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OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

status.open-vsx.org

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Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#71

Post by jhanschoo »

throwup238 wrote: post #64
cortesoft wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can use it as a FOSS editor, but only if you are willing to accept a vastly subpar experience. Why is this Microsoft's fault, though? Nothing is stopping the open source community from creating a more resilient extension distribution system.

The problem isn't the distribution system, it's the licenses on the flagship Microsoft extensions that provide C/C++, Python, Javascript/Typescript, etc. support. Those licenses are entirely Microsoft's fault.

My 2pence. C/C++ experience on VSCode is still subpar compared to other IDEs. Python is good, but very viable alternatives to VSCode exist. The biggest unique value proposition regarding languages is in TypeScript support. Support for many other languages still come from authorities from those languages who have no issue making them available on the open registry.

For me, the killer proprietary extension is their remote development extensions.

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#72

Post by jhanschoo »

blackoil wrote: post #67
3np wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You use stock Android Open Source keyboard, not closed-sourced Gboard? Can you type in Chinese?

China doesn't uses Google services. Am sure they can type in Chinese.

Those Android phones are loaded with their manufacturer's Chinese IME, not a completely open-source one.

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#73

Post by theanonymousone »

fr4nkr wrote: post #12

I noticed this the other day when I installed VSCodium on my new Windows box. I had a functional setup for one day , then the next day I couldn't install a language extension I direly needed. It's left a very sour taste in my mouth. I've used Emacs for ages and despite being a much more niche editor, it's never been so hard-dependent on centralized repositories, and the centralized repositories it does have (ELPA/MEL…

I have a failing CI/CD pipeline. I use a reproducible development setup based on Coder.com's Code Server..

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#74

Post by ezst »

veidr wrote: post #47
fr4nkr wrote: post #12

I noticed this the other day when I installed VSCodium on my new Windows box. I had a functional setup for one day , then the next day I couldn't install a language extension I direly needed. It's left a very sour taste in my mouth. I've used Emacs for ages and despite being a much more niche editor, it's never been so hard-dependent on centralized repositories, and the centralized repositories it does have (ELPA/MEL…

It’s plenty open source — that is why all these forks exist! VS Code itself does not work without various propriety stuff, but that is a different thing. A large number of open-source projects work that way. If you don’t like the proprietary stuff, the recourse is to fork it, modify it, and implement the remaining stuff yourself.

https://ghuntley.com/fracture/ ; I'll just leave this here.

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#75

Post by theanonymousone »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #4

Remember vs code is designed to fracture and the forks are an integral part of that. https://ghuntley.com/fracture/

But hasn't Coder.com[0] built a business around exactly that?

[0] https://github.com/coder/code-server

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#76

Post by bsder »

skydhash wrote: post #56
owebmaster wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (I was going to also say "or the OSS guys all unify behind a choice" but Hell will freeze over before that happens.) The editor war is going as strong as ever, emacs vs vim will still be here in 20 years. Compared to 10 years ago, the amount of people using emacs and vim only grew, although VSCode growth was 1000x faster.

I was watching the "Simple Made Easy" talk by Rick Hickey, and while he was talking more about programming languages, the talk could extend easily to editors and other type of tooling. People are always going for easy, not simple. Vim is very simple (a composable language for editing, straightforward integration with cli tools, easily extendable,...). Emacs is simple (Major mode that dictates main operations and disp…

"Not broken" trumps both simple and easy.

Syntax highlighting on the open source editors was a pile of regex fail before VSCode came along and forced everybody into the LSP.

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#77

Post by goku12 »

eddythompson80 wrote: post #34
fr4nkr wrote: post #12

I noticed this the other day when I installed VSCodium on my new Windows box. I had a functional setup for one day , then the next day I couldn't install a language extension I direly needed. It's left a very sour taste in my mouth. I've used Emacs for ages and despite being a much more niche editor, it's never been so hard-dependent on centralized repositories, and the centralized repositories it does have (ELPA/MEL…

I feel that you're conflating few concepts, hackability, "open source", single point of failure architectures. Yes, VSC is less hackable than emacs, but I don't think it's necessarily the same thing. VSC (and others like it) are going for a more streamlined "App Store" experience, while emacs is going for a more DIY/hackable style editor. You can always fetching the VSIX file and sideload it is if the "store" is down…

> Pretty sure RMS would argue linux is less "open source" than emacs too.

The word you're looking for is 'free'. Free as in freedom and free software. The open source philosophy focuses on the openness of the code base and the associated advantages. Free software philosophy highlights the freedom that the software gives its user on their devices. Opening the source code is just a means to that end for the free software philosophy. Most open source software are also free software. But a few software like VSC and Chrome manages to be open while holding back the freedom from its users. Stallman and others tried to highlight this difference, but were largely neglected. The large scale ignorance of this distinction is what led to spread of travesties like the Chrome browser.

I completely agree with GP on this matter. I use centralized repos for Emacs like ELPA and MELPA like a metadata source. The actual packages are downloaded directly from their git repos. All these happen transparently and failure is practically non-existent, even in the absence of mirrors. In contrast with such convenience, the only way to fully utilize VSC extensions market is to use MS's proprietary build of VSC. If you tried installing some essential extensions (like remote editing and editor sharing) on a fork or an open source build of VSC, it would 'conveniently' tell you that it doesn't work on an alternate build and instead give you the link to download the proprietary build. Some of these functionality don't even need an extension on Emacs (eg: tramp). What are the justifications for such restrictions? They alone know. But I'm sure that they aren't technical. You're probably too busy to worry about the politics behind it, whenever you find yourself in such a situation. It's quiet manipulative in my opinion. And all these were before MS started banning VSC forks from their marketplace.

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#78

Post by dodos »

john-h-k wrote: post #44

Lots of vim/emacs mentions so I feel obliged to mention Helix ( https://helix-editor.com/ ). Used neovim for _years_, tried Helix for a few weeks and never looked back

I love helix, I just wish more editors had support for its bindings so I'm not as out of water when I have to use an IDE.

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#79

Post by numpad0 »

blackoil wrote: post #67
3np wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You use stock Android Open Source keyboard, not closed-sourced Gboard? Can you type in Chinese?

China doesn't uses Google services. Am sure they can type in Chinese.

CJK languages need language-specific AI conversion engines for any kind of typing. Which OSS versions exist for Japanese, I don't know for Chineses(CN/HK/TW - IIUC they're slightly divergent beyond fonts).

Re: OpenVSX, which VSCode forks rely on for extensions, down for 24 hours

#80

Post by goku12 »

amadeuspagel wrote: post #14
joshstrange wrote: post #7

I'm sure some (many?) will disagree with me but: VSCode is Android. Or rather, VSCode's source is AOSP and the marketplace, plugins, etc are Google Play Services. I say that with maximum derision.

> VSCode is Android Yes, an open source project that creates immense value, but fails to fulfill some purist fantasy.

I would immediately jump ship if I could buy a phone that supports a truly free OS. Instead, I'm stuck with an option between a reasonably-secure, but completely locked-down phone (both hardware and software) with an exorbitant life-long cost and semi-locked-down phones with a pseudo-FOSS OS, whose main business is to my leak personal data for a dozen companies. Honestly, the only reason why Android (and iOS) reign unchallenged is because of their iron grip over the hardware ecosystem.
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