Here are the top 10 applications recommended by https://somethingwithnumbers.net/ our developers told us about.
1. AngularJS
AngularJS, like an expertly crafted whiskey, has a long and interesting history. Originally created in 2009 by Google employee Misko Hevery, Angular was first created to simplify dynamic web apps for internal use at Google. They needed something that could handle the company’s ever-changing content requirements while being fast and easy to code. The result was AngularJS, an open source JavaScript framework that works well with other tools, for example Knockout or Backbone, but also on its own as a complete app solution. And unlike many other frameworks, it’s easy to learn and quick to implement.
2. Linux
Linux has been powering many businesses since its creation in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The open source operating system is free to use and available for any Linux-compatible computer, making it a very cost-efficient choice for startups who are looking to maximize their budget dollars. It’s also highly customizable, allowing users to modify it based on their preferences.
3. Git
Another open source project developed by Linus Torvalds, Git is a version control system that’s designed to track changes in computer files and coordinate work on those files among multiple people. It is most commonly used for software development, but can also be used for other purposes, like tracking any type of file or document.
The real beauty of this tool is that it gives programmers the power to easily collaborate on projects without having to manually merge code together. Since starting in 2005 with Torvalds’ own work on the Linux kernel, Git has been adopted by many other companies and projects in addition to Linux distributions including WordPress, Google Chromium and Mozilla Firefox.
4. Github
Github’s popularity is growing every day. Created in 2008 by Tom Preston-Warner, this is an intuitive web-based hosting service that lets developers manage their projects online. It includes an unlimited repository of files, the ability to see the history of revisions and comments for each file, and a simple interface that allows you to publish your code for other people to view and comment on. Github has a very quickly growing user base that includes Facebook, Twitter, Google and other major companies because it’s designed specifically for the cloud era.
5. Firebug
Firebug is a development tool that allows you to view and edit HTML, CSS and JavaScript live in any web browser. The real power of this application comes from the live editing options, which allow you to fix HTML and CSS bugs without going back to the source files. If you’re working on a site that has been coded by someone else or by a third-party agency, you can use Firebug to preview your work as soon as it’s uploaded. This is much more efficient than having to go through the entire site line-by-line trying to find a bug. You can then easily fix that one particular piece of code and save the entire site as a user-editable file.
6. D3
D3 is a JavaScript library that allows you to create interactive web graphics without the need for server-side processing. It’s very lightweight and easy to use, which makes it perfect for client-side (non-server) development. D3 was created by Mike Bostock in 2008, initially designed to generate HTML based on data from an Excel spreadsheet. But soon other developers took interest in its functionality and created different versions of the software that could be used for other purposes, like creating charts or visualizations.
7. Github Flavored Markdown
Github Flavored Markdown is a shorthand syntax that allows you to create Github-friendly HTML marked up on the fly. It works by injecting markers into your text that function just like spreadsheet cells. Here’s an example of how it works, using the standard opening and closing GFM tags.
8. Chrome Dev Editor
Chrome Dev Editor has been designed to allow developers to quickly test their work in the Chrome web browser, saving them time so they can get on with their projects. It was created by Google to make it easier for developers working on Chrome to create and debug their code. This open source software has a very simple interface that keeps you focused on the code rather than on a lot of unnecessary features.
There are lots of little things that come with this IDE, including a live HTML previewer and interactive debugger. It’s easy to navigate because you can see each line as you develop it and every time you change something, Dev Editor will highlight those lines so you can turn them back into blue so your changes are still visible.
9. Sass
The Sass CSS extension is a preprocessor that allows you to use more powerful and complex CSS while creating simpler, more manageable files. It actually extends CSS by creating a larger set of tools that can be used for things like variables, mixins and functions that would otherwise take longer to code individually. It’s a very popular tool because it allows you to write less code for certain tasks. In addition, Sass is built on Ruby, which means you get all of the benefits of a fully-fledged programming language. Because of its popularity, it has been integrated into other development tools such as Rails, Compass and Foundation.
10. Photoshop
When it comes to design, Photoshop (PS) is hard to beat. It’s the industry standard and has been for decades. But did you know it can be used as a development tool? Many designers use PS for creating mock-ups and wireframes, and with some clever hacks, you can make it work like a fully-fledged development environment.
For example, there’s a plugin called Chrome Developer Tools that was developed by Google and is freely available on Github. And if you want to view your site exactly as visitors do, then this free add-on will allow you to preview the site in different browsers on your desktop or on mobile devices.