According to Wikipedia JavaScript (JS) is an interpreted computer programming language. It was originally implemented as part of web browsers so that client-side scripts could interact with the user,control the browser, communicate asynchronously, and alter the document content that was displayed.
In this article I have collected some of the useful JavaScript code editors and IDE which will help developers to speed up their coding process and help them to accomplish the task in specific time. Following editors help you with syntax highlighters, multiple language supports, support for coffeescript and many more. I hope you will find the list handy and useful for your development needs.
If you like the article you might be interested in our other article on Useful JavaScript Tools.
1. KineticWing
KineticWing is a free IDE that is lightweight, portable and works on all major operating systems (Mac support is mentioned to be coming soon). It is not a complicated IDE but more like a smart text editor with modern features. These features include support for Sass or Less (with built-in compiler), HTML5-CSS3 or CoffeeScript. A great feature is the ability to extending it with JavaScript plugins and there are already many like JSHint, JSLint, Less Compiler, JSBeauty..
2. Code Mirror
CodeMirror is a JavaScript component that provides a code editor in the browser. When a mode is available for the language you are coding in, it will color your code, and optionally help with indentation. A rich programming API and a CSS theming system are available for customizing CodeMirror to fit your application, and extending it with new functionality.
3. Ace JavaScript Editor
Ace is an embeddable code editor written in JavaScript. It matches the features and performance of native editors such as Sublime, Vim and TextMate. It can be easily embedded in any web page and JavaScript application. Ace is maintained as the primary editor for Cloud9 IDE and is the successor of the Mozilla Skywriter (Bespin) project.
4. Brackets
Brackets is an open-source editor for web design and development built on top of web technologies such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript, Brackets is built using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It is integrated with the Chrome’s Developer Tools and JSLint for debugging.
Brackets, although being web-based, works in a native shell (Win & Mac versions available) to reach the file system.
5. Editr
Editr is a HTML, CSS and JavaScript playground that you can host on your server. It is based on ACE Editor. Its super easy to setup. It supports multiple instances on one page. Configurations are available via JS object or HTML attributes. Editr is licensed under MIT License.
6. CodePress
CodePress is web-based source code editor with syntax highlighting written in JavaScript that colors text in real time while it’s being typed in the browser. It facilitates real time syntax highlighting, code snippets, auto completion, multiple windows and many more.
7. Komodo Edit
Komodo Edit is a free source code editor for JavaScript and other popular languages like Ruby, Tcl, PHP, Perl etc. Komodo Edit is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Komodo Edit has features like syntax coloring, syntax checking, Vi emulation, auto complete etc.
8. Aptana Studio
Aptana Studio is a very impressive and open source development tool that supports HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and Ruby, Rails, PHP & Python on the server side. It has a “code assist” feature where you can find out details about functions, elements, etc. You can stay synchronized with the server via FTP, SFTP and control your code with the help of an integrated debugger.
9. Eclipse
Eclipse is a free, state-of-the-art Java development environment (there are also JS, PHP and C/C++ versions). It has a very active community and many open source plugins + developer tools built around the ecosystem.
10. Netbeans
It consists of an open-source IDE and an application platform that enable developers to rapidly create web, enterprise, desktop, and mobile applications. Java is the main platform and it also supports JavaFX, PHP, JavaScriptx, Ruby +Ruby on Rails, Groovy and Grails and C/C++.
11. Cloud9 IDE
Cloud9 IDE is an open source application that aims to provide a powerful and focused IDE for JavaScript developers. It is powered by the Ajax.org platform + makes use of HTML5, node.js, socket.io and many other projects. The application has a pretty fast text editor with bundled syntax highlighting support for JS, HTML, CSS and mixed modes. Cloud9 IDE has integrated debuggers for node.js and Google Chrome which can be started, paused and stopped from the IDE.
12. Nodepad++
Notepad++ is actually an advanced text editor and a must-have for every developer using Windows. It has syntax highlighters for every popular scripting language and it is usually a perfect fit for a 2nd IDE, for small updates or simpler codes (however, there are many developers who only use it).
13. Scripted
Scripted is a fast and lightweight code editor with an initial focus on JavaScript editing. Scripted is a browser based editor and the editor itself is served from a locally running Node.js server instance. The editor is actually the Eclipse Orion editor with a few additional bells and whistles. Anyone familiar with editing in Eclipse will immediately know many of the key bindings the Scripted editor supports.
14. EpicEditor
EpicEditor is an embeddable JavaScript Markdown editor with split fullscreen editing, live previewing, automatic draft saving, offline support, and more. For developers, it offers a robust API, can be easily themed, and allows you to swap out the bundled Markdown parser with anything you throw at it.
15. Amy Editor
Amy Editor is a collaborative text and source code editor for developers. It support JavaScript, Ruby, PHP, C#, Java, HTML, YAML, etc… programming languages. It has Syntax Highlighting, Smart indentation for each language, Code folding, Unlimited undo/redo, Customizable key shortcuts, etc… You can easily change the color themes of the editor easily.
16. CKEditor
CKeditor, one of the most popular free WYSIWYG editors around now has a new version with more features & a lighter name: CKEditor. WYSIWYG editors generally load slowly due to the highly-used JavaScript. One of the best things CKEditor offers is the seriously improved performance to eliminate this problem. Also, it is now an accessible script in compliance with the W3C WCAG & the US Section 508.
