#Top Node Js IDEs For Modern Application Development

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Top Node Js IDEs For Modern Application Development

Escaping the unseen ubiquity of Javascript technology in today’s modern application development realm is pretty challenging, in fact quite impossible. And I am talking in a good sense here. You see, over the years, especially since the inception of the technology, there has not been a day since it has been growing in regards to its popularity across the globe. Today, the time has come when Javascript is not just used for the web but also found everywhere including the development of mobile applications as well. Javascript has a lot of useful frameworks to ease the development tasks. Though the following post focuses on the best Node.js IDEs to consider while conducting a modern application development project.

Now let’s just go through a bit of basics first and then conclude the post with some of the best Node.js IDEs to consider for modern application development projects.

Understanding Javascript, Node.js and it’s significance

So what exactly is Javascript? Well, it is a basic yet popular programming language that was developed to meet the needs of the ever-changing landscape of the internet. It is quite known that since the time Javascript came into being, it was considered at its best in regards to popularity, usefulness, robustness and scalability. The tech being quite interactive in nature, is the core reason behind its universal usage. To be precise, web development is more like a rabbit hole, the more you dig in the more you are about to discover.

So what exactly Javascript is used for? Well, almost everything. You see here you have tons and tons of options to explore right from Vue to Angular, Meteor, Node.js, Express.js, JQuery, Next.js, Django and the list goes on! So developing a robust, scalable software in the nick of time is quite possible. No wonder, more than 1,25,000 jobs are found on LinkedIn especially in regards to Javascript development.

Node.js on the other hand can be considered a subset of Javascript. I am sure you must have heard that there is a cookie cutter solution for conducting web development projects but when it comes to Node.js, the claim totally fails. No wonder from PayPal to Trello, Walmart, everyone is going gaga over the Node technology. So what exactly is Node.js? Well, it is a single-threaded, cross-platform runtime environment for developing quick and scalable server-side networking applications like never before. Node.js generally runs on V8 Javascript runtime engine and features event-driven, non-blocking I/O architecture, ensuring that the end result or solution is way more efficient and suitable for developing real-time applications.

I am sure you know that it has been like 2 decades since the website development and mobile application development has taken over unexpectedly. In fact, back in 2018 the runtime already crossed the 1-billion downloads threshold. So as per now, you will find more than 20 million sites created using Node.js. Twitter, Spotify, eBay, Reddit, LinkedIn, GoDaddy are some of the best examples to take into account.

Where exactly Node.js can be used? Further below I would like to mention certain used cases where Node.js turns out to be the best choice worth considering.

Real-time chat applications -Since the tech comprises single-threaded asynchronous nature, it turns out to be pretty well-suited for conducting real-time communication. You see here scaling things up is pretty simple and that’s the reason why Node.js is highly preferred in developing chatbots. In addition, here you can add multi-person chat and push notifications.
Internet of Things – You see most of the time IoT applications tend to comprise multiple sensors and that’s the reason why Node.js is highly being preferred here. Catering a large number of requests is more like a cake walk for Node.js. In addition, all these concurrent requests can be handled seamlessly.
Seamless data streaming – Next kind of applications developed using Node.js are data streaming applications. Now one of the obvious reasons here is that the tech is lightweight, fast and offers an incredible native streaming API. Moreover, here end users tend to pipe requests to each other ensuring that the data is streamed directly to its final destination.
Developing complicated single-page applications – Single-page applications are said when the app is loaded in a single page. In other words, no matter how many requests are made in the background, the tech can be way more supportive and especially Node’s event loop. This one processes a wide range of requests in a non-blocking fashion.
REST API-based applications – As mentioned earlier, Javascript is preferable for both front-end and back-end development. So technically speaking, a server has the potential to communicate seamlessly via REST APIs. Several packages such as Express.js and Koa ensure that web development becomes easy and worth considering.

So why exactly Node.js must be considered?

Well, at present any and every programming language or framework is of a kind. In fact, they do have potential to offer reasons to choose them over their competitors. And further below, I would like to mention some of the most crucial reasons that make Node.js a cut above.

#1 Cross – platform

One of the obvious reasons for considering Node.js is because it supports cross-platform app development. In other words, organizations can target any and every platform including Windows, linux, MacOS and that too with one code base. Yes, you don’t have to write a separate code base for different platforms.

#2 Lightweight

Another crucial reason to consider Node.js is that it is lightweight. You see Node.js tech uses an asynchronous event-driven I/O model. This means that no function here has the audacity to perform I/O in the Node directly. Node.js itself being lightweight and efficient ensures to develop solutions which are high performance in nature.

#3 Great Performance

The Next benefit of using Node.js is high performance. As mentioned earlier, Node.js is highly built on Google Chrome’s V8 runtime written in C++ and is built for different ranges of operating systems and that too at a breathtaking speed. Generally, both V8 and Node tend to remain updated at regular intervals. Now in what sense, it is updated? Well, from performance boosters, security patches, and high-end support for Javascript features. Also, single-threaded, event-driven architecture ensures handling a plethora of communications becomes seamless. Since it operates on a single thread, it is quite possible to make the most of event loops and callbacks for conducting different I/O operations, delegating tasks such as database operations and so forth.

In addition to all these, when it comes to scalability, Node.js has the upper-hand right from the beginning. Developers tend to use a wide range of tools such as PM2 manager to ensure that monitoring, optimizing and deploying Node.js based apps become easy.

Well, I just can’t go on and on when it comes to the advantages or benefits of using Node.js. However, now enough said about the Node. technology. Now it’s time to up your web development game by using some of the best Node.js IDEs.

Best Node.js IDEs for Developing New Web Applications

Integrated Development Environment, popularly known as IDEs are the wide range of facilities offered to developers for conducting software application development. Call it a code editor or a compiler, debugger, automation tool developer, IDE’s can be all these at once! No wonder SAP, Walmart, IBM, Yahoo are vouching for Node.js IDE’s. So without much delay, let’s get started with the best Node.js IDE to consider.

#1 Visual Studio Code

The first and foremost IDE to take into account is Visual Studio Code. This one was developed by Microsoft with an objective to assist several Node.js developers across the globe. The IDE in particular is a pretty lightweight and powerful code editor which is available for free to download and use.

Now you know what makes the visual studio code a cut above? It’s the uncanny built-in support for Javascript including Node.js and successfully runs on different platforms such as Mac Os, Windows and Linux. Top features of visual studio code include – in-built CLI (command line interface) , integrated terminal Split View and Zen Mode, Helpers (Context Menus, Intellisense), Git Integration and so more!

#2 Intellij IDEA

The next coolest Node.js IDE to take into account is Intellij IDEA. Here it is quite possible to stay in the workflow of your app development lifecycle. Here you may find a wide range of features and functionalities such as intelligent code compilation, integrated environment for text editor, streamlined debugger, multiple framework support, test-runner and coverage, great version control system, which certainly leads to enhanced developer’s productivity, seamless knowledge transfer and on-boarding, enhanced quality of the code, high productivity in code maintenance.

So when you choose Intellij IDEA, there is a huge possibility for high return on investment, saved ample amount of time, and increase in productivity.

#3 Cloud 9

The next best Integrated Development Environment to keep in mind for Node.js is cloud 9. It may quite interest you to know that Cloud 9 is one such IDE that is favored by a wide range of Node.js developers even now across the globe. And cloud 9 is not just used for developing Node.js applications but also it helps in conducting PHP projects like never before. Some of its core features include key-binding editor, integrated debugger, in-built terminal, server-less development, full-featured edition and so more! Cloud 9 can be mainly used for debugging any application for spotless look and feel.

#4 Sublime Text

Now you can use an IDE or a code editor, Sublime text is one such tool that has been offering wonderful solutions especially when conducting Node.js development projects. Sublime Text might be in inception since ages, but it still somehow holds a top spot as it comprises of a plethora of features and powerful aspects such as project switching, that is instant project switch, split editing, cross-platform compatibility, powerful package ecosystem-API, macros, syntax highlights, auto-indentation and so more.

You see sublime text enables developers to select multiple options, all at once. At the same time it provides highest performance by variable naming, seamless and easy manipulation and so forth. Try searching for best tips and tricks for using Sublime Text and you are simply good to go.

#5 Komodo IDE

Last but certainly not least, Komodo IDE is one of the finest cross-platform integrated development environments used for conducting web development all across the globe. In fact, this particular IDE works wonders not just for Node.js but for Ruby, Perl and so forth.

Some of the core features offered by Komodo IDE include Built-in Browser, version management, syntax highlighting, split-view, editing across multiple windows, markdown and DOM viewer and so forth.

Final Word

On and all, these are some of the best Node.js IDE to take into account. Each one of them is picked on the basis of its reviews and ratings, popularity and usage. Of course, there are many other IDE’s available but here aforementioned ones are worth taking into account. I hope you find the following post helpful. If so, also do share among your peers and help us in spreading the word.

by Michael Smith

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