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The Landscape of JavaScript

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What Text Editors Do JavaScript Developers Use?

2:35 with Guil Hernandez

When building a JavaScript project, it all starts with the text editor. There are many JavaScript-friendly text editors available. In this video, we'll explore popular text editors that help make you a more efficient coder.

Text editors

Linters

Code Formatters

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    There are a lot of moving parts in web development and programming. 0:00
    It seems like, as a JavaScript developer, you have to think about many things at 0:03
    once, like the structure of your project, proper syntax, installing frameworks and 0:07
    libraries, debugging, even just refreshing the page to view and test your code. 0:12
    So because of the increased complexity in a JavaScript developer's workflow, 0:17
    developers turn to tools to help make them more efficient. 0:21
    The JavaScript community has created lots of free, 0:25
    open source tools to help make our job a little bit easier. 0:27
    So in these final videos, we'll go over some of the common tools used by 0:31
    JavaScript developers, starting with text editors. 0:34
    When building a website or 0:38
    a JavaScript application, it all starts with the Text Editor. 0:39
    It's where you'll spend most of your time and an essential part of development. 0:42
    There are many JavaScript friendly text editors available. 0:46
    But a good text editor should help make you a more efficient coder, 0:49
    as well as be able to handle certain JavaScript related tasks, 0:53
    like syntax highlighting, proper indentation, and code completion. 0:56
    The most common text editors used by Java Script developers are, Sublime Text, 1:00
    Atom, built by Get Hub, and Visual Studio Code, built by Microsoft. 1:05
    These are fast, lightweight, and robust editors that include common features 1:10
    of text editors, like syntax highlighting, 1:14
    automatic code completion, they're easily themeable, customizable and extensible. 1:17
    And they have built in package managers that let you install tools for 1:22
    additional features and functionality. 1:25
    Some editors like Atom, and Visual Studio Code, 1:28
    were even built using JavaScript, with a framework called Electron. 1:30
    You can read more about this in the teacher's notes. 1:34
    Two useful tools developers set up in their text editors are linters and 1:37
    code formatters. 1:41
    All too often, errors in your projects are related to simple typos like misspelling 1:42
    a variable name, a missing comma, or a closing bracket, for example. 1:46
    A linter reads your code to help you avoid problems and spot possible errors. 1:50
    And a code formatter maintains overall code quality by 1:54
    enforcing a consistent style. 1:57
    For example, tabs versus spaces and semicolons versus no semicolons. 1:59
    This is important when working on teams. 2:03
    Every developer has their own style of writing code, so a linter and 2:06
    code formatter can help a team keep their project's code maintainable and 2:09
    readable for everyone on the team. 2:12
    Especially future team members. 2:14
    One of the most popular Javascript linters you can use in your text editor 2:16
    is ESLint and Prettier is a code formatter commonly used by developers. 2:19
    Since these are automated tools, running them doesn't require any extra manual work 2:24
    once they've been set up in your text editor. 2:28
    You can learn more about the differences between linters and 2:30
    formatters in the teacher's notes with this video. 2:33

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