If you are a newbie, then it is likely that you are using your Notepad for all your coding necessities. But it will be unproductive in the long run. Rather, it is time you start using an IDE. You will immediately start to see the positive impact in your work.
As you should know, an IDE or Integrated Development Environment is a collection of tools used together for the purpose of developing an app or a software. Now generally any IDE will come with its own Text Editor. And most IDEs, of which we are going to talk here, are not solely committed to Ruby based development. In fact, some of the listed IDEs are standalone plugins which have been put forward by companies to help the developers community.
So without further ado, let’s get into the 7 best Ruby IDE You Can Use to help your Development Process.
Top 7 Ruby IDE Solutions for Web Developers
RubyMine
RubyMine, developed by JetBrains is one of the most sophisticated, modern and intuitive Ruby IDE. You will surely see an increase in your productivity from the moment you start using the IDE. And besides Ruby, you will also get full support for coding in Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, ERB, HAML, CSS, Sass and Less. Besides these, there are also a lot more languages supported by the IDE. Now let’s talk about some features it brings to the table.
- Smart Text Editor with features like language specific-aware syntax and error highlighting, code formatting, code completion, and quick documentation.
- Smart Search to help you easily jump between different classes, declarations, super method, test usage, and so on.
- You can also navigate quickly in your project through the use of MVC-based project view.
- An automated refactoring tool is provided which helps to keep your code safe and also cleans it and makes it maintainable.
- A powerful debugging tool with a graphical user interface.
- The IDE can also be customized to suit your test. You can choose between different color schemes, keyboard schemes, and multiple personalization features.
- A unified UI will help you save time while working with Git, SVN, Mercurial and other version control systems.
- The IDE also supports seamless integration with different tools like Task Runner, Rails Generator, Bundler, RVM/Rbenv, Zeus, and others to better help you manage your project.
Now RubyMine does have a price tag hanging around its neck. So for all these features, you will have to pay some money. Regardless, the company has provided users with a 30-day free trial and a free license for non-profits, school teachers, and educational institutions. So this is a great IDE if you happen to fall under any of those categories. Otherwise, you will have to get on one of their plans which start off at $20.
Aptana
If you think old is gold, the Aptana is a great IDE for you. Initially, it was known as ‘RadRails’ and was available as a plugin, but then it got integrated into the main development editor. It has withstood the test of time and is currently one of the most well-known web development IDE and extremely powerful at that.
The latest iteration of the software just got a complete overhaul from the ground up and is now faster, more customizable, and filled with a plethora of productivity tools. Overall, the new version takes the best from Eclipse and utilizes that to build a powerful web development engine.
Besides Ruby, Aptana also comes with IDEs for HTML and HTML5, CSS and CSS3, JavaScript, PHP, and Python. So whatever be your requirements, it has got you covered. Here are some of the core features provided by Aptana.
- Integrated Degubbing tool which can help you to set breakpoints, inspect variables, and control executions.
- The Deployment Wizard is quite handy and you can use it to automatically publish your Ruby and Rails applications directly to the hosting services.
- Awesome Git Integration can help you to put your projects seamless under git source code control. You can also collaborate with team members through merge.
- Built-in terminal to help you quickly access the command line for executing operating system commands.
- IDE customization options to help you personalize your development environment to the way you like it.
And finally, to put the icing on the cake, Aptana is open-source and free to download.
Komodo
If Ruby is just one of the many languages you use to work, then it doesn’t seem wise to get an IDE specified to each of those languages. With Komodo, you are opting for an IDE that has support for over 100 languages including Python, PHP, GO, Perl, Tcl, Ruby, NodeJS, HTML, CSS, Javascript and much more.
In all practicality, a feature list for Komodo will become an article of itself. Nevertheless, here are some of its highlighted features:
- With Slack Sharing you will be able to share code snippets with your team on Slack directly from Komodo.
- Integration with Gulp, Grunt, NPM and Yarn, so common tasks can be handled quickly.
- Ability to write and use tutorials for languages like Catalyst, Django, Flask, Pyramid, and Rails.
- Freedom to debug web apps without the need for Chrome Dev Tools. You can place your break points right where you write your codes.
- The Komodo IDE also supports various other web development frameworks currently in use.
If you are currently working on a non-profit organization, then Komodo offers a free license. Otherwise, you will be given a 21-day free trial period and then $300 for a developer license.
NetBeans Ruby Plugin
If you are already using NetBeans, then you can simply install a plugin to use it as a Ruby IDE. There is a dedicated Ruby plugin for NetBeans, Ruby and Rails which you can install and get a complete Ruby IDE solution with the NetBeans interface.
The plugin also gives you the support for Ruby on Rails. So you can easily create a rails application, invoke all the basic operations of Rails from IDE controls like mitigations, generators, etc, and get basic support for deploying to Glassfish web server. Here are some of the additional features you get after installing the plugin.
- Editing
- Debugging
- Refactoring
- Ruby source, RHTML Source, YAML and so on.
With all these features and given the fact that NetBeans is free, it is quite an alluring alternative. And if you are already invested in NetBeans then you can easily go for their Ruby plugin without a second thought. It is also open source and there is also a worldwide community of user and developers.
Redcar Alpha
Redcar Alpha runs on JRuby which makes it quite good and a viable candidate for your coding purposes. The IDE supports Textmate themes and snippets. Now one thing that you need to note is that Redcar Alpha is licensed under GPL and its source is available on GitHub.
Overall, the IDE ensures a cleanliness, cross platform, and extensibility. But if you want to dig deeper, then here is a concise list of all the features.
- An uncluttered UI.
- Comes with Textmate Themes and Snippets.
- The IDE is written in Ruby, runs on JRuby, and helps you to develop Ruby based apps.
- It is OpenSource.
- and finally, Redcar is in its Alpha stage of development. It isn’t finished.
Redcar is currently in its alpha stage of development. But it is still quite stable. So if you know your ways around and have experience with products in early development then feel encouraged to try out the IDE.
SubLime Text
Sublime Text is one of the modern text editors a programmer can have. With so many features, it is easy to get lost, but in the end, the programmer can easily leverage the power of the sublime text to its advantage. The code completion, minimap, support for all the language and snippets make it a sweet deal at only $70.
Now Sublime Text has already been reviewed on the site before, so if you want to read into it, click here.
Conclusion:
With any of these IDEs on your system, you can be sure that you will get a smooth coding session each time you get down on to code. Each one of these IDEs come with a great text editor coupled with awesome features. So be sure to try them out and tell your fellow readers about your experience using them.
Furthermore, if you are aware of some better Ruby IDE solutions then shout out in the comments section. Your knowledge might prove to be beneficial to your fellow readers.
