25 Game-changing JavaScript Tools

  • 21 April 2018
  • JavaScript
  • Feature
  • Code Quality
  • Frameworks
  • Testing
  • UI
  • Plugins
  • Net Magazine

Let’s face it. Working with JavaScript can takes its toll on the hardiest developer. Anything that can make that experience better is a welcome addition. Thankfully, in the latest Net Magazine there’s 25 different things to help you out.

This one’s a bit of a mixed bag. Five different categories - code quality, frameworks, testing, user interface and editor plugins. Each one with my top five picks. Some you might expect, some are a little different. All of which will hopefully help someone out there.

Since writing this, I’ve firmly on board the Prettier train. On the face of it, something that messes with your formatting sounds like one of the worst things ever. I think if the defaults were some ridiculous combination of tabs and double-quotes it would have been disabled long ago. But it all makes sense, it stops those silly quibbles about formatting dead in their tracks, and you can be incredibly lazy and it all just… shuffles together nicely.

I’ve also been working a bit with TypeScript since joining Vidsy. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with TypeScript, but I’ll admit it’s useful once it’s set up and working correctly. When it isn’t, it’s the most frustrating, unnecessary blocker there is. It’s entirely up to you, but certainly worth a try.

Vidsy also uses Circle CI and of what I’ve experienced I can’t believe I’ve not used CI tools sooner. It’s one of many little safety nets in place to make sure you’re not being an idiot and doing something you shouldn’t. Any other CI tool would do the tricky, but Circle CI has my recommendation.

If that all sounds interesting, then go and pick up your copy of Net Magazine! If nothing else, it’s got my face in it, which is worth the price on its own.