3 ms·

> I always encounter the exact opposite. I've never found any web application with a good UI or any web application that outperformed a native one. VS Code see

> I always encounter the exact opposite. I've never found any web application with a good UI or any web application that outperformed a native one. VS Code seems to outperform all the other IDEs I've used in the past

cleyclun 4y ago
Although I agree, VS Code also uses excessive amount of RAM. More than any IDE I've used in the past. Still, I use it because it's the best free option.
- canadianfella 4y ago
  [dead]
georgemcbay 4y ago
VS Code for me is the exception that proves the rule. Its great and in most ways feels like a native app, but this is a very different experience than every other Electron app I use which all tend to leak significant amounts of memory over time (VS Code does this too but to a lesser degree), lock up in weird ways (task still running in task manager but any attempt to invoke a new UI window results in nothing happening until I go and manually kill all the zombie tasks running in the bg), etc.
pjmlp 4y ago
By offering a subset of their capabilities, with key features implemented in a multi-process architecture, using plenty of C++ and Rust written modules. Additionally the terminal has to use WebGL to achieve usable performance.
- iudqnolq 4y ago
  Yes, web app programming sucks. But a web framework UI that communicates with a native backend has a lot of advantages when compared with the actual alternatives I could use instead. The web has gotten orders of magnitude more investment in tools, and it shows.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    Active Desktop, been there, thankfully now gone.
    - anthk 4y ago
      Malware haven.
- laughinghan 4y ago
  key features implemented in a multi-process architecture, using plenty of C++ and Rust written modules Which is exactly the point—the UI is written in HTML/CSS, not the native platform language, and the high-performance modules are written in C++ and Rust, also not the native platform language.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    Driven by VM that I didn't ask for, using a dynamic language that can only go as far. MSHTML and XUL eventually lost into obscurity, Electron will follow their footsteps.
  - jen20 4y ago
    C++ is absolutely the native platform language on Windows.
- 1attice 4y ago
  This point feels as though the author intends it to function as a 'defeater' -- C++ and Rust are used, therefore VSCode is a bad example (as a neighbor post says, an 'exception that proves the rule'.) I invite you to consider that the converse may be true: if you can keep things performant by RIIR or even C++, it makes a great case that desktop apps should resemble web apps, with a native backend talking to a JS/CSS/HTML frontend. It does not function as a cautionary tale, but as a compelling proof-of-concept.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    What a great case MSHTML and XUL used to make as UI for C++ applications. As usual in this industry, those that have been around long enough have already been through this fashion statement.
toastercat 4y ago
VS Code is definitely the best performing Electron app I've ever used, but as someone who daily drives Sublime Text, it's clear how much better the native app written in C++ (Sublime) performs.
yamtaddle 4y ago
It's much closer to Sublime Text (or maybe Notepad++ if you slapped a plugin-browser on it) than to a "real" IDE. It's not snappier or lighter-weight than Sublime.
palata 4y ago
Got to Jetbrains IDEs first, never had to move to VScode ;)

cleyclun 4y ago

Although I agree, VS Code also uses excessive amount of RAM. More than any IDE I've used in the past. Still, I use it because it's the best free option.

canadianfella 4y ago
[dead]

georgemcbay 4y ago

VS Code for me is the exception that proves the rule. Its great and in most ways feels like a native app, but this is a very different experience than every other Electron app I use which all tend to leak significant amounts of memory over time (VS Code does this too but to a lesser degree), lock up in weird ways (task still running in task manager but any attempt to invoke a new UI window results in nothing happening until I go and manually kill all the zombie tasks running in the bg), etc.

pjmlp 4y ago

By offering a subset of their capabilities, with key features implemented in a multi-process architecture, using plenty of C++ and Rust written modules. Additionally the terminal has to use WebGL to achieve usable performance.

iudqnolq 4y ago
Yes, web app programming sucks. But a web framework UI that communicates with a native backend has a lot of advantages when compared with the actual alternatives I could use instead. The web has gotten orders of magnitude more investment in tools, and it shows.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Active Desktop, been there, thankfully now gone.
  - anthk 4y ago
    Malware haven.
laughinghan 4y ago
key features implemented in a multi-process architecture, using plenty of C++ and Rust written modules Which is exactly the point—the UI is written in HTML/CSS, not the native platform language, and the high-performance modules are written in C++ and Rust, also not the native platform language.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Driven by VM that I didn't ask for, using a dynamic language that can only go as far. MSHTML and XUL eventually lost into obscurity, Electron will follow their footsteps.
- jen20 4y ago
  C++ is absolutely the native platform language on Windows.
1attice 4y ago
This point feels as though the author intends it to function as a 'defeater' -- C++ and Rust are used, therefore VSCode is a bad example (as a neighbor post says, an 'exception that proves the rule'.) I invite you to consider that the converse may be true: if you can keep things performant by RIIR or even C++, it makes a great case that desktop apps should resemble web apps, with a native backend talking to a JS/CSS/HTML frontend. It does not function as a cautionary tale, but as a compelling proof-of-concept.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  What a great case MSHTML and XUL used to make as UI for C++ applications. As usual in this industry, those that have been around long enough have already been through this fashion statement.

toastercat 4y ago

VS Code is definitely the best performing Electron app I've ever used, but as someone who daily drives Sublime Text, it's clear how much better the native app written in C++ (Sublime) performs.

yamtaddle 4y ago

It's much closer to Sublime Text (or maybe Notepad++ if you slapped a plugin-browser on it) than to a "real" IDE. It's not snappier or lighter-weight than Sublime.

palata 4y ago

Got to Jetbrains IDEs first, never had to move to VScode ;)