Top 10 Collaborative Coding Tools for Remote Programming

In online collaboration, it is highly possible that the coder can go off the track at the very beginning of the project.

Coding is not an isolated job as many expect. A lot of teamwork and collaboration goes into creating a piece of code. Essentially, it works on a feedback loop supplemented by the suggestions of experienced people and teammates. Otherwise, it is highly possible that the coder can go off the track at the very beginning of the project. Ben-Collins-Sussman in their book 'Team Geek', talks about the importance of communication in a programming team, saying coding teams also known as mob programmers end up reinventing the wheel in the absence of collaboration. While it is relatively easy to collaborate offline, online collaboration has its own challenges such as losing sight of the product vision, being unable to stay true to agile methodologies, maintaining roles and responsibilities, etc. Code collaboration tools with features like remote control, screen sharing, chat/messaging, etc, enable coding teams to circumvent these challenges successfully. Here are the top 10 code collaboration tools to up your remote programming game.

1. AWS Cloud9: It's an in-browser coding tool that supports around 40 programming languages with tools available for different levels. It facilitates shared environments so that multiple developers can work on the same programme in real-time. With the AWS Cloud9 tool, it is possible to watch each other's typing and chat in the IDE. However, it lacks the 'follow my lead' feature for programmers to develop sub-programs.

2. Codenvy: Codenvy's uniqueness lies in its privacy features. It is perfect for develops who have concerns for their privacy. The self-host option and automated workspace creation and permission management let the developers have control over the access to the panel they are working with. And moreover, it allows anyone to contribute to a project without installing software.

 3. Codeanywhere:  It is a real-time collaboration tool designed for the code-on-the-go environment. A web-based cloud IDE helps coders to develop code irrespective of the device they use, supporting around 75 languages and in-cloud execution environments. With the flexible real-time code sharing features, projects and code can be shared through a simple link or set up in a real-time collaboration environment.

4. Codesandboxlive: A cloud-based online IDE used particularly for web app development. Web applications such as JavaScript, TypeScript, and frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue use this environment vigorously. It is a relatively flexible tool with different modes that either let you edit files together in real-time or enable designate a person to edit while others can only read the code.

5. Remote Collab: Remote collab is basically a Sublime Text plugin that facilitates team collaboration on Sublime Text, an IDE for coders. At Sublime Text, Remote Collab makes the editing process interesting allowing you and other coders to join the editor using the host's IP address. With Remote Collab, the workflow is restricted to particular documents, and so is the seamlessness.

6. Collabedit: Collabedit is a web-based code editor with an option for selecting syntax highlighting for different programming languages. The stats displayed on the editor provide an estimation of the popularity a programming language holds among its users. However, there is much to be improved with respect to mailing and messaging. All in all, it is good for demonstration and sharing a common space without distractions.

7. Codepen: Codepen is a social development environment for code developers with around 1.8 million users. Coders can develop and share work online and specifically customize the editor according to their personal needs. The autocomplete and Emmet features for speed and accuracy give this tool the extra edge over others. Alternately it also acts as an image processing tool without having to move over to other tools for that.

8. Drovio: An online collaborative coding tool is specially designed for remote pairing/mobbing, co-designing, brainstorming, and knowledge sharing. Its collaborative screen-sharing app allows users to have individual mouse cursors to interact and share literally anything present on your screen- web app, Stack Overflow, API docs, etc – with their team-mates. Drovio takes the game of screen sharing to a new level with crisp audio, echo cancellation, and video conferencing support.

9. Gitlive: As its website boasts of collaborative superpowers, it empowers the users to see when their collaborators are online and which repos or files they are working on. This versatile tool lets you track the local changes of the other person in the gutter of the editor and quickly change your contradictory code, take cues or lift the code or files and make a sub-program out of it.

10. Tuple: Primarily built for pair programmers, it comes with keyboard and mouse control given to the pair at a single click, a click leaving the pair, to themselves. Its screen can be turned into a whiteboard for the pair programmers to draw while brainstorming. Unlike Zoom it comes with very few UI elements leaving the screen relatively clean.

More Trending Stories