3 ms·

This may or may not matter to you, but VSCode and Atom are open-source. That means a lot to me, but I understand that some people won't really care.

usaphp 10y ago
Can you tell me how many times have you used their advantage of being open-source? Everybody keeps talking about ST not being open sourced, but how many people have actually went and dig into the Atom code and changed something in a core of it? I just want to write code with a fast editor, I don't really care if its open source or not if it does what I want it to do
- mevile 10y ago
  The benefit of open source is really better plugins. It's much easier to create plugins for an editor if you can see the editor's source code. This is true for IntelliJ IDEA and Atom in particular. I have been able to create pretty great UIs and other features in IntelliJ plugins from looking at and introspecting the IntelliJ code to see how it was done there. The other benefit is that if the company dies you know you wont have wasted all that effort with the editor because open source editors don't live and die at the behest of the company that started them.
- sspiff 10y ago
  Even if you don't fix or extend anything yourself, a sufficiently popular open source project is immortal in a very real sense. Think of it as insurance for one of you most important tools.
- throwaway84284 10y ago
  He cares deeply about open-source because it usually comes attached to free-as-in-beer-ness.
- Strom 10y ago
  I'm still using ST, but there have definitely been times when I wished it would be possible to modify some functionality. [1] I've sent them feature requests, but as they barely manage to implement their own ideas, mine have been ignored. If it were open source, I could've implemented it myself, which I certainly do for other tools that I use and find lacking. [1] For example the find-replace dialog closes itself when I press "Replace All", as opposed to other editors I've used where it doesn't. It's annoying to have to reopen the dialog after every different search.
- rtpg 10y ago
  I've stepped through some atom code to figure out how to properly configure syntax highlighting (ended up being me misunderstanding how certain regexes work...) I haven't changed anything in core, but having the ability to walk through all the code is super useful in debugging.
- ArmandGrillet 10y ago
  > how many people have actually went and dig into the Atom code and changed something in a core of it? More than 1144: http://blog.atom.io/2016/05/06/two-years-open-source.html http://blog.atom.io/2016/05/06/two-years-open-source.html
- Lennu 10y ago
  I think it is not about doing the actual digging and changing code of open source project. It is more the idea that it is possible and can be done if needed.
- polshaw 10y ago
  ARM builds are something that I want from ST; if it were OSS that would not be impossible
- Grae 10y ago
  >I don't really care if its open source or not if it does what I want it to do You care about the utility of your editor, and that's fine. Several other comments here try to highlight ways in which open source projects are more pragmatic, like the ability to make modifications yourself or take advantage of community contributions. All of that is just arguing about utility, though. For many people open source is a moral issue. RMS is a notable example here. And I prefer open source tools for this reason. If you believe open source software is morally superior to closed source software then the utility considerations are of secondary, or perhaps even zero, importance.
- swasheck 10y ago
  Why does the advantage necessarily have to be personal? Why can't it be communal? Though I don't fancy myself as capable to make significant contributions to FOSS projects, I do use and promote them (though, if I'm honest, HN exposes more to me than I do here) so that others can have exposure to them, use them, provide feedback/contribution to the project.

usaphp 10y ago

Can you tell me how many times have you used their advantage of being open-source? Everybody keeps talking about ST not being open sourced, but how many people have actually went and dig into the Atom code and changed something in a core of it? I just want to write code with a fast editor, I don't really care if its open source or not if it does what I want it to do

mevile 10y ago
The benefit of open source is really better plugins. It's much easier to create plugins for an editor if you can see the editor's source code. This is true for IntelliJ IDEA and Atom in particular. I have been able to create pretty great UIs and other features in IntelliJ plugins from looking at and introspecting the IntelliJ code to see how it was done there. The other benefit is that if the company dies you know you wont have wasted all that effort with the editor because open source editors don't live and die at the behest of the company that started them.
sspiff 10y ago
Even if you don't fix or extend anything yourself, a sufficiently popular open source project is immortal in a very real sense. Think of it as insurance for one of you most important tools.
throwaway84284 10y ago
He cares deeply about open-source because it usually comes attached to free-as-in-beer-ness.
Strom 10y ago
I'm still using ST, but there have definitely been times when I wished it would be possible to modify some functionality. [1] I've sent them feature requests, but as they barely manage to implement their own ideas, mine have been ignored. If it were open source, I could've implemented it myself, which I certainly do for other tools that I use and find lacking. [1] For example the find-replace dialog closes itself when I press "Replace All", as opposed to other editors I've used where it doesn't. It's annoying to have to reopen the dialog after every different search.
rtpg 10y ago
I've stepped through some atom code to figure out how to properly configure syntax highlighting (ended up being me misunderstanding how certain regexes work...) I haven't changed anything in core, but having the ability to walk through all the code is super useful in debugging.
ArmandGrillet 10y ago
> how many people have actually went and dig into the Atom code and changed something in a core of it? More than 1144: http://blog.atom.io/2016/05/06/two-years-open-source.html http://blog.atom.io/2016/05/06/two-years-open-source.html
Lennu 10y ago
I think it is not about doing the actual digging and changing code of open source project. It is more the idea that it is possible and can be done if needed.
polshaw 10y ago
ARM builds are something that I want from ST; if it were OSS that would not be impossible
Grae 10y ago
>I don't really care if its open source or not if it does what I want it to do You care about the utility of your editor, and that's fine. Several other comments here try to highlight ways in which open source projects are more pragmatic, like the ability to make modifications yourself or take advantage of community contributions. All of that is just arguing about utility, though. For many people open source is a moral issue. RMS is a notable example here. And I prefer open source tools for this reason. If you believe open source software is morally superior to closed source software then the utility considerations are of secondary, or perhaps even zero, importance.
swasheck 10y ago
Why does the advantage necessarily have to be personal? Why can't it be communal? Though I don't fancy myself as capable to make significant contributions to FOSS projects, I do use and promote them (though, if I'm honest, HN exposes more to me than I do here) so that others can have exposure to them, use them, provide feedback/contribution to the project.