Enterprise open source Toolkit

Ten top Linux and open-source developer tools

Tags:
Open Source,
Linux,
Tools,
Development

Jack Wallen Tech Republic

Published: 01 May 2009 13:23 BST

...can be cumbersome. Any good developer should know these tools, and Kdevelop includes an Automake manager to simplify their use.

One other useful touch is that the output window of the complier is colour-coded, so it is easier to see instantly the difference between errors, warnings and messages.

6. GDB
GDB is not really a developer tool, but it is a tool that most open-source, and many Windows, developers consider essential. GDB is the GNU Debugger.

This tool is issued from the command line and will give a developer instant feedback from within another program while it is executed. Say you create, complete and release an application, only to hear there are problems. To help you find these problems you can start your program from the GDB utility, which will help you discover where the problems are. With GDB, you can do the following:

Start your application specifying arguments, switches or input that would affect its behaviour
Cause your application to halt on specified behaviour
Examine what has occurred when your application stops
Make changes to your program so you can test on the fly

GDB is also very handy to have when doing bug reporting.

7. KompoZer
KompoZer is an easy-to-use Wysiwyg web-authoring tool that is aimed at the non-technical user who wants to create a professional website without having to know HTML.

KompoZer has a number of outstanding features. One of the best features is the ability to open a website from a URL, edit that site, and upload the edited site. This feature simplifies the updating of sites without having to edit HTML. Of course, you will need permission to upload to a site. This feature is also good for using other sites as templates.

KompoZer should not be considered a beginners-only tool. Think of it as a free open-source replacement for Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver. And, like its more costly alternatives, KompoZer can jump between Wysiwyg and code-editing with a click of a tab.

8. Eclipse
Eclipse is a multi-language IDE, written in Java, with an extensive plug-in system to allow you to extend functionality. Downloaded more than one million times each month, Eclipse is one of the strongest forces in software development today. It is, in fact, the de facto standard for open-source development.

Probably the strongest aspect of Eclipse is the plug-in feature. In languages alone, Eclipse boasts 58 plug-ins. These are not spoken languages — they are development languages. On top of the rich environment, Eclipse has a huge community and plenty of organisations offering training in the IDE, which even includes an Eclipse University.

9. Make
Make is a Linux utility that can automatically determine which pieces of a larger program need to be recompiled. Once Make has worked out the parts that need recompiling, it issues the necessary commands to finish the action.

Read this

Comment: Ten obscure Linux applications you need to try

Make is often used when installing applications from source, so developers of open-source applications should have a strong understanding of the make tool and how it is used. If you plan on developing an application that can be installed from source, you will need to know how to create a Makefile.

This Makefile describes the relationships among the various files of your application and includes the statements needed to piece them together. If you are familiar with installing applications, you know the command string ./configure; make ; make install.

10. Quanta Plus
Quanta Plus is another HTML development tool, similar to Kompozer. It is capable of both Wysiwyg and hand-coding and supports: HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML and XML-based languages, and PHP.

Quanta Plus features on-the-fly tag completion, project management, live preview, a PHP debugger, CVS support and Subversion support with a plug-in. Where KompoZer is aimed primarily at the non-technical user, Quanta Plus is aimed at the more expert user who wants a good Wysiwyg editor.

What are your tools?
What advice or opinions can you share based on your experience with the tools we have looked at here? Do you have a favourite open-source IDE not included in this list?

Credit: 10 Linux and open source developer tools you should not overlook from TechRepublic.com