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Are Chromebooks a Viable Option for Your Software Developers?

By Arooj Shakeel
January 4, 2023

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With the arrival of “Linux on Chromebooks,” using a Chromebook for development has become enticing in many approaches. They are lightweight, speedy, have high-quality battery life, and require no protection. 

The name says all of it. The component that makes a Chromebook one of a kind from other computers is the Chrome operating machine designed to utilize online web programs and cloud storage in preference to programs and documents loaded onto an internal hard drive. The result is a new class of pc this is very thin, very mild – and famous.

Chromebooks have become very popular due to their low fee and ease of use compared with other computer systems. However, they do include some drawbacks, which we can cover beneath.

The query we are trying to answer is, are Chromebooks good for development?

There are many things that Chromebooks lack. In many conditions, a Chromebook can be perfect for development. Humans may find programming on a Chromebook an exciting alternative. Chromebooks are primarily based on the Linux kernel, suitable for maximum developers. Happily, Google has been working hard to enhance this count.

Chromebooks are powered by ChromeOS, a working system that capabilities through using a web browser as its number one consumer interface. The idea in the back of ChromeOS was no longer simplest to offer clients a far simpler platform to apply but one that is more excellent relaxed, and efficient than the traditional offerings. Because the pandemic continues to rage throughout the globe, Chromebook sales should climb. Why? Due to the fact they are ways less expensive than popular laptops, less complicated to deploy, and simpler to apply. That is a win-win for any business.

Developers and IDEs 

A Chromebook has options such as IDE (Integrated Development Environment) permits developers to start programming new apps quickly because multiple utilities do not want to be manually configured and included in the setup procedure. Software developers also do not need to spend hours individually knowing how to use unique tools when each software is represented within an equal workbench. This can be particularly beneficial for onboarding new developers who depend on an IDE to speed up a team’s standard tools and workflows. In reality, the maximum capabilities of IDEs are intended to keep time, like intelligent code completion and automated code generation, which eliminates the need to type out full-character sequences.

Cloud-based IDEs

To make development faster and feasible using Chromebooks, cloud-based IDEs can advantage the developers.  

These offer a full-blown IDE, an excellent way to let you develop in nearly any language you want. Some of them are free of cost, and some require a subscription.

Nitrous.io gives collaboration, a one-click installation, and snapshots. Supported languages: Ruby, Node.js, Python, PHP, or Go.

Codebox gives real-time collaboration, code completion, auto-run, themes, offline mode, etc. 

Koding runs on Amazon, helps Docker, and runs on a complete Ubuntu 14.04 environment. 

Cloude9 IDE handles masses of hundreds of documents in a digital workspace on the Ubuntu platform. Supported languages are 40+ languages, including PHP, Ruby, Python, and Go.

Codeanywhere gives code sharing, terminal access, real-time collaboration, code completion, linting, multiple cursors, Zen coding support, code beautification, and tool and browser support. 

Best IDEs for Chromebook

  • Google Apps Scripts is a lightweight cloud-based IDE platform. It is written in JavaScript (i.e., a cloud scripting language). Using your Chromebook, you can build business solutions and web applications. You can also perform System administration tasks. One of its unique features is its built-in cloud-based debugger.
  • ShiftEdit is a first-rate online IDE platform for developing websites, and it helps languages which include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Ruby. Like Google Apps Scripts, this is also a cloud-primarily based service, and you can access all of your task documents every time and wherever you are.
  • Codeanywhere is another Cloud-based and first-rate IDE for Chromebook. With this tool, you may use a maximum of the popular programming languages like C, C++, C#, Python, PHP, JavaScript, Java, and Ruby. In addition, it gives many built-in features like syntax highlighting, debugging, snippets, and code refactoring. The IDE platform lets you share your project files or even the software program development environment to collaborate with your group participants. 
  • Visual Studio Code is a lightweight IDE that first-class fits your Chromebook. With the aid of this open-supply code editor, you could, without difficulty, create any cloud and web-primarily-based utility. It offers a lot of functions like a command palette, Git integration, Zen mode, split view, trade language mode, repute bar, and so on. This could be a suitable tool for the core enhancing, constructing, and debugging technique inside the software program development lifecycle.
  • Amazon’s Cloud9 IDE is a freeware tool, and you may use this service on your Chromebook. With this tool, you may, without problems, create a developing environment. It supports programming languages like C, C++, C#, Python, Ruby, Java, and JavaScript. The specific feature of Cloud9 is it permits more than one user in a venture to edit simultaneously via offering unique cursors. Using this customizable IDE, you can exchange themes and plugins per your preferred settings.

 

After studying this list of best IDE for Chromebooks, we hope you have been able to pick the proper one for your Chromebook, depending on the reason. Conclusively, Chromebook development can be a good choice only with the right pick of the IDE suitable for your Chromebook. All of the above-listed IDEs include a complete set of functions required to finish all the software development cycle procedures. If you have any doubts concerning the software program referred to above, contact us. 

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