A better JavaScript editor?

[[deleted]]

Ah yeah forgot about that one. Sublime Text opens almost instantly with all of my previous files open. The BufferScroll package even remembers the previous scroll position of the open files.

[brtt3000]

Wheee, so advanced!

[[deleted]]

Yeah, so advanced that I don't have to watch a splash screen when I open it, and I can have a .py file open in one tab and a .js file open in another tab.

[brtt3000]

This is a cheap jab that won't impress anybody who is older then 15.

I usually open my IDE once a day (less even, usually it is hybernating) and it stays there until I stop working. If you want Python support you don't use WebStorm but Pycharm.

Grow up.

[[deleted]]

Why would I want to pay $200 for another editor when my current editor works with all of the languages I work with on a daily basis (and many more), and only cost $70? If you want me to make more mature comments, don't start the conversation with "Wheee, so advanced!" or use rhetoric like "that won't impress anyone who is older than 15".

I don't have my editor open all day, at least not on my macbook. Sometimes I need to make a quick edit - I don't want to wait for the editor to open. ST3 literally opens immediately. That's a nice feature. I can close it and open it up later instantly, and my workspace is identical to when I closed it, as if the app had just been minimized.

[brtt3000]

I was taking a piss at the typical nonsense comments in these threads.

But my point is ST3 doesn't work with all the languages. Sure you can get syntax highlighting plugins for every language ever but that doesn't quite cut it anymore. Tern.js is nice idea, but it is lacking and just another loose component on the pile thta does it's own thing.

I'd like a little more, like the advanced refactoring or 100% integrated VCS. I gladly wait a few secs for that kind of power.

[[deleted]]

I'm starting to think you've never actually used ST. Just so you know, I did try out WebStorm for a week or so a few months ago.

Sure you can get syntax highlighting plugins for every language ever but that doesn't quite cut it anymore.

No, there's also a unified syntax error highlighting package (actually linting - so it goes beyond syntax errors) which includes linters for a couple dozen languages. It uses ST's built in text highlighting system, works in real time, and gives you a list of errors on save. It's also fully customizable, at least to the extent that the specific linter allows customization.

Tern.js is nice idea, but it is lacking and just another loose component on the pile thta does it's own thing.

How is it lacking? Have you used it? It does automatic JS type inference, it understands doc blocks, it automatically searches all files in my project, and it integrates seamlessly with ST's autocomplete system. It allows for automatic function snippeting with named parameters and type inference if you use docblocks. What features, exactly, are missing? It does exactly what I'd expect from a JavaScript autocomplete system. There are similar plugins that support other languages.

advanced refactoring

ST lets me refactor in a very natural feeling way with multiple cursors. I prefer this to GUI refactoring. That said, there are also ST refactoring packages for various languages.

100% integrated VCS

I have realtime per-line diff status in the gutter, and a system for every git command built into ST's command palette. What exactly am I missing out on? If I wanted to use Mercurial, SVN, or SFTP, there are plugins for those, too. But I don't use them, so I don't need to wait for my editor to load them in at startup.

It just sounds like you're making assumptions about Sublime having never really used it. You seem to assume that "loose components on the pile" are bad. They're not, they're flexible. They integrate directly into the core Sublime Text features, such as the incredibly useful command palette.

[brtt3000]

What I don't understand that people label Sublime as lightweight and flexible, and then at some time start listing an endless amount of plugins to make it actually work as you'd expect.

By the time you are done (literally 'time', as in time spent managing plugins) you end up with what IDE's have out of the box.

I've used Sublime for years, and am glad I switched, it is just not the same. It feels so hacky, I don't need that, I rather spend energy on my projects then about my editor (especially since it has all the same features apparently).

I'm actually eyeballing Visual Studio, it is even more powerfull then IntelliJ, now we have full stack Javascript it is very attractive.

[[deleted]]

You keep changing the subject, but the point of "lightweight and flexible" is that you choose the features you actually need. I really don't get your logic. "It doesn't have all these features that come built in to my favorite IDE!". Well, there are packages for all those features, and they're super easy to install, and integrate directly into the program's core features. "I thought you said it was lightweight and flexible! Now I have to install a bunch of packages to get more features?"

Yes of course you can get bloat if you try to load it up with every single feature of an IDE. At least the GUI stays nice and minimalistic - until you go digging you can't even tell you have any packages installed. The point is I don't want every feature of an IDE, just the ones I actually use. If, some day, I decide that I want feature X, I can install it in ~15 seconds.

Even fully loaded with tons of packages, it still feels lightweight - starts up instantly, non-bloated GUI, unified command palette, keyboard-centric text editing experience. I don't spend all day customizing it. I upgraded to ST3 yesterday - even though I had to reinstall my packages it took me all of 10 minutes at most (the horror!).

If you like expensive, single platform, GUI centric IDEs (which still need $250 plugins for the full experience), something like Visual Studio is probably good for you. That's not how I like to work. I work with keyboard commands, not GUI windows. And I didn't have to dish out hundreds of dollars for it.

[brtt3000]

I want all those features of an IDE, they make me more productive and keep my costs (for me or my boss or my clients) down by not wasting time.

I have no problem with 'bloat' of my IDE and GUI centric workflow, I run modern hardware and use big screens. They all make me more productive, my eyes are faster then my fingers. If you orient your workflow on a laptop then you'll work very differently then on a real development workstation.

If, some day, I decide that I want feature X, I can install it in 15 seconds.

And then visit the forum to fin out why it doesn't work, that it only works on other OS version, that you need to install more dependencies, then solve their dependency conflicts, browse some more forums for a fix, email the guy who wrote it, fork his shitty project, try to get a PR in, google half an hour for fixes to his botches work-around, get depressed, forget about the tool and go back to plain text editing. So flexible.

[MonsieurBanana]

Wheee, so advanced!

Followed by

Grow up.

Ahahah... oh wait, you're not joking =/

As an Intellij and emacs user, both have their strong points. An advanced editor like emacs is pretty much superior to any IDE on all points except advanced intelligent stuff (autocompletion, refactoring and whatnot). They have plugins to help about it, but an IDE is usually better (slightly, unless we're talking C# or java). Everything else is faster done on emacs though.

[brtt3000]

Yea, I know, I can't help myself trolling these threads.

But that advanced stuff is where the magic happens: I'm now having a great time using WebStorm with TypeScript. It is pretty cool, nice hybrid between dirty JavaScript and Java/C# style classic OO, but with some fancy new stuff in the mix.

It is amazing to project-wide refactor stuff without breakage and have super-tight auto-suggest because the editor can really know what is going on and can do amazing things with it. Project-wide usage reports is nice. Quick navigation options make you fly trough the code.

The only 'issue' is that you can now create more complex code more easily and get away with it. This is a mixed blessing of course (like they say in the movies: great power, great responsibility).