3 ms·

I don't use IDEs because I hate being distracted by their features (most of which I don't want). A good syntax highlighting text editor with tabs is all I want.

SippinLean 13y ago
Wow, really? Typing `fu` then pressing `enter` to type `function(){}` will always be faster than typing the whole thing out. I can't imagine not wanting features like that...
- alextingle 13y ago
  Yeah, that's exactly the kind of feature that I can't stand. It takes approximately a second to type "nction(){}". Actual typing is an insignificant part of the time it takes to write code. OTOH, for me, the extra cognitive load of having to think about how the editor is going to interpret my keystrokes is a real distraction. What happens if I want to type "fu<new line>"? Will I need to type "fu <new line><left arrow><delete><down arrow>"? Or is the editor clever enough to realise that "fu..." shouldn't be expanded in this context? So, what is the context that the editor sees at this point in the code?... Etc. Every time the editor types something for me that I wasn't expecting, it distracts me from my flow. Or if I maintain a mental model of what the editor thinks is going on, then I won't be surprised, but I'm also not devoting 100% of my attention to the task at hand. I do use some very simple auto-completion. So, having the editor re-create the indent of the previous line when I press <return> is OK - because it's completely predictable. Finally, some IDEs seem to think that its a great idea to pop-up menus on top of the code, where I'm trying to type. (Intellisense, I'm looking at you!) That's completely infuriating. I want to be able to see my code.
  - jaredsohn 13y ago
    An additional annoyance is when your UI freezes as the IDE needs to think while populating a popup window. (such as http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3590489/visual-studio-2010-intellisense-slows-down-everything http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3590489/visual-studio-201...)

SippinLean 13y ago

Wow, really? Typing `fu` then pressing `enter` to type `function(){}` will always be faster than typing the whole thing out. I can't imagine not wanting features like that...

alextingle 13y ago
Yeah, that's exactly the kind of feature that I can't stand. It takes approximately a second to type "nction(){}". Actual typing is an insignificant part of the time it takes to write code. OTOH, for me, the extra cognitive load of having to think about how the editor is going to interpret my keystrokes is a real distraction. What happens if I want to type "fu<new line>"? Will I need to type "fu <new line><left arrow><delete><down arrow>"? Or is the editor clever enough to realise that "fu..." shouldn't be expanded in this context? So, what is the context that the editor sees at this point in the code?... Etc. Every time the editor types something for me that I wasn't expecting, it distracts me from my flow. Or if I maintain a mental model of what the editor thinks is going on, then I won't be surprised, but I'm also not devoting 100% of my attention to the task at hand. I do use some very simple auto-completion. So, having the editor re-create the indent of the previous line when I press <return> is OK - because it's completely predictable. Finally, some IDEs seem to think that its a great idea to pop-up menus on top of the code, where I'm trying to type. (Intellisense, I'm looking at you!) That's completely infuriating. I want to be able to see my code.
- jaredsohn 13y ago
  An additional annoyance is when your UI freezes as the IDE needs to think while populating a popup window. (such as http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3590489/visual-studio-2010-intellisense-slows-down-everything http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3590489/visual-studio-201...)