What software does a novice developer need: is a mac required?

I am glad to welcome everyone in a new article. Today we will touch on the topic of software for developers who are just starting their way into IT. Of course, this list is individual and everyone who has already started working in this field will find something unique for themselves. This list can be replenished indefinitely. But we will talk about those things that will help you become more productive at the start, and also help you solve a certain pool of tasks faster and more efficiently.

Google Chrome.

1. Of course, where without it. This browser is chosen by web developers for a reason. It is quite convenient and simple. There is nothing superfluous in it. It is very customizable and extensible.

2. It allows you to install many extensions that will help in development. Set up folders and bookmark groups, sync your Google account and have access to all resources from any device.

3. Extensions. There is a certain list of extensions that developers need to automate some processes. Let's talk about some of them:

- PerfectPixel by WellDoneCode - this extension allows developers to overlay images with a semi-transparent layer on top of HTML, as well as make a pixel-by-pixel comparison.

- Redux DevTools is a tool for debugging applications using Redux.

- ColorZilla - allows you to find out the color of an element on the page, and also has a built-in color picker for color selection.

- Google Translate - copy the text, click on the extension icon and get the translation instantly.

- The Wappalyzer extension allows you to index the viewed resource for the presence of plugins and libraries. If you have found some beautiful website with interesting functionality, then you can see what engine it is written on. And also which third-party libraries it uses.

- AdBlock is the best ad blocker in the world: it has 65 million users on its account. It has been downloaded 350 million times, making it one of the most popular extensions for Chrome.

VS Code.

Yes, every novice web developer already knows about it. It is the most popular cross-platform code editor for developing web and cloud applications. Free, powerful, very popular, with a bunch of add-ons. What can I say, Facebook itself chose him as the main editor.

Terminal (console, command line).

It is installed by default on everyone's computer regardless of the OS and is necessary:

- to install third-party packages (applications) in your web projects;

- to use CSS preprocessor compilers (for example, SASS or LESS);

- to work with JavaScript code compression (minification) tools (for example, with Google Closure Compiler);

- to work with tools for cleaning unnecessary or duplicate code in CSS styles (for example, with PurifyCSS).

WebStorm.

This is no longer just a code editor, as is the case with VS Code. This is a smart IDE. WebStorm almost instantly finds syntax errors and the use of undeclared variables or functions (taking into account other files in the directory). WebStorm can jump to function parameters, variable declarations in the function body, variable declarations in the constructor function when you are in one of the prototype functions, and even more. Knows how to search for use by project.

Is Mac required for developers?

Of course not. Yes, it is much more convenient from the point of view of ergonomics, the operating system and you get used to it quickly.

Mac OS is chosen by the exclusion method: in Windows, there is a problem with installing software (it is difficult to assemble from sources, there is no standardization) and compatibility (not unix). Linux has a problem with the desktop: it is not friendly with hardware (try to plug in 3 monitors), unstable, very little software (for example, I have not found a good DBMS client). There remains only a Mac without these drawbacks.

If you are engaged in the web, then as you develop, as a specialist, you will find some shortcomings on your "non-mac" devices. And in the future, you may want to upgrade to Apple products. But for novice developers, this is not necessary at all.