Review: 10 JavaScript editors and IDEs put to the test

Feb 08, 2014, by admin

JavaScript is used for many different kinds of applications today. Most often, it’s partnered with HTML5 and CSS to build Web front ends, but it’s also used for mobile applications, and it’s even finding a place on the back end in the form of Node.js servers. The story of Node.js reads like it came from a Hollywood script assembly line: Some kids are monkeying around with scrap they picked up around the Internet and find a new way to snap it together. The next thing you know, they’re lapping the pack at the racetrack and coasting to the winner’s circle Fortunately, JavaScript development tools — at least some of them — are rising to meet the new challenges.

In this roundup, I look at 10 different editors and IDEs (integrated development environments) of interest to JavaScript programmers. Six of these — ActiveState’s Komodo IDE, Eclipse with JSDT (JavaScript Development Tools), Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2013, NetBeans, Sublime Text, and JetBrains’ WebStorm — could serve as the primary JavaScript tool for serious developers which of these six products full, scored evaluations.

The other four tools — Alpha Anywhere, Komodo Edit, Notepad++, and TextMate — don’t rank with the above group, and I didn’t give them full evaluations. Still, they’re worth knowing about, so it’s in the discussion.