5 ms·

I mean, we built the Windows Terminal as a native application because we didn't want users to have to be saddled with 40MB of a webview/Electron just to boot up

by zadjii 6y ago

I mean, we built the Windows Terminal as a native application because we didn't want users to have to be saddled with 40MB of a webview/Electron just to boot up a terminal. It might take us longer to make the terminal as feature rich than it would have with JS, but no amount of engineering resources could have optimized out that web footprint. When we think about what the terminal looks like in 5 years, that's what we were thinking about.

bhauer 6y ago
Thank you. As you say, in the long haul, Windows Terminal is considerably better than it would have been thanks to that decision. It feels responsive and lightweight; unlike any Electron app, and that is greatly appreciated by many users, myself included. I look forward to each new version.
- sebazzz 6y ago
  Didn't they eventually did some crazy optimizations to keep the terminal in VS Code performant?
  - Cthulhu_ 6y ago
    They still do; for years now I read the patch notes and every time there's a segment dedicated to the terminal with things like font support or sane selection, things that IMO are both basic features and which should be in native terminal emulators already. also I've never used the VS Code terminal, iterm works better for me. Also because it's its own dedicated app, so I can actually alt-tab to it instead of having to learn whatever shortcut it would be in the editor.
jfkebwjsbx 6y ago
I don't use Windows, but thank you for having gone for it.
petilon 6y ago
I am sorry but Windows Terminal is the suckiest Windows app ever and gives me a headache on a daily basis. Try opening multiple instances of this app in overlapping windows, like most developers do. Then fill them with text. Now see if you can tell where one window ends and the next window starts. Because of nearly invisible borders all the windows sort of blend into each other. Worst usability issue ever. This terminal appears to be designed for people who open only one command prompt at a time. Please bring back the old terminal.
- squiggleblaz 6y ago
  I don't like the new Windows Terminal and I still use conhost.exe since it actually doesn't crash, but I don't think that's a fair criticism. The borderless design is part of Windows' theme. The terminal merely renders into the box its given. I think Microsoft (and Gnome) have made a mistake in this borderless fetish, but you can't blame the app for the designers fault. And the fact that it crashes each time I resume my system seems like a much bigger issue than a person who refuses to keep a few pixels separation manually, or to color the windows differently.

by zadjii 6y ago

bhauer 6y ago

Thank you. As you say, in the long haul, Windows Terminal is considerably better than it would have been thanks to that decision. It feels responsive and lightweight; unlike any Electron app, and that is greatly appreciated by many users, myself included. I look forward to each new version.

sebazzz 6y ago
Didn't they eventually did some crazy optimizations to keep the terminal in VS Code performant?
- Cthulhu_ 6y ago
  They still do; for years now I read the patch notes and every time there's a segment dedicated to the terminal with things like font support or sane selection, things that IMO are both basic features and which should be in native terminal emulators already. also I've never used the VS Code terminal, iterm works better for me. Also because it's its own dedicated app, so I can actually alt-tab to it instead of having to learn whatever shortcut it would be in the editor.

jfkebwjsbx 6y ago

I don't use Windows, but thank you for having gone for it.

petilon 6y ago

I am sorry but Windows Terminal is the suckiest Windows app ever and gives me a headache on a daily basis. Try opening multiple instances of this app in overlapping windows, like most developers do. Then fill them with text. Now see if you can tell where one window ends and the next window starts. Because of nearly invisible borders all the windows sort of blend into each other. Worst usability issue ever. This terminal appears to be designed for people who open only one command prompt at a time. Please bring back the old terminal.

squiggleblaz 6y ago
I don't like the new Windows Terminal and I still use conhost.exe since it actually doesn't crash, but I don't think that's a fair criticism. The borderless design is part of Windows' theme. The terminal merely renders into the box its given. I think Microsoft (and Gnome) have made a mistake in this borderless fetish, but you can't blame the app for the designers fault. And the fact that it crashes each time I resume my system seems like a much bigger issue than a person who refuses to keep a few pixels separation manually, or to color the windows differently.