▶️ Introduction
Web development is becoming increasingly important as time passes. Almost all organizations require websites and web apps in order to be noticed and establish their brand. This is the reason web developers are in more demand than ever.
As a web developer, our job is to regularly convert ideas into codebases in order to build different projects. While doing our job, we have most likely encountered the situation where we have an idea but are unable to implement it as we need to setup a whole development environment on our local machine to get started.
In this article, we will explore a tool that is widely used in dealing with this scenario, referred to as a 'Code Playground'. We will discuss the concept of code playgrounds as well as the features that they provide. Moreover, we will go through a list of the top 7 code playgrounds, chosen based their popularity and features, that every web developer should try.
🧐 What Are Code Playgrounds?
Code playgrounds are online development environments that help us write code in the browser. In other words, they help us jump straight into coding without the hassle of setting up a local environment.
Most code playgrounds that we see on the internet are optimized for frontend development. However, there are exceptions where we can create code samples for backend development and/or write code in other programming languages.
The code samples that we create in code playgrounds are publicly visible. Hence, developers get access to explore the work of other developers and get inspired by them. In other words, code playgrounds offer a collection of unique code samples that anyone can use in their projects.
✨ Features of Code Playgrounds
The range of features that code playgrounds provide is one of the reasons why they are becoming more popular. Though the majority of these features are tied to writing code, there are several other features that are not related to coding but are just as valuable as the coding-specific ones.
Since most code playgrounds are designed for frontend development, almost all of them give us the ability to write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. However, they offer a lot of other features as well. The most notable ones among them include:
✅ Code Completion
✅ Syntax Highlighting
✅ Code Validation
✅ Live Preview
✅ Code Sharing
✅ Collaborative Coding
✅ Support for CSS Preprocessors
✅ Support for JavaScript Libraries and Frameworks
Each feature that code playgrounds offer contributes to the overall experience that developers have while using code playgrounds. These features not only provide developers with a comprehensive coding experience but also allow them to share code samples and collaborate with others on different projects.
🏆 Top Code Playgrounds
There are a wide range of code playgrounds available on the internet. Since the majority of them are frontend-optimized, it is difficult to identify those that can stand out from the crowd from the frontend point of view. So here is a list of the ones among them that are the top 7 code playgrounds that every web developer should check out:
CodePen
CodePen is one of the most popular frontend code playgrounds on the internet. However, it is more of a community than a playground, as it is used by over 1.8 million developers who regularly create code samples and collaborate with others on unique projects.
✨ Features:
✅ Code Formatting
✅ Embeddable Code Samples
✅ Asset Hosting
✅ Custom Thumbnails
CSSDeck
CSSDeck is a code playground that helps us write frontend code in the browser. Since it consists of a lot of impressive features, it has managed to create a vibrant community of developers where they can build interesting frontend projects and share them with others.
✨ Features:
✅ Minimalistic Layout
✅ Layout Customization
✅ Fast Loading
✅ Project Forking
JS Bin
JS Bin is another code playground that developers regularly use to build frontend projects. One of its specialties is that it enables us to edit the <head> tag, which is a huge plus for web developers. It also allows us to use keyboard shortcuts while writing code, which can prove to be a great productivity boost.
✨ Features:
✅ Console Support
✅ Debugging
✅ File Uploading
✅ Custom Templates
JSFiddle
The next frontend code playground on our list is JSFiddle. One of its advantages is that, while coding in JavaScript, it creates a custom development environment for us based on the JavaScript framework we choose. Moreover, it enables us to save our code samples and share them with others.
✨ Features:
✅ Layout Customization
✅ Support for Asynchronous Requests
✅ Embeddable Code Samples
✅ Project Forking
PlayCode
Another online code playground where we can write frontend code is PlayCode. Among its many offerings is the log console, which gives us the ability to not only customize the size but also update the frequency of the preview window. It also lets us add multiple files for each language, which can be required for many projects.
✨ Features:
✅ Fast Loading
✅ Attractive UI
✅ Beginner-Friendly Interface
✅ Asset Hosting
Plunker
The next code playground that developers make use of for building frontend projects is Plunker. Since it allows us to create code samples, share our creations, and collaborate with people on impressive projects, it has managed to create an inclusive community of developers who are both curious and creative-minded.
✨ Features:
✅ Fast Loading
✅ User-Friendly UI
✅ File Uploading
✅ Project Forking
CodeSandbox
CodeSandbox is another frontend code playground that we can utilize to build projects in the browser. Since it includes preset development environments, developer tools, command palettes, and more, it has become a popular choice among developers. Moreover, it helps us collaborate with others on stunning projects.
✨ Features:
✅ IntelliSense Integration
✅ Magic Branch Management
✅ Embeddable Code Samples
✅ Project Forking
◀️ Conclusion
In this article, we talked about the concept of code playgrounds and the wide range of features that they offer. Moreover, we took a look at the top 7 code playgrounds that every web developer should try and touched upon the features that each of them offers that set them apart from the competition.
However, the code playgrounds that we saw above are not the only ones that a web developer should try. There are a lot of other code playgrounds on the internet that have managed to attract developers with their amazing features. The most noteworthy ones among them are:
The number of code playgrounds that exist on the internet is massive. Since we now have a list of the recommended ones, we can try them and choose one based on our preferences. No matter what we pick, we will be able to create unique frontend projects by writing code in the browser.
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