Salesforce provides a number of tools to administer and develop code. Please refer to Salesforce link Force.com Tools and Toolkits link to get a list of tools used my Salesforce administrators and developers.

Must-Have Tools

• Schema Builder – provides visual representation of objects, fields and the the relationship between standard, custom and system objects. We can create/delete  custom objects, add/edit fields and field properties from Schema Builder.
  • From Setup, enter “Schema Builder” in the Quick Find box, you will find Schema Builder under Build. Click on on it to open Schema Builder.
  • Please refer to Trailhead module on Schema Builder to lean more.

• Wokbench – is the tool for administrators and developers to interact with Salesforce.com organizations via the Force.com APIs. This tool allows to describe, query, manipulate, and migrate both data and metadata in Salesforce.com organizations directly in their web browser.
  • Please refer screenshots from Workbench link.

Development Tools

• Developer Console – includes a collection of useful tools for coding, debugging, and testing applications.
  • From Setup, click on on Developer Console to open Developer Console. if using Chrome, use Ctrl + Click to open Developer Console on separate tab.
  • Please refer to flowing links to learn more on how to use Developer Console.
    • Developer Console User Interface Overview
    • Force.com Performance Profiling Using the Developer Console
    • Accessing Query Editor and Query Plans 
    • Export Results from Developer Console – Query Editor?
• Force.com IDE – is a full featured, Eclipse-based coding environment.
  • Please refer to flowing links to learn more on how to use Force.com IDE.
    • Force.com IDE installation instructions
    • An Introduction to the Force.com IDE

• MavensMate IDE for Force.com – is a SublimeText plugin that used by lots of developers  to replicate the functionality of the Eclipse-based Force.com IDE
  • Please refer to flowing links to learn more on how to use MavensMate
    • Configuring MavensMate in Sublime Text 3
    • Getting started with MavensMate
    • Downloging MavensMate from GitHub

Version Control Tools

• BitBucket – is a distributed version control system that makes it easy for collaboration with team members. Please visit https://bitbucket.org/ to get an account.
  • Please refer to flowing links to learn more on how to use Developer Console.
    • Configuring Bitbucket version control in Eclipse for Salesforce project

Code Migration Tools

You can always migrate code between Salesforce orgs using Change Set and Force.com IDE.

• Force.com Migration Tool – is a Java/Ant-based command-line utility for moving metadata between a local directory and a Force.com organization
• Please refer to flowing links to learn more on how to use Force.com Migration Tool.
  • Using the Force.com Migration Tool
  • Deploying Metadata with the Force.com Migration Tool

 
Author:

AJOMON JOSEPH Senior Salesforce Architect  Connect me on LinkedIn  Follow me on Twitter @apexcoder  Subscribe to my blog https://apexcoder.com  Email me ajomon@apexcoder.com