Development Tools
This section covers essential development tools and workflows for modern software development, including version control, code editing, containerization, and automation.
Core Development Tools
Version Control & Collaboration
- Git - Distributed version control system
- GitHub - Git hosting and collaboration platform
- GitLab - DevOps platform with integrated CI/CD
Code Editors & IDEs
- Visual Studio Code - Lightweight, extensible code editor
- Vim/Neovim - Terminal-based text editor
- JetBrains IDEs - Professional development environments
Text Processing & Utilities
- Regular Expressions - Pattern matching and text processing
- Markdown - Lightweight markup language
- YAML - Human-readable data serialization
Containerization & Orchestration
Container Technologies
- Docker - Container platform and runtime
- Docker Compose - Multi-container applications
- Podman - Daemonless container engine
Container Orchestration
- Kubernetes - Container orchestration platform
- Docker Swarm - Native Docker clustering
Build Tools & Package Managers
JavaScript/Node.js
- npm - Node.js package manager
- Yarn - Fast, reliable package manager
- pnpm - Efficient package manager
Python
- pip - Python package installer
- Poetry - Python dependency management
- Conda - Package and environment manager
General Build Tools
Testing & Quality Assurance
Testing Frameworks
- Jest - JavaScript testing framework
- Pytest - Python testing framework
- JUnit - Java testing framework
Code Quality
- ESLint - JavaScript linting utility
- Prettier - Code formatting tool
- SonarQube - Code quality platform
CI/CD & Automation
Continuous Integration
- GitHub Actions - Workflow automation platform
- Jenkins - Automation server
- GitLab CI/CD - Integrated CI/CD platform
Infrastructure as Code
- Terraform - Infrastructure provisioning
- Ansible - Configuration management
- Pulumi - Modern infrastructure as code
Monitoring & Observability
Application Monitoring
- Prometheus - Monitoring and alerting toolkit
- Grafana - Analytics and monitoring platform
- Jaeger - Distributed tracing system
Logging
- ELK Stack - Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana
- Fluentd - Data collector for unified logging
- Loki - Log aggregation system
Database Tools
Database Management
- PostgreSQL - Advanced open-source database
- MySQL - Popular relational database
- Redis - In-memory data structure store
Database GUIs & Utilities
- DBeaver - Universal database tool
- pgAdmin - PostgreSQL administration tool
- MongoDB Compass - MongoDB GUI
Security Tools
Vulnerability Scanning
- OWASP ZAP - Security testing proxy
- Snyk - Vulnerability scanning platform
- Trivy - Container vulnerability scanner
Secret Management
- HashiCorp Vault - Secret management platform
- SOPS - Simple and flexible secret management
- Sealed Secrets - Kubernetes secret encryption
Getting Started
For Beginners
If you're new to development, start with these fundamentals:
- Git basics - Learn version control
- VS Code setup - Configure your development environment
- Docker fundamentals - Understand containerization
- Basic terminal commands - Command line proficiency
Essential Workflow
A typical modern development workflow includes:
# 1. Version control
git clone <repository>
git checkout -b feature/new-feature
# 2. Development environment
code . # Open in VS Code
docker-compose up -d # Start services
# 3. Development cycle
npm install # Install dependencies
npm test # Run tests
npm run dev # Start development server
# 4. Code quality
npm run lint # Check code style
npm run format # Format code
# 5. Commit and push
git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"
git push origin feature/new-feature
Project Structure
Recommended project structure for modern applications:
project-root/ ├── .github/ │ └── workflows/ # GitHub Actions ├── .vscode/ │ └── settings.json # VS Code configuration ├── docs/ # Documentation ├── src/ # Source code ├── tests/ # Test files ├── docker-compose.yml # Local development ├── Dockerfile # Container definition ├── .gitignore # Git ignore rules ├── .eslintrc.js # Linting configuration ├── .prettierrc # Code formatting ├── package.json # Dependencies └── README.md # Project documentation
Development Environment Setup
Quick Setup Script
#!/bin/bash
# setup-dev-environment.sh
echo "Setting up development environment..."
# Install essential tools
if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git curl wget vim build-essential
elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
# macOS
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
brew install git curl wget vim
fi
# Install Node.js and npm
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Install VS Code (Linux)
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'
sudo apt update
sudo apt install code
echo "Development environment setup complete!"
echo "Please log out and back in for Docker group changes to take effect."
Best Practices
Code Organization
- Consistent structure - Follow project conventions
- Clear naming - Use descriptive names for files and functions
- Documentation - Comment complex logic and maintain README files
- Version control - Commit frequently with clear messages
Security
- Dependency scanning - Regularly check for vulnerabilities
- Secret management - Never commit secrets to version control
- Access control - Use proper authentication and authorization
- Regular updates - Keep dependencies and tools updated
Performance
- Optimize builds - Use efficient build processes
- Monitor resources - Track CPU, memory, and disk usage
- Profile applications - Identify and fix performance bottlenecks
- Cache effectively - Implement appropriate caching strategies
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Git conflicts
git status git diff git merge --abort # Cancel merge if needed
Docker issues
docker system prune # Clean up unused resources docker-compose down -v # Remove volumes
Package manager issues
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json npm install # Clean install
Useful Commands
# System information
uname -a
lscpu
free -h
df -h
# Process monitoring
htop
ps aux | grep <process>
netstat -tlnp
# File operations
find . -name "*.js" -type f
grep -r "pattern" .
sed -i 's/old/new/g' file.txt
Learning Resources
Documentation
- MDN Web Docs - Web development reference
- DevDocs - API documentation browser
- Stack Overflow - Programming Q&A
Practice Platforms
Books and Tutorials
- Clean Code by Robert C. Martin
- The Pragmatic Programmer by David Thomas
- You Don't Know JS series by Kyle Simpson
This comprehensive guide provides a solid foundation for modern software development workflows and tooling.