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Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

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Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#71

Post by abdusco »

loxs wrote: post #47

Currently I use WebStorm, but I also always have a spacemacs window open, to do the things that WebStorm can't do. Fresh example from yesterday: I open a .graphqlconfig file in WebStorm, which is a JSON file. Good luck making WebStrom open it as a JSON file... One minute later, I've opened the file in emacs, M-x json-mode, M-x mark-whole-buffer, M-x json-reformat-region, did the changes I needed to do, carried on wit…

You can assign non standart file types to various languages.

https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/creating-and-registering...

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#72

Post by erpellan »

xfer wrote: post #49
not_kurt_godel wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of the hundreds of devs I've worked with, I can think of exactly two who use(d) vim to edit code with any regularity. Both are fairly proficient above-average devs overall, but I'm pretty sure they also use IDEs heavily and only use vim for quick things. Beyond a certain level of codebase complexity, there is simply no way to do the job with a text editor, even with fancy macros. Vim is an elegant tool, but is si…

Would you mind being a bit more specific than using vague language and analogy? What are all these modern development tasks?

* Find usages

* Go to definition

* Extract method

* Introduce parameter

* Inline variable

* Rename method

* Rename variable

In a Jetbrains tool these are automatic / atomic operations.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#73

Post by fredsted »

realusername wrote: post #24

It's always the same debate, on my case all the features of Webstorm he's listing I will likely never use them whereas the lag issues & the clutter interface of Webstorm just make it a no-start as my main editor.

> lag issues & the clutter interface of Webstorm

I know a few developers who stick to editors like VSCode for those kind of reasons, but as it turns out, they actually never spent time learning how WebStorm works.

WebStorm and the rest of the JetBrains family of IDEs are extremely configurable, and speed is not an issue in my opinion: I've spent a lot of time programming with PHPStorm (including database servers and Web servers running in the background) with a 1.1ghz 12" MacBook.

In addition, it comes with batteries included. No need for plugins for what should be standard functionality.

Looking at them work, they could save so much time refactoring, jumping between code, clicking instead of using shortcuts, etc. that the investment would be paid back within at most a week.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#74

Post by Theodores »

One thing that the JetBrains editors have that isn't found elsewhere is support for SVG.

Once you take SVG to a certain level the desktop graphics programs no longer help, they add too much cruft and you also can't do things like have the origin of your drawing in the middle of the canvas. Having the origin in the middle makes things easier to mirror, rotate and so forth, which you might need if building an icon set.

Being able to live-edit a SVG opens new possibilities, you don't have to assume that you need the graphic design tools to 'draw a box' and you can keep shapes such as circles as circles, not some huge long list of points specified to 9 decimal places.

Right now I am building a SVG drawing that needs to take numbers to draw it to scale, I would never be able to do this without building a prototype in a JetBrains editor.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#75

Post by sbov »

founderling wrote: post #6

When you guys think about all the developers you know, do you rather see a positive or a negative correlation between the usage of high level tools and developer productivity? In other words, is your experience that developers who use an IDE are more productive then developers who only use a text editor? In my experience, the (very few) developers I know who only use VIM or Emacs are way more productive then those wh…

The best programmers I know actually have zero editor loyalty. They've used vim/emacs, Visual Studio, VSCode, Atom, Sublime Text, etc. for significant periods of time. They're always willing to drop their current editor for a new one that seems to work better for them.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#76

Post by vp8989 »

jjeaff wrote: post #44
not_kurt_godel wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of the hundreds of devs I've worked with, I can think of exactly two who use(d) vim to edit code with any regularity. Both are fairly proficient above-average devs overall, but I'm pretty sure they also use IDEs heavily and only use vim for quick things. Beyond a certain level of codebase complexity, there is simply no way to do the job with a text editor, even with fancy macros. Vim is an elegant tool, but is si…

Interesting. From reading HN, you would think every coder worth anything is hacking away with emacs or vim on black and green terminal screens. But I suppose people that use emacs and vim are like vegans. Those that do, are definitely going to tell you about it.

The world is jam-packed to the brim with posers, in every walk of life.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#77

Post by realusername »

foepys wrote: post #64
realusername wrote: post #24

It's always the same debate, on my case all the features of Webstorm he's listing I will likely never use them whereas the lag issues & the clutter interface of Webstorm just make it a no-start as my main editor.

How's it cluttered? You can simply hide everything. besides that, the default configuration only shows the main editor and two tool panels (left and bottom), the same as VS Code.

You got the answer in your comment, "you hide everything", yes but by default there's a good 80% of buttons I will never use including the top bar and a good part of the side bar. The menus themselves are also too cluttered, it "feels Java" to me and that's not a compliment.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#78

Post by jasonkester »

nnq wrote: post #54

Maybe people should realize that the problem is with the JS libraries ecosystem and how most are build in a way that "just jumping into a lib/framework to read its code and see what it does" can't seam to be feasible anymore . For example, in a React app if I'd want to jump from a `Route` import from react-router to it's readable code definition [1], NO IDE or editor around is capable a properly doing the jump, I eit…

That's a strong argument against using front-end frameworks and other things that require you to run a build on your front-end code.

There are plenty of options to build fast, modern front ends without having to deal with any of that.

And you're right about IDEs too. Given the choice between a full-blown VS.NET + ReSharper versus VSCode + $1,000 in my pocket, it's just no contest. No matter your bill rate, you still break even in single digit hours of productivity gain.

As a solo entrepreneur, it's even more of a no brainer, since it's my free time that I'm gaining by working with better tools.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#79

Post by realusername »

fredsted wrote: post #73
realusername wrote: post #24

It's always the same debate, on my case all the features of Webstorm he's listing I will likely never use them whereas the lag issues & the clutter interface of Webstorm just make it a no-start as my main editor.

> lag issues & the clutter interface of Webstorm I know a few developers who stick to editors like VSCode for those kind of reasons, but as it turns out, they actually never spent time learning how WebStorm works. WebStorm and the rest of the JetBrains family of IDEs are extremely configurable, and speed is not an issue in my opinion: I've spent a lot of time programming with PHPStorm (including database servers and…

> WebStorm and the rest of the JetBrains family of IDEs are extremely configurable, and speed is not an issue in my opinion

Speed is totally an issue for me with Webstorm, there's a small typing lag, very small yeah but noticeable, no typing lag is my top priority in an editor, above all the other features.

> Looking at them work, they could save so much time refactoring, jumping between code, clicking instead of using shortcuts, etc. that the investment would be paid back within at most a week.

Every Webstorm user talks about refactoring like a major feature for them but I found it not that useful personally, that's not a feature I would use anyway.

Re: Why I Switched from Visual Studio Code to JetBrains WebStorm

#80

Post by disillusion »

I would like to try to switch to a JetBrains IDE. Especially the refactoring tools look to be much more advanced then Atom or VSCode.

At my workplace, most developers are either full stack or backend (python). As such, we have a grab bag of PyCharm licenses. However, I am purely a frontend developer, so frontend related tools are much more important to me then python support.

Unfortunately, the last time I tried PyCharm the integration with linters, toolchains, different template languages etc. was quite limited. Or perhaps I couldn't find the needed extensions or where or how to configure the right settings. I don't know if this is a JetBrains IDE thing, or simply because PyCharm is so geared towards Python development only.

The projects I work on are integrated in different backend systems. So one might be a C# project with Razor templates. Or it'll be some PHP with another templating language. Or it might just be mustache or handlebars. It might be a SPA in Angular, Vue or React. It might be purely Node.JS project. Some projects have Webpack, some have a Gulp toolchain. Linters might differ between projects. Folder structure also differs, one might have the git repository in the root. Another will have it one or two levels down. Some use a python virtualenv. Others use a docker container. Others use no enviroment management at all.

In my experience, because of the different nature of the projects, the PyCharm editor offered little extra functionality over Atom/VSCode, while missing a lot of simple extensions that Atom/VSCode does have. I was also quite a bit slower to start up.

Is it possible to configure / extend PyCharm to offer the same frontend related functionalities as WebStorm, or is a separate license needed? And is there support, or are there extensions, to support different toolchains, linters, templating languages etc. per project? The backend language support can be limited, as long as the very basics are there, and I'd like advanced frontend support for refactoring, debugging, etc.

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