Brackets vs. Vim

Brackets can handle most text editing problems, at least if you have a file small enough that it opens. But with so many free and open-source editors out there, it is easy to have multiple tools that fit specific niches. If you are editing HTML and CSS, get Brackets.

Incentivized

I would recommend Vim in any scenario where text files have to be viewed, created, or edited on GNU/Linux computers. Regardless if you need to quickly change a few things in a configuration file, or you need to write up a full document, Vim is great. I wouldn't use Vim to view, edit, or create anything that requires "rich-text". In other words, if you need to format the text (bolding, font colours, word-art, etc), then Vim isn't the tool to use.

Incentivized

• The Live Preview feature is extremely helpful. You can make tweaks to your CSS and then see how it affects the pge you're coding.
• The recently added file tree feature is really a time saver. You can move files with a drop and drag feature without ever minimizing the program.
• One of my favorite features is the ability to update the core program with extensions. Some of the extensions are simple, like adding themes, while others are a offer a little more assistance like creating Lorem Ipsum text for you.

Incentivized

• The efficient modal editing makes it very fast to write/edit code as I think of it.
• The customization and wide range of plugins let me do very specific things and automate parts of my workflow.
• The fact that it runs inside a terminal simplifies my window management and just becomes another Tmux window in my workflow.

Incentivized

• Can be a little slow to open and render larger files at times relative to a similar application running on the same computer.
• Some plugins have performance or quality issues (not the fault of Brackets per se, but with the ecosystem of extensions).
• Color schemes, styling ease of use could be improved. For example, provide out-of-the-box schemes like "high-contrast, night-time, bold."

Incentivized

• Without a doubt the hardest program to learn. It is a completely different paradigm of thinking compared to other editors
• By default it doesn't have lots of fancy features you would find in larger IDE programs like code completion and linking
• It lives in the command line so a user has to be comfortable with this interface

Incentivized

As far as usability, text editors are about as simple as you can get in the GUI world. The little features that make Brackets unique are intuitive enough that you don't really need a manual to find them and come to rely on them. If anybody knows enough about coding and markup enough to be looking for different editors, they will be up to speed before the download finishes.

Incentivized

I don't consider the steep learning curve to be a hinderance on the overall usability. I would rate this a ten, but to be honest a lot of people do get hung up at the beginning and just abandon it. However, for people who have made the moderate effort to get over the hump, nothing can be more usable.

Incentivized

Brackets has a very extensive support site. Everything is organized nicely for easy navigation. If you can't find an answer you can easily file an issue with them and they will be quick to respond. What's cool is you can also message them on Slack, if you request an invite first. Slack is a very popular program right now so it's great having that integration.

Incentivized

There is no commercial support for Vim. Thus, it will not get a mark beyond 5. However, community support is very good. You can easily find solutions for most of the problems in the community.

Incentivized

Brackets can be considered as the barebones version of a more complex piece of software like Dreamweaver. We selected Brackets due to the simplicity of the UI and the ease of use. In our case we do not need all the additional tools and gadgets that other, more complex software packages offer. We need something that's quick, easy, uncluttered and focuses specifically on our needs, which are seeing code and editing code. In this case no frills and complex UIs are required.

Incentivized

Vim's keybindings are a lot more complex than Notepad++. With that, comes a whole bunch of capability that Notepad++ just can't match. Emacs is comparable, in terms of capabilities--because Vim is built into so many unix systems, I chose to learn it instead of Emacs. Knowing both probably isn't a bad idea, but there's enough to learn in either camp to keep you busy

Incentivized

• ROI is great. The version of the tool we are using is free so not a whole of lot “investment” went into it. And the work we can accomplish with it more than makes up for the “cost.”
• The ease of use makes it simple for anyone new to the tool to start using it and contributing to the project.

Incentivized

• It always increases productivity.
• Sometimes feature discovery is not easy. It could be documented well like how to install a plugin and if it supported well or not.

Incentivized