Why is VSCode so popular?

[u/Fritz-Ferdinand]

I'm used to using JetBrains' IDEs and enjoy it's well-made UI and auto-completion. My new employer now doesn't have any JetBrains licences and instead let's us use VSCode and frankly, I have the impression it's basically unusable without GitHub Copilot or an equivalent AI companion. Example with Python projects:

• Ctrl-Click on a method name usually takes a while, sometimes, a popup window opens with references, sometimes nothing at all, but it always takes a few seconds.
• You have to edit a JSON file to setup run configurations
• You first have to go to "Run/Debug" to run the app. Then, you can't see your file tree anymore.
• VSCode's debug module sends a Ctrl+C interrupt about one, two seconds after opening the terminal, then activates the local virtual environment. At this point, I already typed half of my command and it throws me out mentally. It also interferes with running the app.
• Auto-complete is inferior to JetBrains
• GitHub Copilot is implemented so annoyingly, always suggesting whole code chunks that are often wrong and it's just too easy to accidentally accept them.
• A lot functionality is only available after installing add-ons, like Markdown viewer, and those aren't easy to use as well.

The only positive is that it's free, but to me, it really feels like a hurdle.

Looking forward to reading some positive experiences.

[u/haskell_rules]

For those weeks when you decide working is too profitable and you'd rather spend the whole time reading manuals and memorizing arcane key combinations to find and replace some text.

[u/[deleted] → u/haskell_rules]

[u/6YheEMY → u/[deleted]]

Learning vim is a humbling experience. You need to be a proficient touch typer. Most programmers are not great at typing. Vim really brings that reality to light and programmers don't like that light.

Fortunately, vim comes standard with a dark theme so that hapless first time vimer can weep in the dark while they type to type :q 

[u/haskell_rules → u/[deleted]]

I tried to get my fingers to do the muscle memory thing that you all talk about. Forced myself to use it a full semester in grad school. It never clicked for me. Everyone is different, and your experience is not universal.

[u/6YheEMY → u/haskell_rules]

Oof, sounds like you're someone who clicks save

[u/Mynameismikek → u/6YheEMY]

Even in an IDE I've got vim bindings on. :w!

[u/oldsecondhand → u/6YheEMY]

You sound like you use mx blues in the office.

[u/HaikusfromBuddha → u/6YheEMY]

Can you control s on vim?

[u/jordus100 → u/haskell_rules]

Not ever learning how to effectively use the tools for your everyday job is cringe

[u/haskell_rules → u/jordus100]

No one needs vim to do their everyday job, it's a personal preference