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I don't really get how VSCode got so popular. You can use a language server perfectly easily with Vim, Emacs, Helix, Sublime, etc. You can customize basically e

I don't really get how VSCode got so popular. You can use a language server perfectly easily with Vim, Emacs, Helix, Sublime, etc. You can customize basically everything in those editors, syntax, etc. You can just alias console commands for all of your build tools with some custom scripts if you need more complex build commands routinely. The git terminal tool works better than any VScode option. And VSCode is slower than all of those. We already have so many good fast secure polygot customizable text editors. Why run one through Chrome and fill it with extensions for everything that will have arbitrary access to everything?

mizuki_akiyama 9mo ago
Mostly because installing and setting up VSCode takes one click
- bauerd 9mo ago
  brew install emacs
  - shermantanktop 9mo ago
    I heard there’s an emacs macro for that.
- ecshafer 9mo ago
  As opposed to 'sudo apt install vim'? or 'sudo dnf install vim'? Same for emacs. sublime you might need to add a package repository.
  - godelski 9mo ago
    Or even, and I hate that I'm saying this, install vim from the apt store?
zzzeek 9mo ago
I used Sublime for years and VSCode is vastly better (the breaking straw was how they'd silo off critical bug fixes in new versions that were pay-only, upon finding vscode I felt silly for not switching sooner, it was so much easier to use and more powerful). Still use vim daily but not as a general IDE, memorizing decades of weird character commands and directives is not a great use of my time. my favorite VSCode feature is the SSH remote working feature. VSCode gives me the full editing / console / Claude environment on my local workstation, where all files, shells, and yes Claude as well run on a company lab machine over the VPN. Props to the collaborative working feature where several people can all share the same VSCode editor session on their individual workstations. Vim can do the above two things if you run as a terminal app with tmux. Sublime could do it if you shared the editor via X or Waypipe (well not the second feature). But VSCode integrates it directly in the app and it's a much better experience.
- godelski 9mo ago
  > But VSCode integrates it directly in the app and it's a much better experience. Not for the admin of the server who has a bunch of idle vscode sessions. Sure, cli users do it too with tmux but the resource consumption is vastly different
  - zzzeek 9mo ago
    well it's my lab machine and all 192G + 24 cores are mine all mine, problem solved
qwertytyyuu 9mo ago
Vs code was also arguably prettier than the rest in release
valicord 9mo ago
I'm sure you're being sincere here but this really reads like that famous HN comment about "who needs Dropbox when ftp exists". The reason vscode is popular is not because it does something impossible to do otherwise, but because it does those things out of the box with a friendly UI.
- ecshafer 9mo ago
  But we are programmers. I think there is a difference between expect John Accountant who doesn't trust his computer to set up RSync and a server, and a Programmer who is already going to spend a good chunk of their day in a terminal windiow anyways.
  - pdntspa 9mo ago
    Dude I'm tired. Tired of having to learn some stupid new UI paradigm just because. I really really wish there was ONE standard orthodoxy with regards to UI and how programs work and how we get around them. Instead we have these clowns constantly inventing new ones. I love learning things and tweaking things but I have limited bandwidth and I am so over micromanaging my PC For the record I know and love vi. But as I get older I find myself yearning more for the cathedral than the bazaar
- godelski 9mo ago
  I think you missed the issue with the Dropbox comment. Look back at it. He talks about using Linux, FTP, curlftps, SVN, and doing a network mount. The comment isn't actually even talking about providing the same service, so they mention emailing themselves files and usb drives. The problem was there was a big technical hurdle to locally network mount a file system. Especially across OSes. It's even harder to do it non locally. Sure, it's not hard if you're familiar with that stuff. Sure, it's not hard to learn if you're comfortable in the terminal. Sure, today you can use rclone. BUT that's not a tool my grandma can use. On the other hand, we're not talking about tools my grandma can use. We're talking about tools a programmer can use. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224
kouteiheika 9mo ago
> I don't really get how VSCode got so popular. You can use a language server perfectly easily with Vim, Emacs, Helix, Sublime, etc. You open it. It just works. And the learning curve is smooth. Compare this to Vim where, if it's the first time you're opening it, you are forced to kill the process because you don't even know how to quit it, never mind actually do any productive work.
- godelski 9mo ago
  > Compare this to Vim where, if it's the first time you're opening it, you are forced to kill the process because Because you can't read I'm serious. Open a blank file by typing `vim` into the terminal. Don't press anything, just look at the screen. I'm sorry, but reading docs, or just reading, shouldn't be considered a significant barrier to entry.
  - deleted 9mo ago
    [deleted]
  - SoftTalker 9mo ago
    How long have you been developing code for others to use? Rule number one is that users don't read documentation.
    - godelski 9mo ago
      Who are you making software for? That matters. General public? Yeah, assume idiotic. Developers? If you can't read docs then you can't do your job. I don't have much confidence in LLMs replacing devs, but if the dev is so arrogant that they think they're too good for documentation and if they have to read is too complicated, then yeah I believe AI can already replace that person. They were just a warm body, not a dev.
  - Daishiman 9mo ago
    You're not going to be making successful customer-facing software with that attitude.
guestbest 9mo ago
I decided to switch after notepad++ got hacked.
guyomes 9mo ago
> You can use a language server perfectly easily with Vim, Emacs, Helix, Sublime, etc. By the way, the language server protocol was originally developed for VSCode [1]. The popularity of LSP in other editors might have contributed to advertise VSCode. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Server_Protocol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Server_Protocol

mizuki_akiyama 9mo ago

Mostly because installing and setting up VSCode takes one click

bauerd 9mo ago
brew install emacs
- shermantanktop 9mo ago
  I heard there’s an emacs macro for that.
ecshafer 9mo ago
As opposed to 'sudo apt install vim'? or 'sudo dnf install vim'? Same for emacs. sublime you might need to add a package repository.
- godelski 9mo ago
  Or even, and I hate that I'm saying this, install vim from the apt store?

zzzeek 9mo ago

I used Sublime for years and VSCode is vastly better (the breaking straw was how they'd silo off critical bug fixes in new versions that were pay-only, upon finding vscode I felt silly for not switching sooner, it was so much easier to use and more powerful). Still use vim daily but not as a general IDE, memorizing decades of weird character commands and directives is not a great use of my time. my favorite VSCode feature is the SSH remote working feature. VSCode gives me the full editing / console / Claude environment on my local workstation, where all files, shells, and yes Claude as well run on a company lab machine over the VPN. Props to the collaborative working feature where several people can all share the same VSCode editor session on their individual workstations. Vim can do the above two things if you run as a terminal app with tmux. Sublime could do it if you shared the editor via X or Waypipe (well not the second feature). But VSCode integrates it directly in the app and it's a much better experience.

godelski 9mo ago
> But VSCode integrates it directly in the app and it's a much better experience. Not for the admin of the server who has a bunch of idle vscode sessions. Sure, cli users do it too with tmux but the resource consumption is vastly different
- zzzeek 9mo ago
  well it's my lab machine and all 192G + 24 cores are mine all mine, problem solved

qwertytyyuu 9mo ago

Vs code was also arguably prettier than the rest in release

valicord 9mo ago

I'm sure you're being sincere here but this really reads like that famous HN comment about "who needs Dropbox when ftp exists". The reason vscode is popular is not because it does something impossible to do otherwise, but because it does those things out of the box with a friendly UI.

ecshafer 9mo ago
But we are programmers. I think there is a difference between expect John Accountant who doesn't trust his computer to set up RSync and a server, and a Programmer who is already going to spend a good chunk of their day in a terminal windiow anyways.
- pdntspa 9mo ago
  Dude I'm tired. Tired of having to learn some stupid new UI paradigm just because. I really really wish there was ONE standard orthodoxy with regards to UI and how programs work and how we get around them. Instead we have these clowns constantly inventing new ones. I love learning things and tweaking things but I have limited bandwidth and I am so over micromanaging my PC For the record I know and love vi. But as I get older I find myself yearning more for the cathedral than the bazaar
godelski 9mo ago
I think you missed the issue with the Dropbox comment. Look back at it. He talks about using Linux, FTP, curlftps, SVN, and doing a network mount. The comment isn't actually even talking about providing the same service, so they mention emailing themselves files and usb drives. The problem was there was a big technical hurdle to locally network mount a file system. Especially across OSes. It's even harder to do it non locally. Sure, it's not hard if you're familiar with that stuff. Sure, it's not hard to learn if you're comfortable in the terminal. Sure, today you can use rclone. BUT that's not a tool my grandma can use. On the other hand, we're not talking about tools my grandma can use. We're talking about tools a programmer can use. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224

kouteiheika 9mo ago

> I don't really get how VSCode got so popular. You can use a language server perfectly easily with Vim, Emacs, Helix, Sublime, etc. You open it. It just works. And the learning curve is smooth. Compare this to Vim where, if it's the first time you're opening it, you are forced to kill the process because you don't even know how to quit it, never mind actually do any productive work.

godelski 9mo ago
> Compare this to Vim where, if it's the first time you're opening it, you are forced to kill the process because Because you can't read I'm serious. Open a blank file by typing `vim` into the terminal. Don't press anything, just look at the screen. I'm sorry, but reading docs, or just reading, shouldn't be considered a significant barrier to entry.
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
- SoftTalker 9mo ago
  How long have you been developing code for others to use? Rule number one is that users don't read documentation.
  - godelski 9mo ago
    Who are you making software for? That matters. General public? Yeah, assume idiotic. Developers? If you can't read docs then you can't do your job. I don't have much confidence in LLMs replacing devs, but if the dev is so arrogant that they think they're too good for documentation and if they have to read is too complicated, then yeah I believe AI can already replace that person. They were just a warm body, not a dev.
- Daishiman 9mo ago
  You're not going to be making successful customer-facing software with that attitude.

guestbest 9mo ago

I decided to switch after notepad++ got hacked.

guyomes 9mo ago

> You can use a language server perfectly easily with Vim, Emacs, Helix, Sublime, etc. By the way, the language server protocol was originally developed for VSCode [1]. The popularity of LSP in other editors might have contributed to advertise VSCode. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Server_Protocol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Server_Protocol