Atom is a solid editor for the long run
Updated January 16, 2020
Atom is a solid editor for the long run
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Atom
We use Atom to edit code on the Mac and Windows platform. As a technologist, I do recommend this editor to both faculty and students because it is free and open-source. It is a good text editor and code editor with lots of functionality. It is modern and seems rather stable. I think it will be around for quite a while.
- Edit code in multiple windows.
- Atom is available on many computing platforms.
- Atom seems to be a bit aggressive with the "help" and "tip" system. You have to turn that stuff off or it is annoying.
- On occasion, sometimes a package does not work, they need to pull those.
- ROI is a 600%, the ROI is like crypto.
- Take the time to download, install, and use this editor— it is well worth it
I like Atom because it is simple and not too complicated. Configurable, full-featured, yet remains nimble. You can not beat the cost of Open Source, so this leaves software like BBEdit out in the cold. Atom is not as hardcore as Vim or Emacs. Less complicated than full IDEs like NetBeans or Eclipse, which is good for lightweight development.
Do you think Atom delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Atom's feature set?
Yes
Did Atom live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Atom go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Atom again?
Yes
Using Atom
50 - There are some staff that use Atom to edit code. It is also a popular editor among some Computer Science students but there are others in the sciences that also use it. I also find it useful in any project where I might have once used BBedit. It is a good general text editor and beyond.
No need for any support. Atom is simple to use and if you need a code editor well then you should know how to use it.
- Edit and write code
- Edit configuration files
- We have not yet found any.
- I hope to see it used more widely.
Evaluating Atom and Competitors
Yes - Well for me it did replace BBedit and we have found that it is better than Blufish in terms of having better autocomplete and code highlighting. Also, we chose atom because we need something that was more simple and clean than something that was a full IDE. Atom is small and nimble yet can be used on bigger projects.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Third-party Reviews
There are actually two factors. First that it is open source and seems to be a project that is actively developed. The second reason for us using Atom is that it is available on many platforms and works the same be it on Windows or Mac. Continuity across platforms is important.
No. For most of what we do for small software tools like Atom is we just try them out. It does not take long to figure out if the tool will work or not. We evaluate some internal feedback and kind of go from that. I must say that we do look a software reviews also.
Atom Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal - None.
Atom Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
No - It is just too small of a tool to do premium support.
Yes - There was a third party module that did not work. I actually reported it to the author of the module. I am not sure the module was even fixed because I was able to find another one written by someone else that basically did the same thing. No worries, the issue was not important.
Yes, the documentation is fantastic. Also, one time i needed to see if Atom was able to be opened from the command line. (This is something that can be done with BBedit which is useful.) I was able to find how to do this with the help of some posts on StackOverflow, which I think is one of the better support mechanisms for OSS.
Using Atom
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- To edit files, the code syntax and coloring is the best.
- It is easy to keep track of folders of files in Atom.
- I just don't like the way the Welcome Guide keeps popping up.
- Too much GitHub stuff, we don't use that much.