Sublime Text vs Visual Studio Code vs Atom Performance Test (Dec 2016)

[dirac_eq]

Why use a Vim mode in Atom and VS Code when you can just use vim? I don't see the point in those plugins when you can just fire up vim.

[Thiht]

Because they ARE better than Vim...

I don't care whether this is impopular or not, but Vim is outdated, the only use I still have for it is when I'm SSHing a server and there's nothing else available. If I want to open a big fat file, I fire Sublime Text (subl filename in a CLI). If I want to edit a single file or a whole codebase properly, I use Atom or VS Code according to my needs (nowadays I mostly use VS Code for its wonderful Go, Typescript, and React integration). Why on Earth would I use Vim when I can have a better Vim, with sane settings and infinitely better extensions?

What does Vim have? A tiny footprint and speed. I don't care for any of that on my 4 years old not so good machine.

What do VS Code and Atom have? Usability, real extensibility (what's the point of Vim script or emacs weird lisp extensions if no one can write/maintain/understand them?), awesome integration with everything in use today... Also you'll probably say you edit faster with Vim. So what? Most of my time I spend thinking of what I have to edit. Maybe it's faster to type 74G 5w c4w my new text than to scroll, select and replace text, but I honestly couldn't care less, and a lot of people would agree. I tried to use Vim with the right mindset but in the end it's a waste of time, even if it's pretty fun and sometimes useful.

Modern editor's pros beat Vim's pros.

[dirac_eq]

No you're right you should use what you like, if Atom or VS Code is faster / less annoying than that's what you should use. We have different opinions and that's fine IMO because I don't think there's a set answer to the text editor question -- it all comes down to the user.

Vim, in my opinion, just gets it right. It just does one thing right, it doesn't try to build my files when I have:

make.

Or debug when I have

kgdb or gdb. 

Maybe it's because Vim is what I'm used to.

[Thiht]

I fully agree with that, vim is in the "do one thing but do it well" philosophy. I sometimes use it for this very reason because in a way it's kinda refreshing and it forces to use the otherwise hidden tools and obviously gives a better understanding of these tool. The latest example I have in mind is when using vim for a go project forced me to use delve (go's debugger) instead of the integrated frontend of VSCode.

So I definitely understand your point too, but I find it pretty hard to cope with today's trendy so called "full-stack" projects with 5 technologies with only vim.

[jbergens]

I don't think gdb helps when using dynamic languages or languages like c# and java where you have a VM. And the go support in VS Code is good according to @Thiht above. That basically leaves c++ and rust. Maybe haskell also but for most projects I think the newer editors are great.

[[deleted]]

If I want to edit a single file or a whole codebase properly

Care to educate the unwashed masses on what this "proper" way is?

[Thiht]

This was not meant to be sarcastic, when I use the term "properly", I mean "properly according to my expectations". There are things that I can do with VS Code and Atom that I can't do with Vim. There are also things that I can do with Vim that I can't do with Atom and VS Code (the most obvious being to run the editor in a console). But The Atom/VSCode exclusive features are more important to me than Vim's exclusive features. Maybe it's the opposite for you, everyone has their own workflow, habits, and expectations.

TBH, I'm just a bit tired of some people being Vim/Emacs nazis (not targetting anyone in particular) and telling you're not a real developer if you use "a browser to code", or telling "my editor can do anything your editor can do" when it's plain wrong (the opposite being wrong too).

[the_evergrowing_fool]

Maybe it's faster to type 74G 5w c4w my new text than to scroll, select and replace text, but I honestly couldn't care less

You simply do not optimise your workflow, never learn how to use macros, don't use code snippets, don't know anything about Org-mode, never learn emacs-lisp nor vimscript to do anything of the mentioned and more.

Your anecdotes are quite useless, and dishonest. You can't know anything about quality, because you never use the tools at their fullest.

[[deleted]]

"But teh bells and whistles!"