What software and tools does a Front-End Developer use?

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Front-end developers can choose between a large number of tools to do their work, but these typically fall into two categories: graphical design tools, and code editors.

Graphical design tools are useful for building a prototype of the application, experimenting with the user interface, and creating the final design. Depending on the size of the team, the front-end developer may be more or less responsible for the graphical elements of the application. Regardless of the size of the team, however, front-end developers will likely find themselves using at the very minimum several prototyping tools. These tools can range from a pad of paper and pencil, to dedicated prototyping tools like Balsamiq Mockups, to full graphical editors like Photoshop or Sketch. Front-end developers who are responsible for more of the graphical elements of the application will find themselves using full graphical editing tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, or Figma far more often.

There are a range of code editors, ranging from incredibly lightweight editors like Notepad all the way up to feature-heavy 'integrated development editors' (IDEs) like Eclipse or Visual Studio. Some of the more complicated editors - such as emacs or vim - can take months to master, and can even lead to fierce loyalty by their users. A developer's code editor is a highly personal choice, and there is no one perfect solution; most developers will experiment with several code editors before settling on one.

Almost all development takes place on a computer, so a front-end developer will likely put a lot of thought into their chosen machine. Very few other tools are required, although some front-end developers may chose to surround themselves with notepads and whiteboards.

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Derived from the Greek words pais, meaning child, and iatros, which means doctor or healer, a pediatrician is a medical professional who specializes in providing medical care to children.