25 Essential Tools Every New Programmer Needs to Succeed

As an experienced software developer, I‘ve tested hundreds of tools over the years in search of the best ones to improve my productivity and skills. While every programmer will develop their own unique workflow, certain tools have consistently proven themselves invaluable.

If you‘re just starting out on your coding journey, you may be overwhelmed by all the different tools and technologies out there. To help you navigate this landscape, I‘ve compiled a list of 25 essential tools every new programmer needs in their toolkit. These span a range of categories from code editors to learning resources.

Code Editors & IDEs

1. Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free, lightweight yet powerful source code editor. It provides intelligent code completion, linting, debugging, and built-in version control. VS Code has a vast library of extensions so you can customize it to your heart‘s content.

I recommend VS Code for most new programmers because it‘s easy to learn and has all the essential features without being bloated. You can use it for virtually any programming language.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pricing: Free
Website: https://code.visualstudio.com/

2. JetBrains IDEs (PyCharm, IntelliJ IDEA, etc.)

For certain languages and frameworks, an IDE tailored to that stack can offer an even better development experience. JetBrains makes some of the best IDEs around. A few of their most popular ones are:

• PyCharm (Python)
• IntelliJ IDEA (Java)
• WebStorm (JavaScript)
• RubyMine (Ruby)
• CLion (C/C++)

The deep language-specific assistance and framework integration these IDEs offer can give a significant productivity boost, especially on larger projects. However, they do have a steeper learning curve and heftier system requirements compared to a general code editor like VS Code.

Most JetBrains IDEs have a free Community Edition as well as paid versions with additional features. Students and teachers can get the paid versions for free.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pricing: Free Community Editions, paid versions start at $89 for individual licenses

Website: https://www.jetbrains.com/products/

Version Control

3. Git

In modern software development, using a version control system is non-negotiable. Git is by far the most popular VCS and an essential skill for any programmer.

Git allows you to track changes to your code, create branches to try out new features, and easily collaborate with others. Whenever you make a mistake, you can revert your code to a previous state. This is invaluable as a beginner when you‘ll inevitably break things!

Git itself is a command-line tool and there are graphical interfaces available, but I recommend learning the commands. This interactive tutorial is a great place to start: https://try.github.io/

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pricing: Free
Website: https://git-scm.com/

4. GitHub

GitHub provides free Git repository hosting and has become the de facto platform for open source software development. Beyond code storage, it offers features like issue tracking, pull requests, and continuous integration.

Every programmer should have a GitHub account. You can use it to store and share your own projects, contribute to open source, and showcase your work to potential employers. Many companies now even use GitHub as part of their interview process.

Pricing: Free for public and private repositories, paid Team and Enterprise plans
Website: https://github.com/

Debugging & Testing

5. Chrome/Firefox Developer Tools

If you do any kind of web development, you absolutely must familiarize yourself with the developer tools in Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. They allow you to inspect HTML/CSS, debug JavaScript, analyze network activity, and so much more right in the browser.

Spending a little time to really learn your way around the developer tools will pay huge dividends in hunting down bugs and fine-tuning your web apps and pages. The official docs are quite good:

• Chrome DevTools: https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools
• Firefox Developer Tools: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools

Platforms: Chrome and Firefox
Price: Free

6. Postman

Postman has become an indispensable tool for testing APIs. Rather than having to write a bunch of code to test out an endpoint, you can simply fire off an HTTP request in Postman and inspect the response.

It has a user-friendly interface for specifying request headers, parameters, and bodies. You can also write test scripts and save collections of requests to automate your API testing.

The free version has everything most individual developers need. For collaboration and advanced features, there are paid plans for teams and enterprises.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux (also available as a web app)
Pricing: Free version, paid plans starting at $12/month
Website: https://www.postman.com/

7. Xdebug

Xdebug is a must-have extension for PHP development. It takes PHP‘s built-in var_dump() to the next level by providing a full stack trace and pretty printing complex variables.

More importantly, it integrates with many IDEs and code editors to provide step debugging. This allows you to pause execution, inspect variables, and step through your code line by line. If you‘ve ever resorted to sprinkling print statements throughout your code to debug, Xdebug will be a game changer.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pricing: Free
Website: https://xdebug.org/

Documentation & Organization

8. Dash

Dash is an API documentation browser that allows you to instantly search through 200+ offline documentation sets. Rather than Googling and then hunting through documentation sites, you can find what you need in a few keystrokes.

Another handy Dash feature is snippets, which let you save frequently used code snippets for quick insertion later. You can also annotate documentation for your own reference.

Platforms: Mac
Price: $29.99
Website: https://kapeli.com/dash

9. Trello

Trello is a simple but powerful tool for organizing projects and to-do lists using the Kanban system of boards, lists, and cards. It‘s great for planning out features, keeping track of bugs, and collaborating with a team.

At an individual level, I use Trello to maintain a backlog of ideas and things to learn. As you go through tutorials and courses, you‘ll inevitably come across libraries and techniques you want to try but not necessarily right at that moment. Having a board to capture these for later keeps you focused.

Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Pricing: Free, paid plans with additional features

Website: https://trello.com/

Collaboration & Communication

10. Slack

Slack has taken over as the communication platform of choice for many tech companies and open source projects, displacing older tools like IRC. It organizes conversations into channels, supports code snippets, and integrates with a ton of other tools like GitHub and Trello.

Joining Slacks related to your areas of interest is a great way to get quick help when you‘re stuck and start building relationships with other developers. Just be sure to observe proper etiquette by searching for past answers before asking questions.

Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Pricing: Free, paid plans with additional storage and features
Website: https://slack.com/

11. Zoom

In our increasingly remote world, a reliable video conferencing solution is a must-have. Zoom has emerged as one of the leading platforms thanks to its ease of use and robust feature set.

For collaborative coding, Zoom‘s screen sharing feature is invaluable. You can share a view of your code editor to pair program or get help debugging an issue. The whiteboard is also handy for sketching out ideas.

Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Pricing: Free for meetings up to 40 minutes, paid plans starting at $149.90/year
Website: https://zoom.us/

Learning Resources

12. freeCodeCamp

freeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization that provides a free, self-paced coding curriculum. It covers a wide range of topics including web development, data structures and algorithms, and machine learning.

What sets freeCodeCamp apart is its emphasis on hands-on learning through building projects. By the end of each certification, you‘ll have a portfolio of real-world apps to showcase your skills.

The supportive community is another big plus. You can get help in the forum or chat rooms when you‘re stuck, and by answering other people‘s questions, reinforce your own understanding.

Platforms: Web

Pricing: Free
Website: https://bomberbot.com/

13. Codecademy

Codecademy offers interactive, in-browser coding courses on a variety of programming languages and technologies. Each lesson breaks down concepts into bite-sized chunks with code challenges to test your understanding along the way.

The platform is well-designed and the lessons are engaging, making it a great choice for absolute beginners. While the basic courses are free, the $19.99/month Pro plan unlocks additional features like quizzes and real-world projects.

Platforms: Web
Pricing: Basic courses free, $19.99/month for Pro
Website: https://www.codecademy.com/

14. Pluralsight

Pluralsight is a subscription service that provides access to thousands of video courses on software development, IT, and creative skills. The content is created by industry experts and tends to be more intermediate/advanced level.

For around $30/month or $299/year, you get unlimited access to the entire course library. There are also skill assessments and learning paths to help guide your study plan. Many tech companies offer Pluralsight subscriptions as an employee benefit.

Platforms: Web, mobile apps

Pricing: 10-day free trial, $29/month or $299/year for personal plan
Website: https://www.pluralsight.com/

Wrap-up

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but adopting these tools should give you a solid foundation as you learn and grow as a programmer. The most important thing is to not get overwhelmed and try to learn everything at once.

Start with the essentials like a good code editor and version control. As you work on projects and collaborate with others, you‘ll naturally discover additional tools to incorporate into your workflow.

Remember, the tools are just a means to an end. It‘s the fundamental programming concepts and problem solving skills you develop that really matter. But having the right tools in your arsenal will make the journey that much smoother. Happy coding!