What is the Difference between IDE and Simple Text Editor?
The main difference between a simple text editor and IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is the additional capabilities the IDE provides us with, such as Debugging Capabilities, Versions Management, Code Auto Completion, and various wizards that assist us.
The Best Integrated Development Environment (IDEs) for JavaScript
There are many IDEs we can choose from when coding in JavaScript. Yet, some of them are more optimized for JavaScript than others. We recommend you try these IDEs and select the one you feel more comfortable with.
WebStorm
If you are already familiar with JetBrains’ IDEs, you will most likely find this IDE highly comfortable. The similarity to the other IDEs from JetBrains will assist you with the first steps. This is our favorite IDE. If you are a PHP developer, you might want to explore using PHPStorm. PHPStorm and WebStorm are the same when it comes to coding in JavaScript.
https://www.jetbrains.com/webstorm
Visual Studio Code
This IDE was developed by Microsoft. There are lots of various plugins you can install in order to use this IDE for coding in many different programming languages. If you are already familiar with this IDE coding in other programming languages, most likely that you will find it comfortable when it comes to JavaScript as well. Unlike WebStorm, Visual Studio Code is free.
https://code.visualstudio.com
WebStorm and Visual Studio Code are currently the most popular IDEs for JavaScript. We strongly recommend you start with them. WebStorm is a bit more polished and a bit more friendly. Beginners will find it more comfortable. This is also the main reason why I prefer using it when teaching. There are many other IDEs and text editors you might want to check out, such as Sublime Text, Apache Netbeans, and Atom. However, their popularity is significantly lower.
