Microsoft Visual Studio Code Review
February 01, 2019

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Review

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Visual Studio Code

I can only speak for my specific group and out of that group I am the only one actually using VS Code. That isn't because of anything with VS Code, it is because of the nature of the work my telecommunications team does. I'm the only one in a programming-adjacent role. VS Code provides me with a flexible IDE for coding in multiple languages that is lightweight and fast.

If I don't need to compile code, this is my IDE of choice. VS Code allows me to quickly write scripts ranging from Powershell to Python to Javascript or troubleshoot existing code with the debugging extensions.

Pros

  • The extensions marketplace greatly extends the functionality of the IDE beyond what the core contribution team could ever hope to.
  • The application doesn't feel sluggish or bloated. I don't work on massive projects, but I've never felt like I could describe it as any way other than responsive.
  • It's open source with a very nice license for internal development purposes, which is entirely what I do.

Cons

  • Requires additional tools to compile code, so some of the perks of lightweight and speed are made sacrificing a bit of convenience (arguably).
  • Occasional seemingly random error banners on launch that don't really impact performance, but just happen (to me, at least).
  • Leaning on market place extensions for a lot of debugging/linting functions puts you at the mercy of parties outside of your IDE vendor.
  • Being that our use of VS Code falls under the free to use portion of the licensing agreement, ROI is kind of moot.
  • Usage of VS Code has allowed me to create applications that allow us to better comply with organizational goals.
  • Usage of VS Code has allowed me to troubleshoot issues with existing code that allowed enhancements to existing applications.
  • Notepad++
  • PyCharm
  • Visual Studio IDE
  • Komodo IDE
VS Code is obviously much more advanced than the likes of notepad++ but it isn't a direct replacement for that either. It isn't as focused as PyCharm and Komodo are (being that they are Python IDEs) but the feature set is still very respectable.

In the end, I do the vast majority of my work in VS Code because I don't just spend my time using a single language and I am not required to do all that much in compiled languages.
If you are coding for educational purposes or developing internal user only applications, VS Code is fantastic. VS Code is also a fantastic option if you are more of a jack of all trades rather than focused on one specific language being that the extensions make it very flexible in what functionality it can provide that text editors and text+ type IDE's simply don't.

I would say if you need to compile code, perhaps this will work well for you with some external tools, but there's a good chance there's an IDE for the language you're using that would be better suited. The same goes for if you are only using one language consistently: there are language-focused IDEs that have an amazing quality of life features that VS Code simply aren't likely to implement.

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