I build data driven web applications for a living. I work with a very small, but productive team. We build many reliable custom solutions for our company each year. Since we are generally busy building applications, we need to build them in such a way that they will be robust and not require a lot of support once they are released into production otherwise we'll become technical support instead of developers. No thanks. One of the keys to our success is that each member of the team is a one-person gang that can develop in each of the three tiers (data, logic, and presentation). We can't waste time with too much hand-coding, but we can't just develop through dragging and dropping. This has led us to choose our tools very wisely and to develop standard practices of use for those tools that are based on industry best practices and on our particular use cases.
- Textpad - a great multipurpose text editor with color coding for a variety of languages including Java and HTML. I use this thing all of the time.
- PL/SQL Developer - the dopest Oracle PL/SQL development environment I have ever used. I like it better than TOAD and it's way better than just using SQL*Plus.
- Eclipse - a really kick ass open source IDE that I have come to really rely on although I wish that it was a little more responsive at times. You be the judge.
- My Eclipse - A plug-in for the Eclipse environment that facilitates development with a number of leading frameworks such as Java Server Faces, Struts, and Hibernate among many others. It's the bomb at less than $25 per year.
- My Faces - the open source implementation of Java Server Faces. I use My Faces quite a bit in the development of my own professional Java web applications.
- Sun Java Studio Creator - No, you don't create studios with it! It's Sun's IDE for corporate developers that offers a lot of the same functionality that .Net developers get in Visual Studio.
- Visual Studio.Net - Speak of the devil! Visual Studio .Net is the SHIT. I just started using it after being a 4 year Java only developer and I am already up to speed. I love it!
- Fireworks - A pretty straight-forward graphics program from Macromedia. I use this thing all of the time to create custom graphics for my applications. It might not be as powerful as some other tools, but it does the job for me.
- Snagit - this is a great screen capture utility. I use it a lot to document my work and create manuals with screen shots and stuff.
- Google - yep, Google. I wouldn't have figured out a lot of stuff without a high quality search engine. It doesn't have to be Google either, just something that works for you.
Don't be a hater!
A lot of people like to bash Microsoft because Bill Gates is a dork or a monopolistic jerk, whatever. On the other hand, a lot of people also like bashing open source stuff like PHP and MySQL or Java because of other equally ridiculous reasons. The fact is that each of these camps have a lot to offer developers working on any size project. Choose your tools and technology to help you realize the optimal solution to your problem. Use facts and measures not opionion and fashion to make your choice. Besides that, you'll be more marketable if you maintain expertise in a broad range of technologies. Don't hate, innovate!
MyTools
I have a very specific set of tools that I have come to know and love (yeah, it's twisted). They suit the team I work with, but I have also tailored them to work with my style of development. So can you. Good luck.