Category 16 software profiles
Developer Tools
IDEs, programming languages, source control, DevOps platforms and serverless runtimes.
Developer tools are the software used to build software: programming languages, integrated development environments (IDEs), source-code hosting, CI/CD pipelines and the runtimes that execute code in production. Choices made here shape a team’s productivity for years, which is why developers tend to hold strong opinions about them.
This category covers several decades of tooling, from Java, released in the mid-1990s, to serverless edge platforms and AI coding assistants built into the IDE. Many of these tools are open source or have generous free tiers, and the companies behind them typically earn money from commercial editions, hosted services and enterprise support.
Developer Tools: software on SoftwareLore
- BitbucketGit code hosting and CI/CD built to work closely with Jira Atlassian 2008 Freemium
- Cloudflare WorkersServerless platform for running code across Cloudflare’s global network Cloudflare 2018 Usage-based
- GitLabA single DevSecOps platform for code, CI/CD, security and planning GitLab 2011 Freemium
- GitLab DuoGitLab’s AI assistants and agents for the software development lifecycle GitLab 2023 Usage-based
- IntelliJ IDEAJetBrains’ flagship IDE for Java, Kotlin and other JVM languages JetBrains 2001 Freemium
- JavaObject-oriented programming language and cross-platform runtime Oracle 1995 Free and open source
- KotlinA concise, null-safe language for Android, servers and multiplatform apps JetBrains 2011 Free and open source
- PyCharmJetBrains’ Python IDE for web development, data science and AI JetBrains 2010 Freemium
- StreamlitOpen-source Python framework for building interactive data apps Snowflake 2019 Free and open source
- Apache SparkOpen-source engine for large-scale data processing and analytics Databricks 2010 Free and open source
- JiraProject and issue tracking for software and business teams Atlassian 2002 Freemium
- MLflowOpen-source platform for tracking, evaluating and deploying ML and AI Databricks 2018 Free and open source
- MongoDBSource-available document database built on flexible JSON-like records MongoDB 2009 Freemium
- Palantir AIPPalantir’s platform for putting LLMs and AI agents to work on operations Palantir 2023 Enterprise licensing
- ServiceNow AI PlatformServiceNow’s cloud platform for workflows, low-code apps and AI agents ServiceNow 2006 Subscription
- Unreal EngineEpic Games’ real-time 3D engine for games, film and visualization Epic Games 1998 Usage-based
Who makes Developer Tools?
What to look for
Questions worth answering before choosing a tool in this category.
- 01
Language and ecosystem
IDEs and frameworks differ in how well they support each language. Pick tools with first-class support for the languages, build systems and frameworks the team relies on.
- 02
Hosted or self-managed
Cloud-hosted services remove maintenance work, while self-managed installations give more control over data, network access and the timing of upgrades.
- 03
Open source and lock-in
Open-source tools and standard formats make it easier to change vendors later. Check how much of a workflow would depend on proprietary features.
- 04
AI assistance and security
AI coding assistants can speed up routine work. Review how they handle source code, which models they use and what controls administrators have over them.
Developer Tools: frequently asked questions
What is an IDE?
An integrated development environment (IDE) combines a code editor with the tools programmers use every day, such as code completion, debugging, refactoring, testing and version control, in a single application. JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA and PyCharm are examples built for Java, Kotlin and Python development.
What is CI/CD?
Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) is the practice of automatically building and testing code every time a change is pushed, then preparing or deploying it to production automatically. Platforms such as GitLab and Bitbucket include pipelines that run these steps.
What is the difference between Git, GitHub and GitLab?
Git is a free, open-source version control system that tracks changes to code. GitHub and GitLab are platforms built around Git that host repositories and add collaboration features such as code review, issue tracking and CI/CD pipelines.
Other categories
- Design & Creative 5
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- Project Management 4
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