Best Software Development & Programming Tools : There are tons of Software Development tools and selecting the best could be a challenge. Following is a curated software tools list of the top software development tools.

Best Software Development & Programming Tools

1) RAD Studio

RAD Studio is a Powerful IDE for Building Native Apps on Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and Linux. It enables you to design Beautiful Desktop and Mobile App UIs with less coding effort. Write once, compile everywhere.

Features:

• Single Code Base for all major platforms
• Connect to over 20 databases natively with FireDAC’s high speed direct access
• Up-to-date user interface controls, WinRT APIs, HighDPI-related features and Windows Store support
• Use the HTTP and REST client libraries, available on all platforms, to invoke REST services or AWS and Azure components

2) Embold

Fixing bugs before deployment saves a lot of time and energy in the long run. Embold is a software analytics platform that analyses source code and uncovers issues that impact stability, robustness, security, and maintainability.

Features:

• With the Embold plugins, you can pick up code smells and vulnerabilities as you code, before making commits.
• Unique anti-pattern detection prevents the compounding of unmaintainable code.
• Integrate seamlessly with Github, Bitbucket, Azure, and Git and plugins available for Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA.
• Get deeper and faster checks than standard code editors, for over 10 languages. erful CData Enterprise Connectors to access 70+ data sources.

3) Collaborator

Collaborator is a peer code and document review tool for development teams that take quality seriously.

Features:

• Comprehensive Review Capabilities – Review source code, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio Diagrams, Adobe PDF, Images and Simulink models all in one tool.
• Enhances the code review process for GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, and Azure DevOps
• Supports 11 version control tools including Git, SVN, TFS, Perforce, CVS, ClearCase, RTC and more.
• Proof of Review – Ensure proof of review with electronic signatures & detailed reports to meet auditing and regulatory compliance standards (ISO26262, 21 CFR Part 11, DO-178C, AS9100, OWASP).

4) Studio 3T

Studio 3T for MongoDB helps you to build queries fast, generate instant code, import/export in multiple formats, and much more.

Features:

• Query MongoDB faster with our Visual Query Builder, IntelliShell, or SQL Query tool.
• Our Data Masking tool enables data compliance and bolsters security with powerful field-level data obfuscation.
• Import to MongoDB from JSON, CSV, BSON/mongodump, and SQL, and get a preview of your output documents as you make changes.
• Migration from MongoDB to SQL (or vice versa) has never been easier with our Migration tools.”

5) Linx

Linx is a low code IDE and server. IT pros use Linx to quickly create custom automated business processes, integrate applications, expose web services and to efficiently handle high workloads.

Features:

• Easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface
• Over 100 pre-built functions and services for rapid development
• One-click deployment to any local or remote Linx Server directly from the IDE
• Input and outputs include nearly any SQL & NoSQL databases, numerous file formats (text and binary) or REST and SOAP Web services
• Live debugging with step through logic
• Automate backend processes via timer, directory events or message queue or expose web services, and call APIs via HTTP requests

6) GeneXus

GeneXus provides a unique platform that captures the needs of users and generates applications for present and future technologies, without the need to learn new technology. Allows pragmatic developers to evolve quickly, responding to market and technological changes in an agile way.

Features:

• AI-based automatic software generation.
• Multi-Experience apps: Model once, generate for multiple platforms (responsive and progressive web apps, mobile native and hybrid apps, Apple Tv, chatbots & virtual assistants).
• Highest flexibility: The largest number of databases supported in the market.
• Business Process Management Support: Digital Process Automation through integrated BPM modeling.
• Deployment flexibility: Deploy apps on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid scenarios.
• Application security module included.
• No runtime for generated applications, price by developer seat.

7) NTFS Permission Management

New Technology File System or NTFS permissions control the specific shared resources end-user accounts have access to. NFTS permission management tool configures the domain access, user account, and domain access permissions and is applied to network drives, files, and folders.

Features:

• Increase efficiency with automation
• It helps you to get quick insights and create auditable reports using an advanced NTFS permissions tool.
• It allows administrators to share and exchange resources and can improve security by restricting access to sensitive or confidential materials.
• It helps you to mitigate insider threats proactively
• You can demonstrate compliance with ease

8) DbSchema

DbSchema is a visual database designer & manager for any SQL, NoSQL, or Cloud database. The tool enables you to visually design & interact with the database schema, design the schema in a team and deploy it on multiple databases, generate HTML5 diagram documentation, visually explore the data and build queries, and so much more.

Features:

• Design schema in the team and deploy on multiple databases
• Compare different versions of the schema, generate migration scripts
• HTML5 Documentation , Interactive Diagrams, Relational Data Explorer & Visual Query Builder
• Schema Synchronization, Random Data Generator, Data Loader, Database Reports
• SQL Editor with autocompletion

9) NetBeans

NetBeans is a popular, Free, open-source IDE. It is one of the best application development tools that allows developing desktop, mobile and web applications.

Features:

• Support for fast & smart code editing
• Easy & Efficient Project Management process
• Rapid User Interface Development
• Helps to write bug-free code
• NetBeans IDE offers superior support for C/C++ and PHP developers
• It can be installed on any OS which supports Java, from Windows to Linux to Mac OS X systems

Download link: https://netbeans.org/downloads/index.html

10) Cloud9 IDE

Cloud9 IDE is an online integrated software development environment. It is one of the best software design tools that supports many programming languages like C, C++, PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python, JavaScript and Node.js.

Features:

• Allows to clone entire development environment
• Built-In Terminal for command-line wizard
• Code Completion suggestions helps software developers to code faster and avoid typos
• The Debugger helps developers to set breakpoints, and inspect variables of any JS/Node.js app
• Simply drag any file or Terminal to create multiple split views
• Developers can select an extensive set of default Runners to execute app, such as Ruby, Python, PHP/Apache

Download link:   https://c9.io/pricing

11) Zend Studio

Zend Studio allows software developers to code faster, debug more easily. It is next-generation PHP IDE designed to create apps for boosting developers’ productivity. It is one of the best developer tools which scales according to the DPI settings of the underlying operating system.

Features:

• Code faster with up to performance improvements in indexing, validation, searching for PHP code
• Offering debugging capabilities with Xdebug, Zend Debugger, and Z-Ray integration
• Extensive plugin provided by the large Eclipse eco-system
• It is one of the best programming tools that supports development tools including Docker and Git Flow
• Deploy PHP applications on any server for Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure

Download link: https://www.zend.com/downloads

12) Atom

Atom is a solid all-around text-editor. It is fully free and open source. This software development tool can be customized to do anything but without a need of modifying the config file.

Features:

• Atom works across many popular operating systems like OS X, Windows, or Linux
• It helps developers to write code faster with a smart, flexible autocomplete
• Easily browse and open whole project or multiple projects in one window
• It is possible to split Atom interface into multiple panes to compare and edit code across files
• Find, preview, and replace text type in a file or across the entire project

Download link:   https://atom.io/

13) CodeLobster

Codelobster streamlines and simplifies PHP software development. process. It supports CMS like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Magento.

Features:

• PHP, HTML, JavaScript, CSS code highlighting
• Autocomplete of tags, attributes for a current tag, closing tags.
• Inspector makes it simple to find HTML elements and their styles buried deep in the page
• Autocomplete of style property names and values
• It allows autocompleting of keywords, DOM elements, and their properties
• It offers PHP Advanced autocomplete

14) CodeCharge Studio

CodeCharge Studio offers the fastest way to build applications. This tool helps to develop data-driven Web sites or enterprise Internet and Intranet systems.

Features:

• Avoid costly errors and misspellings by generating consistent, well-structured code
• Eliminate time-consuming programming tasks and build scalable, robust Web Applications
• Helps to convert any database into a web application in very less amount of time
• Analyze and modify generated code to learn web technologies and take on programming projects in any environment

15) Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a responsive framework for developing with HTML, CSS, and JS. It is one of the best software programming tools that has many in-builds components, which you can easily drag and drop to assemble responsive web pages.

Feature:

• Bootstrap enables utilization of ready- made blocks of code
• It ensures consistency irrespective of who’s working on the project
• It offers extensive list of components
• Base Styling for most HTML Elements
• Bootstrap can be customized according to the specific need of the project

Download link:   http://getbootstrap.com/docs/4.0/getting-started/download/

16) HTML5 Builder

HTML5 Builder is a software solution for building the web and mobile apps. It can develop an app using a single HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and PHP codebase. It helps to target multiple mobile operating systems, devices and Web browsers.

Features:

• It is the fastest way to develop cross-platform Apps with flexible Cloud services
• Increased speed of development with a single visual framework
• It is one of the best tools in software that brings Designers and Developers in a Collaborative Workflow
• Create Enterprise or ISV web and mobile apps
• Create location-based browser and mobile applications using geolocation components in HTML5 Builder

Download link:   https://www.embarcadero.com/products/rad-studio/start-for-free

17) Visual Online

Visual Studio Online is a collection of services. It is fast and easy to plan, build and ship software across a variety of platforms. It is one of the best tools for software developers that allows organizations to create the perfect development environment.

Features:

• Track and manage all ideas on kanban or scrum boards with agile tools
• Improve code quality and catch issues early
• Build, manage, secure and share software components
• Automate and simplify Azure deployments
• Tools for manual, performance and automated testing
• It offers a centralized version control system with free private repositories.

Download link: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com

What is Software Development?

Software Development is a step-by-step structured process of creating, designing, building, deploying, and maintaining a software application or product. In Software development, several other components like frameworks, documentation, testing, and bug fixing are also involved.

Which are the best Software Development Tools?

A Software Development Tool is an application or program which helps developers to create, maintain, test, build, debug, fix and support a software application or product. Software development tools also allow users to streamline and automate different software development tasks in order to improve efficiency and performance.

Types of Software Development Tools

Software Development Tools can be categorized into the following types:

IDE (Integrated Development Environment) – Helps to edit, debug and run the source code

Frameworks – Provides a platform to develop software applications

Cloud Tools – Offers various software development services to build software applications quickly and easily

Data Science Tools – Provides detailed analytics to improve software application product

Source Control Tools – Offers easy management of source code for software development projects

Prototyping Tools – Allows creating software prototypes

DevOps Tools – Helps to manage and automate the software deployment process

UML Tools – Helps in software documentation