Every programmer needs a good place to work on their code. Whether you are making the latest web apps or learning a language for the first time, the environment you use should be convenient and easy to use.
Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are made to help developers write code more easily. Most of them are offline programs that are put on the hard disk of the computer.
Many IDEs that work in a browser can be used to code in the cloud. Most of them aren't as good as their offline versions, but they're getting better all the time. There is almost always an IDE for whatever you want to make.
When Amazon bought the Cloud9 IDE in 2016, developers were already using it a lot. Its full integration with Amazon Web Services makes it arguably the most powerful and extensible online development platform available right now. The online IDE has a code editor, a terminal, and a lot of powerful tools for debugging.
Cloud9 also has a mode called "pair programming," which is similar to "VS Live share," that lets teams work together remotely to code. Need a prototype quickly? Through the built-in terminal help, Cloud9 gives you direct access to AWS services.
CodeTasty is a full-featured cloud IDE that is easy to set up and runs in the cloud.There is support for all of the major languages, as well as linting and transpiling for Typescript and other languages. The editor is a full virtual development environment, with a terminal and windows for output. CodeTasty is free and has all of its features, but you can pay for more project options and to work with a team.
Codecademy uses an online IDE and lessons to teach everyone from beginners to experts how to code. Their large list of languages includes Python, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and Ruby, among others.
Codeacademy also has paid courses called Pro and Pro Intensive that are meant to cover whole subjects. There are expert courses on topics like machine learning, test-driven development, and front-end web development, among others.
The p5.js library is based on JavaScript and gives you tools to use code to make interactive art. The p5.js web editor lets you code right away without having to install the library and run a local server.
The p5.js library can make both beautiful graphics and ways to interact with them. Our tutorial on Voice-Sensitive Robot Animation shows how fast and easy it is to make interactive art with p5.js.
An online Python IDE should be fast, easy to use, and have a test terminal. Codenvy has all of these features and a lot more. Codenvy doesn't care what programming language you use, and each instance of the IDE is its own development environment.
With the online terminal, you can add more packages and modules. Codenvy is a powerful tool for development and collaboration that can be used for almost all types of development in the modern world.
Trying to figure out JavaScript? Try JSFiddle. It has template projects that can help you get your ideas for web apps up and running quickly.
JSFiddle is completely free (ads pay for it) and is used by Google, Facebook, and thousands of other developers.
A GitHub integrated development environment (IDE) might sound strange at first, but it makes a lot of sense. Gitpod lets you change files on GitHub right in your browser. With the help of a browser extension, GitHub gets a button that, when clicked, opens a workspace for the current project.
An IDE based on VS Code is used to make changes. Side-by-side code comparison is built in, and comments make it easy for a team to work together. Gitpod is a unique idea that is currently in a free beta stage for both public and private repos.
Ruby has a special place in the hearts of many programmers. It is easy to read and write, and it is the foundation for the popular Ruby on Rails platform. A Ruby online IDE should be bold, easy to use, and nice to look at. Repl.it is a great place to improve your skills because it has environments for both Ruby and Ruby on Rails.
Codepen.io is the place to go if you want to make things for the web that look nice. For all kinds of front end web development, the IDE works like a sketchbook. People of all skill levels work together to push the limits of what can be done in the browser.
The best pens from the past week and the Codepen Radio podcast are included in the weekly Spark newsletter. Codepen has a lot of great features for coders and web developers besides its community.
It's hard for kids to learn how to code. Small Basic has an online editor that is easy for kids to use and is forgiving with code syntax. The language is easy to understand, but it is also close enough to code to be useful.
The library that comes with the program lets you draw, type text, play sounds, and even do some basic networking. Check out some of the platform's simple coding projects for kids to see if it's for you.
With the Tynker block-based platform, parents and kids can learn together. There are a few free courses you can take to try out the service, but if you pay $7.50 a month, you get a lot more. Tynker has a lot of coding, game, hardware, and Minecraft modding courses for people over the age of seven.
It might not be a surprise that Arduino's own Create Web editor is the best place to program Arduino boards online. Even though it's still young, it works a lot like the offline IDE. Along with the code editor, the browser also has the library manager and the serial monitor.
At the moment, only official Arduino boards and a few other boards are supported, but more boards will be supported in the future. One downside of this IDE is that you need to download a small bridge program to access the USB ports and upload code.
XOD is a visual programming language for Arduino boards that is free and based on nodes. Each block is a device or sensor, and you can connect them by dragging a line from one node to the next.
The library comes with a lot of different nodes that can be used for different things. Groups of nodes can be collapsed into new nodes to make clean, easy-to-read blocks.
The browser version of XOD doesn't let you upload directly to boards, which is a shame. There is, however, a mode called "Simulate" that lets the program be tested without a connected board.