’ll save you by making very good suggestions and correcting bad code. Also, refactoring!

Tools

• Postman. Especially if you’re developing RESTful services or doing any kind of website development, this tool is simply amazing. With the ability to save your workspace to the cloud, you simply need to log in and you’ll have all your settings and requirements to continue testing.
• Slack. We don’t work alone, so we have to communicate somehow, right? Why use words when you can use GIF’s with Slack.
• Trello. An amazing website that allows you to make boards containing your work items. It’s especially useful in combination with Plus for trello for time management. Also, definitely required if you work in teams, in our honest opinions.
• Resharper. We absolutely love this for Visual Studio. It’s amazing. I can’t remember how many times resharper has saved me from infinite while loops. JetBrains, once again! Amazing.
• Syncfusion. An extremely useful toolkit for WPF, WinForms and UWP applications in .NET Development. You can read our use case here.
• Notepad++. An extremely useful text editor if you’re writing small scripts or simply need a place to vent out your inner thoughts.
• FileZilla. If you’re running a server and you need FTP access, this client will be more than capable of providing you with an easy to use and extremely intuitive GUI.
• Git. Everyone should use some kind of version control. It’s that simple.
• Last but not least: WordPress. This site runs on WordPress. Lots of sites run on WordPress. It’s easy to install and has so many plugins and extensions to make your site into the site of your dreams.

Conclusion

If you feel like something is missing here, it definitely is. Feel free to leave any and all suggestions in the comment section below. We’ll be sure to post an update next year (or maybe sooner!). I hope you all enjoyed this post and wish you all a great and magnificent 2018.