Have you often wondered what IDE means? Why do you need one? And what are the best IDEs for React JS app development projects in 2022?
Short for Integrated Development Environment, IDEs enable developers to start programming and developing new applications quickly. In addition, IDEs provide developers with the flexibility to not spend hours learning how to use tools individually.
IDEs can be handy tools for beginners who can rely on integrated environments to match the speed and level of other team members. Most tools and features on the IDE are designed to save time. But what really is an IDE?
What is an IDE?
An IDE is a collection of development tools integrated into a single graphical user interface (GUI) that helps developers build applications faster. It enables programmers to render different aspects of building an app and increase developer productivity.
The environment combines common activities like editing source code, building executables, and debugging into a single software. The main utility of an IDE is to parse code when it is written and identify any error in real time.
An IDE can include (but not limited to) the following features:
- Text editing fields and autocomplete capability
- Compiler or interpreter to translate code into readable language for machines
- Syntax checker, highlighter, and debugger
- Offers suggestions
- Shortcuts to provide ease of access
- Additional plugins for functionality extension
6 Best IDEs for ReactJS App Development in 2022
React is a declarative JavaScript library used for building fantastic user interfaces for web applications. It’s a popular and most widely used framework by 40% of developers worldwide in 2021.
Here are some best online IDE for React:
1. Visual Studio Code
Released by Microsoft, VS Code is an open-source IDE that offers flexibility and freedom. It’s used on Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems. The IDE is perfect for ReactJS app development and also supports TypeScript, Node.js and other frameworks.
Further, the IDE includes extensions for programming languages like C++, C#, PHP, and Python.
Key Features of VS Code:
- Built-in intelliSense code completion tool
- GitHub integration
- Wide selection of themes
- Tools for testing and debugging code
2. React IDE
React IDE is a dedicated IDE built specifically for developing React applications. It offers cross-platform capabilities, a custom simulator, and server configurations. React IDE is the best IDE if you want to create or make changes to your React project quickly. In addition, it has many valuable features developers can use specifically on React projects.
Key Features of React IDE:
- Seamless integration of browsers
- Integrated build tools
- Live visualization capability
- Integrated terminals and node servers
3. Vim Editor
Vim is a well-known text editor cum IDE popular among developers because of its configuration properties. It’s a highly lightweight IDE and has syntax and search highlighting capabilities. Thus, it can handle large-sized files.
The only drawback is that it takes quite a while to set up the IDE. However, if you learn and customize the IDE, it’ll prove to be an excellent choice for React app development.
Key Features of Vim Editor:
- It takes little space and runs efficiently
- Can work on different projects simultaneously
- Extensive plugins
- Support for a number of programming languages and file format
4. WebStorm
Completing the best online IDE for React list without mentioning the WebStorm from JetBrains would be an injustice. It’s a powerful IDE for JavaScript and includes various useful features like smart coding assistance, error detection, code completion, and others.
Further, it also allows for refactorings in CSS, HTML, Node.js, and JavaScript. WebStorm IDE’s quality is evident from its widespread use by large companies.
Key Features of WebStorm:
- Support for debugger and testing capability
- Detection of the syntax error
- Integration with Git and Mercurial
- Code completion feature for JSX and React
- Version control system and built-in terminal
5. GNU Emacs Editor
GNU Emacs has a simple user interface but offers many useful features and functions. This text editor/React IDE is a part of the family, which is known for its extensibility. If you are familiar with Vim editor, working with GNU Emacs would become easy for you. Even though it’s a simple editor, it does not miss out on any essential features.
Key Features of GNU Emacs Editor:
- Full support for Unicode and Unicode files
- Well documented refs
- Can Install and download extensions
- Useful for more tasks apart from React IDE
6. Spacemacs Editor
This editor or IDE for React is the best combination of Emacs and Vim and offers the best of both worlds. It’s a community-driven distribution system based on Emacs, which makes it one of the best online IDEs for React. It brings together features of Vim and Emacs under one roof.
Key Features of Spacemacs Editor:
- It offers an excellent user interface
- Integration with Git
- Simple query system to help find available layers quickly
- Organized key binding
Wrapping Up
Many more IDEs for React app development are available in the market today. However, these are some of the best and most well-known IDEs used by most developers and large corporations. Choosing any IDE from the above list will ease your development work and smoothen the workflow.
Moreover, selecting the right IDE for react app development can significantly affect your productivity levels. Thus, we hope you’ll find the best online IDE for React and develop some phenomenal apps.
