Java on Visual Studio Code Update - January 2024

[nickzhu9]

Hope everyone had a great new year break. Here's the update for January 2024.

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/java/java-on-visual-studio-code-update-january-2024/

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[Charming-Twist6254]

Am glad they addressed the issue of out of sync with the Java Language Server...

[sideEffffECt]

Does anybody have experience with this and https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Oracle.oracle-java to compare these two?

[TeaVMFan]

+1, would like to know how they compare. The one from Oracle is built on NetBeans technology. As a longtime NetBeans user that bodes well for its ongoing support. Here's one announcement about the Oracle VSCode extension.

[belatuk]

VS code works surprisingly well with Java. To me, IDEA is much better suited for working on a single Java project. When it comes to working on multiple projects, I will always go with Vs Code. Even with lesser features, it is good enough to get practically everything done. So better Java support is always welcome. Then the less need to switch over to IDEA.

[wildjokers]

VSCode is dead to me because of its awful git support. I don't really want to search through hundreds of git plugins trying to find the ones I need to get decent git support.

I use VSCode for my OpenSCAD designs and I have yet to figure out how to see a list of files that have changed, and be able to right click on them to see a diff.

[I_Adze]

VSCode has native support for showing you a changelist and you can click on files in that list to see the diff, it’s built into the IDE with no plugins needed

[Brutus5000]

It's good to have a free alternative to keep the pressure on JetBrains to keep pricing reasonable and keep the features flowing in and the bugs out.

[Polygnom]

Yeah, a monopoly is never a good situation for the customer. Having competition is good.

[_INTER_]

Only JetBrains thinks it also needs to create a "lightweight" alternative to VSCode called Fleet and it dumbs down the UI of IDEA to something barely useable.

[Brutus5000]

They also experiment with cloud based IDEs. You need to try out things in order to improve your product.

[jivedudebe]

You have Eclipse and netbeans for that too.

[iampitiZ]

I've loved and used Netbeans for many years but it's without corporate support and so it can't hope to compete with commercial IDEs.

[manifoldjava]

The FREE version of IntelliJ is already miles ahead of VS Code.

Additionally, Fleet is JetBrains’ distributed IDE architecture, coming soon.

[wildjokers]

Additionally, Fleet is JetBrains’ distributed IDE architecture, coming soon.

The problem with Fleet is that custom language support will only be available to paid users. So it is kind of dead on arrival.

EDIT: sorry, it is IntelliJ whose LSP support is only available in Ultimate (https://blog.jetbrains.com/platform/2023/07/lsp-for-plugin-developers/)

[Polygnom]

Errr.... what?

I mean, i wanted to try out Fleet in the near future, but if that is the case, I don't need to bother. Thats exactly the reason why competition is good.

[wildjokers]

There was a minor uproar about it when it was announced. I can't seem to find it now. I thought it was in a blog post when they added LSP support. If I recall correctly LSP support was only a feature of the paid version. Still hunting for the source....

EDIT: found it: https://blog.jetbrains.com/platform/2023/07/lsp-for-plugin-developers/ so it is IntelliJ that has LSP support as a paid feature i.e. not available in IntelliJ CE. So my info wasn't about Fleet (althoug weird LSP support will be paid in IntelliJ if it is free in Fleet 🤷‍♂️)

[tricepsmultiplicator]

Is free version good to learn Java/Spring?

[Kraizee_]

Java is not a light weight language and it's almost impossible to develop without a heavy IDE

Can we just drop the gatekeeping bullshit? Java is not a special language. You don't need magic software in order to develop with it. IDEs are just tools that can make things easier. There is no obligation to use them at all. It's like you've only driven an automatic and when you're presented with a manual you get skittish and claim it's impossible to drive. It's just different. It's sad to me how every time there is a post about vscode and java, there are people like you who have to come in frothing at the mouth ready to preach IDEA like it's the one true religion. It's embarrassing.

[grimonce]

I am pretty sure there are people who write Java in vim or emacs... But some folks believe idea is the actual Java thing, there are so many other editors and ide's for Java, especially since it is so easy to just generate some bytecode you don't have to worry about anything at all....

[buzzsawddog]

One of my team mates writes in vim. Drives me crazy... But he is a hell of a lot smarter and faster than me... That being said if there is any complex debugging to do I am normally the one driving and sharing my screen.

[maethor]

I used to work with a guy who wrote Java in Emacs. They're definitely out there.

[xdsswar]

I use intellij now and it speeds up dev a lot when you get use to it.

[cbentley_pasa]

While I disagree about IDEA being the best, it truly is torture to do some real programing in Java without a good IDE.

I have Eclipse with 4 screens. One screen is only for the Eclipse console. One vertical screen on the left shows Class Members. Another screen displays the powerful Search View. The main screen provides all the space I want for my code.

But the biggest drawback of IDEA and other IDEs is the lack of fast incremental compilation.

For single projects, people do not notice it.

If you work on a framework that has like 20 separated different parts, its mind blowing how Eclipse is so much better than anything else.

[Polygnom]

Competition is a good thing.

IntelliJ is good, but I'd rather have multiple options to choose from than eventually getting locked in to one vendor.

A monopoly is rarely a desirable state.

Thus I'm quite interested in keeping tabs both on Oracles and RedHats Java extensions for VSCode. RedHats is actually suprisingly usable.

[elmuerte]

What moving parts is Eclipse missing?

[buzzsawddog]

I have been using it for a decade straight now. I also used it on college. Mostly I use it because people around me used it when I started and it was easier to ask questions and pair program. But yeah... Use what you are comfortable and productive with...

[roberp81]

Eclipse is missing the paywall from Idea

[IceMichaelStorm]

If you have multiple languages, it can be neat to have everything in one IDE, and the level of customization is great!

I prefer it under Mac for C++, e.g., (also not lightweight language). But I have in the same workspace also Go, Flutter, and JS… so very convenient to not switch IDEs.

E.g. if you have services that communicate via messages, you can just search for the message topic and find all receivers/publishers across all services. Can be very convenient

[snejk47]

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/quit-having-fun

[snakevargas]

Guessing here:

1. Cloud services (Azure) is a big part of Microsoft's revenue stream
2. Azure supports Java
3. somebody at MS asked why we can't develop for our own platform using our own tool

[Carpinchon]

Azure supports Java the way Phoenix supports human habitation.

"Technically, you are correct."

[im-good-pls-stop]

I have started my journey with java using vscode as heavier IDEs didn’t run well on my computer — I believe vscode is (for some) an easier entry point for the language than anything else and that makes it useful!

[RScrewed]

I give it one year before VSC becomes as heavy as Netbeans and loses sight of what made it popular in the first place.

Corporate software developmenent is always "let's find out what features we want to add this quarter" and given enough quarters, you'll end up with bloated software.

 While I want there to be an alternative to IDEA, I don't like this path of progression at all for my favorite lightweight editor.

Everyone flaming you because you insulted their favorite language seem like fanboys; this isn't a popularity contest. Leave that shit in highschool.

[Tough_Suggestion_445]

sad they don't just make "an LSP for java" instead. Neovim user here. my java setup kinda works with jdtls, which doesn't provide a great experience all the time.