What are the most effective tools for software engineering?

I would also include Visual Basic. Even though basic is one of the oldest languages and maybe one of the least used it actually is the core of industrial robotics, microcontrollers, PLC’s like Siemens and Rockwell and many other essential industrial systems. I understand why the new generations of programmers don’t like it but it still is going strong in our manufacturing world. If you get to learn the basics of Basic everything will be a lot easier when you’ll consider a career in Industrial software engineering.

Sorry, programming languages have very little to do with software engineering. With the proper system structure languages shouldn't matter. Python, Erlang, or assembly are all valid choices as long as they can be orchestrated in a proper way.

Javas and C family are old now but they are still gold. I feel python is good but when debugging and error tracing, java and c family are more easy to find. I feel compile languages are more stable then interpretation language since most of unexpected error raise at the time of careful testing different from compilation language which shows general error when starting compile.

Being able to write lines of code or solve singular algorithms does not automatically equate to being able to build applications or systems.

IDEs are like reversing cameras in cars. You can totally do without them, but they surely will save you a lot of time and prevent many mistakes.

While I was a vim purist for many years, I can't stop pushing my love for VSCode in 2023. There is one specific reason for this - Remote Container Projects. I've been able to create templates for microservices fast, spec out any required service dependencies with a fully contained compose environment, and the killer app? Have developers use these projects on any OS, with any host configuration, and it works every time. Can this be done strictly with Docker? Sure. But the workflow and ease of use to actually do this will always earn it a place in my heart. Consistency, repeatability, and shortening time to feature development are king and this does it well.

IDEs are good when a project is built from scratch. But once a basic framework is ready, it is time to move to the command prompt and scripts. Make, CMake and ninja are good command line frameworks that help reduce build time and automate the build process for future CI/CD pipelines.

The ability of an IDE to understand a complete project is very important. If I'm editing C++ in a CMake project, the IDE should understand CMake natively and be able to support any toolchain (cross included) I present to it. Then I can search and refactor symbols across the project and even jump into system headers or the headers of dependencies. I can also get code completion. Best of all, I can get instant feedback on the code I type when the IDE uses, say, the language server protocol to instantly compile-check what I've entered. It can visually flag the code with warnings and suggestions as I go, reminding me of common mistakes or misuses of the language so that I avoid them.

Early in my career, I was working on a complex coding project using an integrated development environment (IDE) that I was unfamiliar with. I was struggling to debug and optimize the performance of the code. One day, a senior colleague noticed my frustration and offered to mentor me. They patiently introduced me to the IDE's debugging capabilities, metrics, shortcuts, and customization options. They showed me how to use debugging tools effectively, which significantly improved my error-solving skills. This experience taught me the immense value of not only IDEs in the development life cycle but also seeking guidance and mentorship from experienced colleagues when working with new tools or technologies.

Visual Studios Code is quickly displacing many of the legacy players in this space. If you're new to software dev, it might benefit you to start here.

Imagine your code editor as your personal creative space, much like a favorite cozy corner or a well-worn notebook where your thoughts flow freely. Sublime Text is that sleek, quick-to-open notebook, ready at a moment's notice. Atom is your customizable diary, adorned with notes and colors uniquely yours. Vim and Emacs are like the challenging puzzles with rewarding secrets hidden within, offering wisdom to those willing to learn their intricate paths. Notepad++ is your dependable companion, straightforward and reliable, always there when you need it. These editors are more than tools; they're extensions of your mind, transforming abstract ideas into tangible creations, line by line.

IntelliJ IDEA stands out as a leading IDE today, primarily because of its advanced code analysis capabilities. Furthermore, its integrations, including built-in database tools, version control, decompilers, and application servers, enhance its utility and efficiency for developers.

code editors are the backbone of our coding environment. These applications, ranging from the likes of Sublime Text to Vim and Notepad++, aren't just platforms for writing code. They're our daily companions, offering a blend of simplicity and power that helps us craft, edit, and refine our work with ease. Features like syntax highlighting and code completion transform the coding process, making it more intuitive and efficient. Whether standalone or paired with other tools like terminals and IDEs, code editors are pivotal in navigating the complexities of software development, enabling us to deliver polished, error-free code.

Text editor is one of the most important things for Software Engineer. It allows you to increase development speed for the daily routine a lot. In my opinion, Emacs is the best solution at the moment. The main idea of Emacs - Everything is a text. You have a unified interface for everything. It has a lot of built-in features to quickly edit text and navigate through it. Also, the editor is highly extensible, you can modify it however you want with Emacs Lisp. But usually you don't need to write a lot of elisp code because Emacs has the largest number of extensions. For example, you can use lsp-mode as a client for LSP, org-mode for task tracking, org-roam for zettelcasten notes, magit for git manipulations, etc. Btw I use Emacs :)

Debugging tools are much more needed to learn or see what all theories were taught seeing methods jumping , registers , stacks , memory and values getting manipulated , it’s a lab where you see things happening. Without debugging is a magic abra ka dabra input output , but how it happened in real time is seen by debugging tools. In case of unexpected events/errors it’s a life saver ( debugging means checking core dumps too ) , wireshark and other network capture tools are great help in distributed systems ( more important these days )

If you are working on Unix/Linux, tools like gdb are invaluable in helping identify where-on-earth problematic code is emanating from. I recall many years ago the usage of gdb and single stepping helped to find out the source of a major bug that was creating havoc in several deployments Command line utilities like truss() are also very effective in tracing down rogue processes or problematic chunks of code

The above description left off print statements from its list of debugging tools. Obviously printf() and the like are a primitive debugging tool. And sometimes they may be the most expedient way to figure out if code is reachable. However, the more complex a system is, the more sophisticated tools will help you. And a debugger is indispensable— intentionally not learning it, or deciding never to use one is obviously just limiting developer productivity. I once had to debug a crash at a remote customer site for some very complex software written in C++. It would have been impossible to do if the customer hadn’t fedexed me a 40-gig core dump which I proceeded to load up into visual studio. My only alternative would have been a plane ride.

Rubber duck debugging - very powerful. From a story in the book The Pragmatic Programmer in which a programmer would carry around a rubber duck and debug their code by forcing themselves to explain it, line by line, to the duck. The idea behind this technique is that by explaining the code to an inanimate object, the programmer is forced to slow down and think about each step in the process. This can help them to identify errors that they may have missed when they were writing the code.

What Michael Piekarsi said makes no sense. When you're trying to figure out what a function does, or why a process is failing, debugging is the only reliable way to do it. You can debug with breakpoints, or you can... read the code yourself I guess? It gets cumbersome very quickly when you don't know what you're looking for. So, Michael, I hope you're not actually a developer, because if you are, you're doing it wrong.

If you aim for craftsmanship in software development, TDD is a must-have skill. It helps build career capital by ensuring quality work that doesn't require constant revisiting. In today's tech landscape, GitHub Copilot can ease your TDD journey. While it tackles some of the initial inertia around writing tests, remember—you're still the critical thinker who needs to plan test cases and refine auto-generated code. There's no longer any excuse for not adopting TDD - Thanks to CodePairing Tools! Over time, you'll see the compounding benefits of TDD on your career. Regardless of the programming language you work with, making TDD a lifelong tool is a decision well worth the investment.

Unit testing tools specific to your technology stack should be used, JUnit for Java, NUnit or MSTest for C#, GoogleTest for C++, Mocha/Chai for Javascript and so on. It's not mandatory to use TDD to write unit tests, you can still add tests using above tools post implementation. By having these unit tests at the lowest level and adding them to your CI builds, you can be confident that recent changes didn't break existing functionality.

I agree, Understanding of TDD is a must have skill for a developer. It not only help prevent regressions but also help uncover edge cases in a code. I also believe a developer should know how to mock dependencies to be able write effective unit tests.

Some of tool based on personal experience. - Selenium, Cypress, Playwright for UI testing - Browserstack, Robotium, Appium Mobile testing. - Jmeter, Blazemeter, Seige for performance tests - Postman and Fiddler for API tests Along with tools solid Unit test coverage, Test plan documentation and CICD pipeline support plays key role in testing multi tier complex software systems. Oh and baking testing estimates in a user story estimate for Agile SAFe/Scrum??

I do use git for version control. I use typically the command line, but sometimes I use git-extension and Kdiff3 for fixing merge conflicts. Both git-extension and Kdiff3 are free.

Version control systems are a category of software tools that help in efficiently managing and tracking all the changes that have been made to the source code along with the information like who made and what changes have been made by developer. Some popular version control systems are Git, CVS & SVN.

Good source code control systems are lifesavers for coders. My favorite feature is 'blame', which shows where lines of code came from; seeing the whole commit that changed one line often reveals key context that helps understand what's going on. Closely related is the ability to see the code changes that went into one bugfix or new feature; this is amazingly helpful when learning how a large project works.

This may be off-topic, but I'll give an example of a very convenient IDE for working with GIT that I've been using for a long time: this free version of IDEA IDE Community Edition. Even if you don't write in Java, this IDE will open your GIT repository in any programming language and help you do in a couple of mouse clicks those actions that are performed with long commands through the terminal. And as a free GIT repository, I recommend GitHub. It supports private repositories for your projects that you don't want to share and it's completely free.

I use Git-based Github as VCS with Github-actions setup to auto-draft releases based on semantic versioning. The git integration in IntelliJ tools makes it too easy to resolve conflicts and manage commits.

**Pen and paper** The most underrated and least used, but more valuable is the process where you articulate to yourself on a paper as it helps you think, write, rewrite, refine and be more productive. In all my years of being in this industry, the one thing I can’t do without is the notebook and a pen/pencil.

A software developer should remember some simple commandments: 1. Caffeine. 2. That Senior Engineer is probably also looking up how to center a div on Google... It's ok. 3. Tech Hype Trains are lame. Master one thing first, so that one day you can come back and be able to push a commit with "optimized sub-optimal code". 4. "An idi*t admires complexity, a genius admires simplicity", i.e., the most complex and time consuming solutions aren't always the best solutions. 5. Most importantly, have fun, it isn't that serious. Programming is meant to be a creative outlet. It's meant to fire off those happy neurons in your brain. The more you have fun while learning and programming, the farther and faster you'll grow as a developer.

In general, a software development project should follow: 1. Properly Defining the requirements and setting (realistic) timelines. 2. Decide on the _right_ tools and programming languages for your project. 3. Maintain Proper version control. 4. Never compromise on TDD (Test driven development) and continuous integration/deployment. 5. Have proper code coverage tools 6. Use sanitizers 7. Last but not the least, have proper documentation :)

An often important thing we all forget is to invest in Simulation and emulation capabilities. Especially when you are engineering software for embedded systems, expensive hardware platforms, massively scalable systems etc.

Empathy, Simplicity, Honesty, Agility, and Teamwork are the best emotional tools we need. Picking up of languages may be contextual. Picking up of IDEs may be subjective unless we want to enforce some standards and templates via them. Debugging tools are nice to have. Testing tools? more than that regression suits-based build breaks may be needed of the hour. A good version control system eases life. But without any of these, Empathy (on the consumer as well as maintainer), Simplicity (on implementations), Honesty (on intentions), Agility (for adaptability and flexibility), and Teamwork (together we march) ensures a better output.