The best code editor—is that really Visual Studio Code?
Code editors are a subject on which developers have strong opinions. Vim is revered by some. Others are supporters of Atom and Sublime. But there is one competitor in particular that is so pervasively popular that you can't ignore it. Visual Studio Code is the name of this little but powerful code editor.
Even if Visual Studio is well-liked, does it make it the finest code editor? Let's examine its background, benefits, drawbacks, alternatives, and whether it truly is the finest code editor for engineers.
How to Crown Visual Studio Code as King
Microsoft and open-source weren't seen as buddies until recent years. In 2021, the majority of developers—if not all—use Microsoft software (if you count GitHub). But with its initial release in April 2015, Visual Studio Code opened the door for the software giant's rebrand. With five years of bug fixes, feature updates, and a large ecosystem of free plugins, its popularity has increased significantly.
But why is it so well-liked? It initially appears to be a regular code editor. A developer may like Visual Studio Code, nonetheless, due of a select few unique features.
The cross-platform, open-source, and free Visual Studio Code is available. As a result, it is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS.
The in-built debugger in Visual Studio Code, in contrast to many other code editors, makes the development flow less "clicky" and preserves a single view with both the code and the debugger. This greatly facilitates and speeds up the process of tracking bugs and running through code. To run the various consoles and arrange them every time anything has to be minimized, you don't need numerous screens. The layout of your preferred workstation includes it in the design.
Additionally, but integrated into the code editor, is IntelliSense. Predictive coding is a technique used in intelliSense. You can take advantage of this even more with pre-made boiler-plates by adding framework, library, and/or language plugin extensions.
It's also important to note that the Visual Studio Code extension marketplace isn't exclusive to the realm of programming. Productivity tools, code linters, ssh-terminals, code prettifies, and DevOps pipeline integrations are all available.
Visual Studio Code's primary function is as a code editor, but it can do much more with the help of plugins. It's simple to transform it into a fully functional workstation by installing the necessary software and tweaking the settings and keyboard shortcuts.
Options, Drawbacks, and Advantages
Without context, it's challenging to evaluate a code editor. So let's examine some more well-known competitors to Visual Studio Code and see how they stack up.
Visual Studio Code versus Sublime Text
I held to Sublime Text for a very long time and would not switch to Visual Studio Code. I didn't want to completely believe the buzz, mainly because I was afraid of being let down. But ultimately I overcame my first reservations and gave Visual Studio Code a shot. Let's just say that it has been a while since I utilized Sublime Text.
The fact that Sublime Text makes writing and navigating code simple and fast is the main reason I stuck with it. Your productivity will depend on how quickly you can access particular features once you've learned the keyboard shortcuts or set up your own.
Sublime Text is only a code editor, though. It does little more than allow for code editing. Like with Visual Studio Code, there is no git integration or on-site debugging tool. The simplicity of Sublime Text's features attracted users at first, but as the complexity of the development process rises, Sublime Text struggles to satisfy all of a developer's requirements.
Visual Studio Code, in contrast, qualifies as an integrated development environment (IDE), allowing programmers to write and test code simultaneously. Although it is theoretically possible to combine Sublime Text with a console, doing so requires additional physical effort, whereas Visual Studio Code offers a comprehensive solution.
Visual Studio Code vs Brackets
Brackets is yet another piece of free and open-source software, similar to Atom and Sublime Text. Its roots are in Adobe. The primary benefit of utilizing Brackets is that it offers live editing and preprocessing.
Although a front-end developer might find this to be very helpful, back-end programming on Brackets is not advised. It seems sense that Brackets is more supportive of frontend development processes than any other phases of the software development process given that Adobe is traditionally renowned as a visual and graphical-based organization.
But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. A beginner frontend designer can learn to code more quickly and easily with Brackets than by diving right into any other text or code editor. The key selling point of Brackets is that it offers inline editors and live previews for LESS and SCSS. However, the extensibility ends there.
I would only suggest Brackets to someone who is just starting out with coding or learning how to Use CSS for the front end. This is so that frontend development can use Brackets, which function more like training wheels. Visual Studio Code, on the other hand, is more suited to programmers and application developers.
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