We use Microsoft Visual Studio Code to write code for our automation framework for our in-house security-related products. We use it to add new test scenarios or modify existing test scenarios for automation frameworks. Also, we use Microsoft Visual Studio Code to check out the code from the Git repository. It is one of the go-to Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) for our team to manage the build of the automation codebase for our project.
Pros
Integrate with the git repository very well.
Integrated copilot chat is very helpful to write code snippets and helps beginners to start with coding and development.
Great library of available extensions is one of the best features in Microsoft Visual Studio Code.
Dedicated Testing option to configure pytest and others are quite handy to use.
Cons
A lot of dependency on the plugins and manually finding appropriate plugins for the development environment is time taking for first time.
A highly customized Microsoft Visual Studio Code for our development environment is a bit slower in startup.
Although it is very good for web development, it lacks full feature for heavy development with C/C++ like memory profiling etc.
Running on virtual/containerized environment is slower and buggy
Likelihood to Recommend
Well-suited for automation framework development, especially Python-based frameworks like pytest, Playwright, etc. It is perfect for tooling development, and Copilot chat support makes it a lot easier to do the automation development tasks in this IDE. Execution of playwright and pytests in the IDE is very smooth. Debugging mode to triage the failure and fix on the go is also awesome. Integration of AI for error fixing and debugging is a really cool feature.
VU
Verified User
Engineer in Engineering (Computer & Network Security company, 1001-5000 employees)
Easy library access, extension addition, and directory creation and access. The latest developments that incorporate agentic AI for development are excellent and a real game-changer. Along with all these, affordable access to all AI models in Copilot helps developers of all levels, from freshers to experienced.
Pros
Extension management.
Library management.
Project management.
Copilot
Agentic development.
Cons
Editor could have been better.
Pretty print.
Agentic project creation with multiple files and folders.
Likelihood to Recommend
Well-suited for all kinds of application development. It is a little complex for new users who want to take benefit for agentic mode. Improvements to the icons in the left pane can be made by naming them to make them easier for beginners. OR two modes can be enabled, lite and pro, along with a demo video link embedded when switching from lite to pro.
VU
Verified User
Consultant in Engineering (Information Technology & Services company, 10,001+ employees)
All of our developers use Visual Studio Code for everything; we have teams working on Java, Python, and TypeScript, and they all use VS Code. With the help of extensions, we can connect to anything and personalize their environment as they want. Also, our developers work on different OS, and they can port their configuration and work in any of them without issue.
Pros
Flexibility
Compatibility
Personalization
Lightweight
Cons
Java development
Pipelines integration
More verified extensions
Likelihood to Recommend
It's difficult to say a scenario where Microsoft Visual Studio is less appropriate. I would say Spring Development, but our developers also use it there... so basically you can use it in any environment to code in any language or framework, share your environment configurations across operating systems, and have a high level of personalization thanks to extensions.
VU
Verified User
Manager in Engineering (Information Technology & Services company, 10,001+ employees)
We use Microsoft Visual Studio Code mainly to develop in Java and Apache Camel. Very recently we have added Github Copilot extension and we are very satisfied in the way it is embedded and the many situations where it help us by asking questions and getting very precise answers (issue troubleshooting) and by getting proposals in terms of lines of code.
Pros
Text formatting
Wide number of extensions
Quick to launch
Efficient consuming PC resources
Cons
Frankly speaking, trying to come up with some improvements I struggle to find something for my daily use. Perhaps, documentation is not pretty clear when configuring file settings.json, you need to dig a bit on the internet to find the solution
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is perfectly well suited if you want to code in Java. It is well supported and provides lots of Java extensions (extension pack for java, debugger for java, maven for java...). Apart from coding, it helps you debugging and you can run your program in a embedded server.
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is being used as an integrated development environment by the developers in our organization. It is mainly used for writing Java Script, Node JS, React UI and SQL scripts. We are also using Micrsoft Visual Code for debugging operations and version control for maintaining complex codes and workflows. Internal web applications are being built using Microsoft Visual Code in our organization.
Pros
Write and Debug Code more efficiently
Version control with the help of SVN integration
It is a lightweight application which improves overall performance
Very customizable
Cons
Basic functionality must be in built and not dependent on installation of extensions
Performance can get slower when working with large files in Microsoft Visual Studio Code which needs to be improved
Needs improved support for Mobile App development like its competitors
Likelihood to Recommend
As a developer I find Microsoft Visual Studio Code very user friendly for my day-to-day activities. It is easy to write code and perform debugging operations. We have integrated SVN (Bit Bucket) with Microsoft Visual Studio Code for version control. It is easy to share code with other members of the team using this approach and code can be packaged into applications and exported with ease using Microsoft Visual Studio Code.
VU
Verified User
Employee in Information Technology (Accounting company, 5001-10,000 employees)
Being an IT company, our organization needs to develop various lines of code every day to develop our clients' products. Writing codes in traditional text editors like notepad, notepad++ is a bit tricky. There is no even delimiter matching in the notepad. This had created a huge problem in our organization. To solve these problems, our organization began to use Microsoft Visual Studio Code. Using this tool, we can easily search for required files and required lines of code. Errors are automatically detected by using suitable packages for the programming language that we are working on. Also, we can take benefit of the inbuilt terminal in the software.
Pros
Checks error while writing codes
Provides great Extensions so that it can support almost any language
Git and Github implementaion can be done easily
Cons
Newly added Gihub Copilot crashes a lot.
It would be better if php and python deployment was made easier.
Searching for settings is a bit complicated.
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is well suited for emerging developers who want to increase their productivity while coding new lines of code. Developers can get a package of all the tools needed for them in this single software which is really fascinating. For people other than the programming field, this tool is less appropriate.
When it comes to a script editing, you can't go past Visual Studio, I've tried others but Visual Studio has the best features and it just easy to use. Having tabs and a built-in file browser make my life easier.
Pros
Easy of use
Looks great
Tabs, tabs, tabs
Likelihood to Recommend
It just works and is super easy to find what you need to get your job done quickly.
VU
Verified User
Technician in Information Technology (Accounting company, 501-1000 employees)
Visual Studio Code is a default editor for the developer groups who are working mostly on Python, Javascript, Docker, C++ and PowerShell in our organization. The VS Code supports the day-to-day development activities like programming, debugging and source code management (Bitbucket). The flexibility that VS Code brings is a tempting lot of developers to migrate towards it in our organization.
Pros
Excellent customization available for Text Editor, Keyboard shortcuts, Syntax highlighting and Workspace view.
Lots of Extensions available for different languages which make code even more versatile.
The debugging tools are really matured and help to put breakpoints, conditional breakpoints, local variables view, class variable view, immediate resolution of expressions, and call stack for function call. It also supports multi-threaded debugging as well.
It is light weight and efficiently manages big workspaces even with machines with lower configurations.
Direct support of major repositories make the code management much easier.
Multiple workspaces can be operated in parallel.
Cons
Setting interface is bit complex. It should be way more simpler as compared to the current one.
The plugins needs to reviewed more. Few plugins causes the VS Code to hang/crash.
Sometimes Auto suggestion and Syntax highlighting makes VS Code sluggish.
Likelihood to Recommend
This is one of the best editors and supports most of the development work. I would highly recommend to go for the Visual Studio. I have not come across any scenarios where I feel that the editor is not appropriate. The only thing that requires a little more attention is the usage of any third-party extensions. Sometimes they cause the VS Code to hang/crash. Apart from that, it is the de-facto choice for me.
It is used across different departments for various use. For our team, we use Visual Studio Code for different types of software developments.
Pros
Support numerous plugins for different usages
Available in multiple platforms
Powerful yet lightweight
Cons
Nil
Likelihood to Recommend
It is very suited for development use at the developers' workstations. As mentioned in the previous sections, it provides a lot of conveniences for different kinds of development uses. It is less suitable for on-the-fly file editing in the production machines, which is both over-kill and inconvenient. Built-in editors like vim will be more suitable for that job.
VU
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology (Research company, 501-1000 employees)
We use Microsoft Visual Studio Code for writing and debugging our Python and Java based applications. Visual Studio Code is a useful tool that assists us with quickly writing and updating our scripts. It is lightweight and has a number of nice built-in features, such as automatically highlighting the same variables in the interface.
Pros
Nice built-in features like auto-highlighting repeating variables
It's lightweight
Helpful for quick script modification
Cons
It would be nice to have the option for a Spyder-style UI
More advanced debugging features would be helpful
Including a built-in screen for package management
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is excellent for quick modification or working with scripts that you may have in your code base. As an example, I would often conduct experiments using scripts that were based on PsychoPy, and on a number of occasions, I had to quickly update a script or two shortly before a participant was tested with their particular code or counterbalance number. Most scripting programs would take a significant amount of time to make a simple modification, and would be bogged down with a heavy UI, but Visual Studio Code make this process quick and painless.
