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Most laptops top out at 16GB of ram. Unless you’re only using your editor, you need resources for other things too. VM based dev environments via vagrant, dock

Most laptops top out at 16GB of ram. Unless you’re only using your editor, you need resources for other things too. VM based dev environments via vagrant, docker etc are very common. What I don’t understand is why if you’re going to use an editor that’s resource heavy, you wouldn’t just use an IntelliJ product. Sure, they’re jvm based and “heavy”. But they’re also fucking amazing, and have functionality none of these text editors are ever likely to have. Resource usage is acceptable if there is a benefit to the user. Oh right. I forgot. You can afford a $3K brand new laptop but you won’t shell out $200 a year for a tool you use basically every work hour of every work day.

AstralStorm 9y ago
IntelliJ tends to eat gigabytes per instance. This is not good enough when you want to have just even 2 projects open... That id's with a tweaked JVM. It alongside Java compilation can bring a machine with 10 GB free ram to its knees and end in swap death. I deal daily with the variant called Android Studio. Enough that about 30% I'd the coding has to be done in vim for performance reasons. The only great features are refactoring, advanced syntax highlighting, code completion and advanced search... If someone wrote something that is not a hog and can handle Android flavor of C++ and Java as well I'd switch in a heartbeat. This Xray is not it.
- stephenr 9y ago
  > IntelliJ tends to eat gigabytes per instance Mine is currently sitting at 1.7GB with 3 projects open, but yes it does use a lot of memory. I never argued that it doesn't, but as you point out: > great features are refactoring, advanced syntax highlighting, code completion and advanced search Syntax highlighting and search are common these days, code completion is in most decent editors/IDE's but the key one is refactoring, and it's associated tools: find usage. I keep trying out KomodoIDE (still not really native, but at least it's not Java) hoping it will be good enough to change to, and it hasn't gotten there yet. > If someone wrote something that is not a hog and can handle Android flavor of C++ and Java as well I'd switch in a heartbeat. The problem for me I think, is language/tool support in general. I generally write in scripting/interpreted languages (although I have written Java for a client) but it could be shell, php, python, ruby, sql, or of course any number of 'data' formats - json, xml, markdown, yaml (if Im feeling masochistic that day).
krisroadruck 9y ago
Is it common to code on a laptop instead of a desktop? I'd find it style cramping. Need the extra screens, full keyboard and mouse. But I work in digital marketing so my notions may be way off base.
- pjmlp 9y ago
  My last personal desktop was in 2002. At work we switched to Thinkpads with docking stations back in 2006. Never used a desktop again, only once an abandoned tower re-purposed as server.
- stephenr 9y ago
  I haven't used a desktop for work (or anything really) since... 2009? My experience with developers I work with tends to be the same. The only place I usually hear about desktops being used, is in company office environments. > Need the extra screens, full keyboard and mouse. If you're at a desk where those things make sense, you can still use all of those things, but you also get portability if you want to take your primary working machine with you somewhere. Edit: admittedly my next machine is potentially going to be a desktop. Mostly because this laptop while ageing, still performs OK, and will still be usable if I need to work outside my home-office.
- avhon1 9y ago
  > need the extra screens Nowadays, you can plug several high-resolution displays in to a laptop (HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt over USB3...), and the integrated graphics will handle it just fine. Just unplug one cable to go to a meeting, or work out of the office. > need the [...] full keyboard If you're not doing data entry, and you're not using applications that use the numpad for keyboard shortcuts, then ditching the numpad is fine. I personally prefer laptops without the numpad because then keyboard is centered on the screen. Using a laptop where I had to have my hands left of center might drive me crazy. > need the [...] mouse Personal preference (largely influenced by the work you're doing). For precision graphical work, there's little that can beat a good mouse or trackball. For pushing text around the screen and browsing the internet, a touchpad or trackpoint is just fine.

AstralStorm 9y ago

IntelliJ tends to eat gigabytes per instance. This is not good enough when you want to have just even 2 projects open... That id's with a tweaked JVM. It alongside Java compilation can bring a machine with 10 GB free ram to its knees and end in swap death. I deal daily with the variant called Android Studio. Enough that about 30% I'd the coding has to be done in vim for performance reasons. The only great features are refactoring, advanced syntax highlighting, code completion and advanced search... If someone wrote something that is not a hog and can handle Android flavor of C++ and Java as well I'd switch in a heartbeat. This Xray is not it.

stephenr 9y ago
> IntelliJ tends to eat gigabytes per instance Mine is currently sitting at 1.7GB with 3 projects open, but yes it does use a lot of memory. I never argued that it doesn't, but as you point out: > great features are refactoring, advanced syntax highlighting, code completion and advanced search Syntax highlighting and search are common these days, code completion is in most decent editors/IDE's but the key one is refactoring, and it's associated tools: find usage. I keep trying out KomodoIDE (still not really native, but at least it's not Java) hoping it will be good enough to change to, and it hasn't gotten there yet. > If someone wrote something that is not a hog and can handle Android flavor of C++ and Java as well I'd switch in a heartbeat. The problem for me I think, is language/tool support in general. I generally write in scripting/interpreted languages (although I have written Java for a client) but it could be shell, php, python, ruby, sql, or of course any number of 'data' formats - json, xml, markdown, yaml (if Im feeling masochistic that day).

krisroadruck 9y ago

Is it common to code on a laptop instead of a desktop? I'd find it style cramping. Need the extra screens, full keyboard and mouse. But I work in digital marketing so my notions may be way off base.

pjmlp 9y ago
My last personal desktop was in 2002. At work we switched to Thinkpads with docking stations back in 2006. Never used a desktop again, only once an abandoned tower re-purposed as server.
stephenr 9y ago
I haven't used a desktop for work (or anything really) since... 2009? My experience with developers I work with tends to be the same. The only place I usually hear about desktops being used, is in company office environments. > Need the extra screens, full keyboard and mouse. If you're at a desk where those things make sense, you can still use all of those things, but you also get portability if you want to take your primary working machine with you somewhere. Edit: admittedly my next machine is potentially going to be a desktop. Mostly because this laptop while ageing, still performs OK, and will still be usable if I need to work outside my home-office.
avhon1 9y ago
> need the extra screens Nowadays, you can plug several high-resolution displays in to a laptop (HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt over USB3...), and the integrated graphics will handle it just fine. Just unplug one cable to go to a meeting, or work out of the office. > need the [...] full keyboard If you're not doing data entry, and you're not using applications that use the numpad for keyboard shortcuts, then ditching the numpad is fine. I personally prefer laptops without the numpad because then keyboard is centered on the screen. Using a laptop where I had to have my hands left of center might drive me crazy. > need the [...] mouse Personal preference (largely influenced by the work you're doing). For precision graphical work, there's little that can beat a good mouse or trackball. For pushing text around the screen and browsing the internet, a touchpad or trackpoint is just fine.