Top 25 Software for Developers: Gems in your toolkit

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1. SQLite

It might seem like an odd entry for the top spot, but SQLite really is remarkable. It is possibly the most deployed open source software in the world! It is an embeddable SQL database that is used by a number of open source and proprietary software. It is used in popular applications such as iTunes, iOS, Acrobat Reader, Adobe Air, Firefox, Android, Symbain and many more. Unlike most other open source software, SQLite is in the public domain, which means that it can be used for any purpose whatsoever, including in proprietary applications, for a charge without releasing the source code. The SQLite application and library are small and can be used with a number of programming languages to give your application a SQL database for storing structured data. The syntax of SQL is quite similar to MySQL and standard SQL syntax. For its use in millions of devices and applications we believe SQLite to be the number one software for developers.

2. GCC

The GNU Compiler collection is the default compiler used on UNIX like systems. It supports a wide number of programming languages, operating systems and architectures. Installing GCC is a prerequisite to compiling any Linux software from source and is probably what was used to compile all the software you have installed on your Linux system.

3. Git/TortoiseGit

Git is the version control system of choice for Linux kernel developers, and is in fact designed by Linus Torvalds himself. Git is now widely used with social coding sites such as Gitorius and Github both of which are free for open source projects. TortoiseGit allows one to manage Git repositories using A GUI.

4. LLVM

LLVM or Low Level Virtual Machine is a new compiler infrastructure, capable of compiling a number of languages. It’s what is responsible for compiling from Flash to an iOS application in the iPhone packager as well. It’s capable of optimizing code at various instances, and can even work with GCC. It is part of Apple’s development tools as well.

5. Eclipse

Eclipse is one of the most popular IDEs out there, and is capable for developing in a plethora of languages from C/C++, to COBOL, PHP and Ruby. It’s free and open source, software and is constantly improving with each new version. It is highly extensible and serves as a base for a number of other IDEs such as Zend Studio, Flash Builder and Aptana.

6. Adobe AIR SDK

The Adobe AIR SDK puts to use the development talents of the web developer and enables them to create desktop applications for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android and iPhone using web development languages and tools, Adobe AIR applications install on computers with the AIR runtime installed and can be written in Flash (ActionScript 3 and MXML) or even HTML, CSS and JavaScript (including HTML5).

7. jQuery

Possible the most famous javascript library for developing web applications, jQuery packs a lot of features in just a few kB of code. jQuery makes is incredible simple to work with HTML Documents, and is even in use in non-HTML DOM environments. It has been espoused by major companies such as Microsoft, Google and Nokia.

8. Qt/QtCreator

Qt, now by Nokia, is an extensive cross platform SDK that is behind the KDE desktop environment for Linux. It allows developers to create applications for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X while maintaining the platform’s unique look with changes to their code. Qt is also the future development platform for Nokia devices. QtCreator if the official IDE for developing Qt applications that includes a GUI builder.

9. Mercurial/TortoiseHG

Mercurial is a brilliant distributed version control system that is used for some big applications, such as Firefox. TortoiseHG provides a graphical interface for managing Mercurial repositories on Windows and Linux. Mercurial is open-source, cross-platform, easy to use, and efficient. It can be integrated into many other developer tools such as Eclipse to make development even easier.

10. Vi/Emacs

Vi and Emacs are text editors that are highly favoured by hardcore programmers and hackers. Countless forum threads exist solely to debate which is better, but there is no consensus. Both are operated entirely using the keyboard with text commands that can greatly improve the speed with which you handle text and code once you get used to them.

11. .NET

This software development framework by Microsoft powers a majority of Windows applications available today. It is a must know for anyone wishing to develop major applications for Windows today.

12. Titanium

Creating cross-platform native applications is easy with this SDK which allows one to develop applications for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android using web development tools and languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby, Python and PHP.

13. Dreamweaver

A commercial web development IDE by Adobe, Dreamweaver has powerful coding support and is quite extensible. It has support for many common CMSs, and is the first WYSIWYG editor to support HTML 5.

14. Aptana

One of the best free open source IDE’s available; Aptana shines despite the lack of a WYSIWYG interface. Aptana offers a number of plug-ins for developing everything from AIR applications to Nokia mobile widgets.

15. Firebug

A must have tool for any web developer, Firebug comes as an Add-on for Firefox and gives you an in depth peek inside not only web pages, but the Firefox browser itself.

16. Yasca/Sonar

All developers make mistakes, often to the expense of those using the software. Software like Yasca and Sonar make development easier by automatically pointing out common code vulnerabilities, performance issues. Code-quality issues and lack of conformance to best practices.

17. Mono

The open source community’s answer to Microsoft .NET, this project aims to offer an .NET compatible tool set. This controversial project by Novell, finally makes .NET croos-platform.

18. Sysinternals Suite

Nothing gives you as much information about your system than this extensive collection of tools. With applications such as process Explorer, Autoruns, DiskView, these are the tools to use to really know what’s going on in your system.

19. Amaya

A browser-cum-web-IDE by the W3C themselves, this software serves as a test-bed for web standard features that aren’t yet available in other browsers. It also serves as an excellent web development tool.

20. Kompozer

A great web development IDE that is open source, free and extensible. It is cross-platform due to its Firefox heritage, and has a proper WYSIWYG interface that can compete with commercial applications.

21. WireShark

A cross-platform tool that can tap into your network interface and your network interface and spy on anyone. Just kidding! WireShark can help you analyze your network traffic and debug networking applications or code.

22. Cygwin

A Unix-like CLI environment on Windows! Cygwin implements Unix/POSIX system features using Windows system calls making it possible for Linux applications to compile and run on Windows.

23. Notepad++

For quick editing operations, a light quick-loading editor like Notepad++ can be much more convenient than a heavy IDE. Despite being a plain text editor, this handy application has a ton of useful features.

24. Windows PowerShell

PowerShell is a powerful Windows console by Microsoft that has equivalent features to most Unix commands and features such as piping. It is a must have for any Windows developer.

25. Flex SDK

This open source Flex SDK from Adobe makes it possible for developers to create applications for the Flash platform, for free. With the SDK, developers can create applications using an IDE rather than a design tool.