Internet has provided us with many new features and convenience, this one is one of them. If you are a developer then you definitely need to test your codes before finalizing them, and also you sometimes need to share them with other developers to find out if there’s anything wrong with them. Whenever you hit an obstacle in your coding, you can seek out for other programmers and see if they can give you a hand.
And if you need to debug codes, run experiment on them, or share some short code snippets with other developers across the world, web based sandbox tools are extremely helpful and useful as they provide you a virtual environment to test your codes.
You can use local servers or PC based tools like XAMP, or maybe WAMP. Then why would you use these web based code snippet testing tools? This question must have arisen in your mind. Well, you don’t have to set up any HTML, CSS or any other scripts to test codes, debug those, do experiments etc. Also, you can remotely back your codes up. Also, you get quick linking to your work and also show them off if you feel like, these are the major reasons for using web based code snippet testing tools.
Common Features of these Tools
- These tools are usually very simple, and optimized for code snippets.
- Completely web based, you don’t need any additional software in your PC except the browser.
- The preview will let you see the rendered version of your code.
- Most of them can run HTML, CSS and Java Scripts.
- Most of them allow you to save codes on their web sites.
- They are intended to sharing and collaboration of codes.
Some of Them
Now we are going to write brief reviews on some of them. All of these sandboxing and/or code snippet testing tools are free.
Tinkerbin
Syncfunc – a web development agency created this sandboxing tool. It’s a new environment that can run JavaScript, HTML and CSS as well as CSS and JavaScript language and metalanguages. Using the convenient keyboard shortcuts, you can easily move between tabs and the code panes. And the preview pane updates automatically as you code.
JS Bin
This is an outstanding JavaScript and HTML code testing tool. Developer Remy Sharp developed it; and it has real time live preview option. A developer can put references to the most popular open source libraries like jQuery, MooTools etc.
JS Fiddle
It’s a free testing tool for running HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It offers the functionality use the popular references like jQuery, MooTools etc. You can run JSLint to check your code quality. And if you want to re-indent your code with only one click, just use the ‘Tidy Up’ function.
CSSDesk
With this app, you can easily test your HTML and CSS code snippets. You can also change the background of the coding panel preview pane. Also, you can hide the coding panel to maximize the preview pane view.
PasteBin
This tool was created by Dale Hurvey. The interface is very simple, and clutter free as well. Depending on the size of your browser’s viewport, the preview pane changes accordingly. And it has three quick templates for auto populating codes.
If you are a developer, you will find all these tools useful. Pick the one that fits your developing style best.
