List of Salesforce.com Tools and Toolkits
Development Tools
Developer Edition Environment: This online environment lets you instantly start developing and testing your software-as-a-service application.
Developer Console: The Developer Console is accessible from within your Salesforce organization, and provides a collection of tools you can use to create, edit, debug and test applications.
Force.com IDE: The Force.com IDE is a full-featured, Eclipse-based coding environment, with capabilities like code completion, version control, collaborative development, and project sharing.
Force.com Migration Tool: The Force.com Migration Tool is a Java/Ant-based command-line utility for moving metadata between a local directory and a Force.com organization.
Force.com Explorer: This cross-platform AIR application, still in beta, provides a lightweight tool that lets developers browse their schema, custom objects and fields, and build and test SOQL queries.
Sandboxes: Sandboxes contain copies of your data, code, and configuration settings that are isolated from your production environment. You can customize your organization and test applications in a sandbox, then deploy the changes to your production organization when ready.
Workbench: This powerful, web-based suite of tools designed for adminstrators and developers to interact with Salesforce.com organizations via the Force.com APIs. Workbench includes robust support for the Force.com Partner, Bulk, Rest, Streaming, Metadata, and Apex APIs that allows users to describe, query, manipulate, and migrate both data and metadata in Salesforce.com organizations directly in their web browser with a simple and intuitive user interface.
Apex Explorer: This tool is outdated. For a Windows utility in more active development, see the Force.com Explorer.
Force.com CLI Tool: This tool allows you to interact directly with Force.com from your command-line. Functionality includes browsing data objects, executing SOQL queries, executing APEX code, and managing custom objects
Data Tools
Salesforce Reports for Excel (Pilot) : This Excel add-in lets you import Salesforce reports into Microsoft Excel 2010 or 2007.
Force.com Toolkit for Google Data APIs: This toolkit exposes the Google Data APIs directly within Force.com Apex, making it easier to access them natively from your Force.com apps. The toolkit is open source, and we’ve got many tutorials to help you start coding.
Force.com Data Loader: The Force.com Data Loader helps you to perform bulk operations data in your Force.com environment: insert, update, upsert and delete data, as well as export data from Force.com objects. You can use .csv files or relational databases as the source or target for this data movement.
Force.com Excel Connector : This Excel plugin lets you access and update your data directly from Microsoft Excel, allowing easy reporting, mass updated and cleansing of any Force.com data, including custom objects. (Source provided.)
Cloud Integration Tools
Force.com for Amazon Web Services: This toolkit exposes the Amazon Web Services Simple Storage System (S3) services natively in the Force.com environment. Force.com Apex code wraps the S3 API and access methods, making them directly available to your own application code.
Getting Started with the Force.com Toolkit for Azure: This toolkit makes it easy for you integrate Force.com with existing Windows Azure projects.
Force.com for Google App Engine: This Python library and test harness lets you access the Force.com API from within Google App Engine applications. The library is open source, and we’ve got an installation and user guide to help you start coding.
Force.com for Facebook: Force.com for Facebook gives you direct access to the Facebook APIs from within Force.com Apex code, letting you create new social graph applications and user experiences that connect directly to the Force.com platform.
Language Integration Libraries
PHP Toolkit: This toolkit provides an easy way to make Force.com SOAP API method calls from within PHP. Read Getting Started with the Force.com Toolkit for PHP for details on getting started.
Force.com Toolkit for Adobe AIR and Flex: Build Force.com apps with rich, dynamic Flex interfaces and offline AIR functionality using this toolkit.
Java: See the Force.com SOAP API to learn about integrating with Java using standard WSDL and SOAP. Alternatively, check out the Web Services Connector for a dedicated Java library.
.NET: See the Force.com SOAP API to learn about integrating with .NET using standard WSDL and SOAP. Alternatively, check out the Force.com Toolkit for Azure if you’re using Azure.
Ruby: See the Getting Started with the Force.com Toolkit for Ruby article for details on how to integrate with Ruby using the Force.com Toolkit for Ruby
Salesforce Platform Mobile Services
Salesforce Platform Mobile Services contains three core components:
Salesforce Platform Mobile Services in Force.com
Identity
Mobile Services in Force.com include REST APIs that provide access to enterprise data and services by leveraging standard web protocols. Thus, developers can expose business data as REST APIs and leverage those common APIs across different phone, tablet, and web user interfaces. Mobile Services in Force.com also include social, mobile policy management, and geolocation services, identity services, and a mobile container (accessed through the Mobile SDK).
To introduce you to these services we’ve released a new book, Salesforce Platform Mobile Services Developer Guide, and have made it freely available: Salesforce Mobile Implementation Guide [ HTML | PDF ]
Mobile Packs include a growing collection of JavaScript frameworks integrated with the Salesforce Platform. a variety of solutions, and with that variety comes choices. In fact there are 10 different learning paths you can take depending on whether you’re designing a native, hybrid or HTML5 app using one of the JavaScript frameworks. That’s where the mobile site comes in.
The Salesforce Mobile SDK 2.0 is an open-source suite of familiar technologies—like a REST API and OAuth 2.0—that you can use to build great mobile apps that use Force.com or Database.com. The Mobile SDK supports three development approaches for building mobile apps: native, HTML5, and hybrid.
Download the Mobile SDK for iOS
Download the Mobile SDK for Android
Email Tools
Email To Case Toolkit: The Email-To-Case Agent (AKA Email2Case) is a sample implementation that pulls emails from your mail server and uses the Force.com API to create new Cases or append Cases. Use this to enable Email-To-Case. Please note that Email-To-Case requires Java version 1.5 or higher.
See also Apex Email Services
Telephony Tools
Force.com Connect CTI Toolkit: The Force.com Connect CTI Toolkit allows partners to connect nearly any telephony API to Force.com. It gives Salesforce.com customers the ability to have screen pops, click-to-dial, and automatic call logging directly from the Force.com web interface.
Community Contributed Tools
The section below lists tools created by the DFC community to support a variety of languages and use cases.
Rich Visualforce Editor : Rich visualforce editor eclipse plugin provides content assist support in Force.com IDE(+eclipse force.com plugin), Context sensitive help for visualforce tags, Facility to launch visualforce and apex developer guide right inside eclipse and code versioning support using GIT version control system. Check http://www.sfdcgems.com/2012/12/rich-visualforce-editor-updates.html for more details.
Apex Editor LS : An alternative apex editor plugin for eclipse that features better content assist, sortable outline, quick outline, documentation hover, jump to declaration, toggle comment and fixes many other issues raised about the standard Force.com IDE editor in the ideas site. Check http://www.multimodus.hr/apex-editor-ls.html for details and current version.
Ajax Tools : This package contains a collection of tools for developers working with AJAX toolkit to build s-controls. Included are: A syntax-highlighting editor that can load/save s-controls directly from your salesforce.com account ; extensive code samples for the toolkit, dojo, and the UI in a handy code browser; a JavaScript shell with completion and input history — very handy for trying commands against the API; and a SOQL Explorer for browsing your data schema and building SOQL queries.
MavensMate IDE for Force.com : MavensMate is a SublimeText plugin that aims to replicate the functionality of the Eclipse-based Force.com IDE.
Scripting Tools: This offering lets you use the AJAX Toolkit and javascript as a scripting language from Windows via integration with WSH (Windows Scripting Host). With this package, you can write and run batch scripts to do common and/or bulk tasks using the Force.com API using nothing more than a simple text editor (no IDE, no compiling, etc).
Mass Update Anything: This handy cross-platform utility makes bulk updating or deleting records fast and easy. It’s like a cross between the Excel Connector and Force.com Explorer that simplifies these tasks.
SMAC: SMAC (Salesforce Mobile Administration Console) is an iOS (iPhone, iPad) mobile application which enables you to efficently access and manage your salesforce.com users and data. Quickly reset passwords, deactivate users, and run SOQL queries on the go.
SOQL Commander: SOQL Commander is a free online tool that enables you to build and test SOQL queries. It features a Schema explorer that allows you to browse standard and custom objects schema. It works across all browsers, and features end to end encryption (ssl/https) for security.
