I use vscode for my personal projects (c++ and a fully open source stack, compiling for both Linux and Windows).
I’m using the proprietary version of vscode (via the aur) for the plugin repository, but I’ve always envied the open source version…
Are there any tools that have made you excited?
Bonus points if they have some support for compiling with MSVC (or if you can convince me to ditch it for something else).
Notepad++, all i do is edit java class files.
@rklm Rider or any #JetBrains IDE honestly. They’re just too good compared to the alternatives I’ve tried and cheaper too.
I had some coworkers a long time ago who swore by jetbrains, but I’ve never tried it. Maybe I should give it a shot!
Using a new IDE is always a painful undertaking TBF.
I switch from visual studio to rider in order to better support my co-workers on macs. And I have never looked back, it’s just too damn good.
Though, the settings for exceptions and when to break are never right for me. While VS has it right, right out of the box.
You should! I liked it when I used it.
My three IDE’s of choice in order of preference:
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EMacs: ultimative workhorse which can do many more - especially with org-mode (however, time intensive to configure which is why I used also ChatGPT to get it done)
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VSCodium: easy to manage almost anything due to its huge number of extensions
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Vim: don’t know, sometimes I feel the need to work with Vim and it’s many shortcuts
All are free and open source.
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VS Code at work, Zed at home.
Despite Zed crashing my laptop every once in a while, it’s been a refreshing change-up from VS Code.
I use a vim extension in both btw…
Doesn’t Zed have a vim mode by default?
Jetbrains IDE’s are top tier (but resource hungry). A text editor with some plugins is fine for smaller projects, like zed, sublime text or neovim
Unix is my IDE, vim is my editor.
Based.
The universe is my IDE, my hands are my editor.
VSCod(ium). Jetbrains IDEs are arguably better (I’ve used this some in the past), but I like OSS and having all languages in one IDE (even though some languages may not be integrated as well as others).
Vim when I can, and when I can’t, Neovim with plugins (LazyVim). Both are fast. I have had troubles with Neovim and configuration, and it does some things that really annoy me (like autoclosing parentheses - it just messes up everything). Honestly, the only feature that I really need is Go To Definition.
But vim - I absolutely love it. I started using it nearly 20 years ago and it still does everything one could want if you’re willing to learn the keymaps and commands. Macros,
ci)
, block indentation and so on. It’s even great for editing XML. If the codebases I’m working on these days weren’t so large and complicated, I would still be using it with very little configuration in my.vimrc
.I don’t use lazyvim, but I found the “auto pairs” plugin you can try to disable
The Unix shell remains an excellent IDE.
A huge array of text- and data-manipulation tools, with more available through the standard package manager in my operating system.
Add in a powerful text editor like Vim or Emacs, and nothing can beat this IDE.
Yep. When everything about your IDE (unix) is programmable, it makes “modern” IDEs seem quite quaint.
Personally I make extensive use of https://f1bonacc1.github.io/process-compose/launcher/ to orchestrate a bunch of different shell scripts that trigger based on file changes (recompiling, restarting servers, re-running tests, etc.). Vim just reads from files as needed. It’s lightning fast, no bloat, and a world-class editing experience.
That looks interesting, I see it’s been discontinued 2 years ago though, is there a maintained fork that you use?
I’ve tried lots of options, and I still go back to vscode.
I’ve extensively used neovimand it has been my main IDE for years, but I got tired of having to spend entire afternoons configuring it. And I had too many total breaks, that had led me to recently abandon it as an IDE, still use it sometimes but much less. It relies on too many plugins, which makes breaks more common imho.
I tried helix. But features are far from what I expect for an IDE, even a modal command line one.
On the gui territory, I tried Lapce, but it’s still buggy and lacks features. Development pace is slow enough so I don’t consider it could become my ide in the near future, I have hopes for it, but not much as it could easily become abandoned before it’s usable.
I wanted to try Zed, but they seems to have a preference for macOS, which may have sense in the US but here I don’t remember the last developer I saw using a mac. There’s now a linux version, which I may try at some point, but some people commented that while in a better state than Lapce it’s not still a production ready option for an text-editor-IDE. Also the company behind it doesn’t inspire trust to me. There’s something about it that smells fishy, I cannot quite put my finger on what, but there’s something.
There are more options, some obscure, some old, some paid. For instance I usually heard good things about jetbrains ide. I tried intellij community and I’m not impressed, it’s slightly bwtter than eclipse, but it’s not on the level of visual studio for dotnet. I’m not a student and I don’t get paid for my hobby developments so paid options are a no-go.
So visual studio code is for me. Sometimes I still use neovim, as I really like modal editors, and vim/neovim is my go to text editor anyways. I’m due to try emacs, and I’m hopeful for the future of both helix and Lapce, though I manage my emotions as I’ve know too many projects that just never deliver, so I’m cautious.
Currently I use Code OSS, which is less my favorite but it works.
Out of all the IDE’s I’ve tried (vscode, webstorm, Code OSS, Kate, KDevelop), regular old Visual Studio 2022 is still my all time favorite, using it is such a smooth experience.
Its biggest flaw and why i had to switch is no linux support :(
Professionally I do use VS Code but at home I have Lapce installed. It opens really fast. I don’t do anything extensive at home so I haven’t explored the plugin ecosystem yet but it’s fast. That’s most of what I care for at home
Looks pretty, and familiar to vscode. I’ll check it out!
zed has delivered everything lapce was promising
Jetbrains IntelliJ IDEA for Java programming, emacs for everything else.
I’ve been on the JetBrains bandwagon for a long time and no desire to switch.
Thought I was going to show my inexperience because so many posts here are Unix/vim. I’d love to be that kind of wizard… but I think Adobe has spoiled me for UI and JetBrains definitely has that vibe (maybe for the worse just as much as the better)
And they’ve recently made Clion free for non commercial use.
I found most people don’t realize the many tiny features it adds over for example vscode (even with all the best plugins enabled yadayada) which in sum make it a much smoother developer experience.
Instead they open it for the first time, type some lines and say it is on par with vscode.