Are you looking for the best code editor? Then, you can try both the Visual Studio Code and Atom. When the Visual Studio Code came to its existence, no one was sure about this editor’s quality. But in recent times, it has become the hottest text editor. Let’s know about these two editors elaborately. Atom vs VSCode, which is best? Let us try to find the answer for the query.
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft is the one that developed the Visual Studio Code in 2015. The company uses Electron to create this editor. It allows the user to run the editor on various platforms like Linux, Mac, and Windows. Hence, you can edit programs of different languages, such as Java, Node, and C++, by using this editor.
This editor can debug programs. However, it is not an IDE, Integrated Development Environment. This editor helps the users to highlight syntax, complete any code, and also in code refactoring. Code refactoring means a method by using which you can decrease the complexity of nonfunctional lines in your code.
Overall, as a user, if you want to get a unique free coding experience, then Visual Studio Code is an ideal one.
Atom- Source Code Editor
The developer of this text editor is GitHub. They developed it in 2014. This editor is entirely customizable with plugins and can work like an IDE with the plugins’ help. It is a great text editor for web development because you can compile and debug programs by using it.
This editor contains a high functioning sidebar. It helps you to code quickly and gets quick access to plugins, packages, and extensions. The free editor has more than 60 core contributors. Therefore, you will get new plugins and extensions daily. As the editor is cross-platform, you can use it as Mac, Linux, and Windows OS.
Atom vs VSCode Similarities:
Electron was used in both text editors. The developer of the Visual Studio Code is Microsoft and Github is the developer of the Atom. But in the year 2018, Microsoft bought it. Therefore, both of these editors now belong to Microsoft.
Both of these two code editors are completely functional text editors. Each of them depends on the extensions and plugins so that users can get a fantastic working experience. These two editors are open source. As a result, the libraries of these editors are extensive.
VS Code vs Atom Differences
Performance
The fans of Visual Studio Code praise the performance of this editor compared to other Electron-based apps. These electron apps have fame for their sluggish performance. However, the Visual Studio Code can avoid this.
The performance differs between these two editors mainly depending on a few factors. But the main factor is for which approach these code editors are developed. The Visual Studio Code comes with a controlled core set of functionality that has plugins also. Moreover, it has some surface-level features.
On the other side, you will find a plugin-based approach in Atom. However, the approach contains some drawbacks also with a few benefits. It is slower than the Visual Studio Code. And it becomes worse while you are going to add specific plugins.
Hence, the Visual Studio Code doesn’t work slow on modern machines. Compared to the other one, the Visual Studio Code is far better.
VS Code vs Atom- Core Features
In the Visual Studio Code, you can get more functionality compared to other text editors. Visual Studio Code is unable to work as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). But it is quite similar to IDE. Additionally, it helps to build and debug apps.
Nowadays, most of the modern text editors come with an extraordinary feature that is Git integration. Luckily, Visual Studio Code is the one that contains this feature. It helps to deal with version control. And here, you don’t need to open a terminal window.
Atom has Git integration, but it doesn’t come with the same amount of features on its first launch. The vast majority of the functionality of Plugins Extensibility differentiates these two text editors most. When it comes to Visual Code, you can see the plugins which add features. It allows you to install different themes and support for new languages, etc. Moreover, when you are making codes, the code editor helps you to build tools.
When it comes to Atom, you can see this editor giving much more power to the plugins. The functionality of the text editor depends on the built-in plugins. If you use the right plugin, then you can effortlessly create an almost entirely new app. As a result, the editor becomes a much more “hackable” app. This editor contains a section in the manual aptly that is specialized for Hacking.
Community
Nowadays, the Visual Studio Code became more exoteric than the other one. However, the Atom has still a dedicated community of users and developers.
Atom vs VSCode: Which One to Choose?
When you choose the best text editor, you may face difficulties in selecting the right one. A lot of factors are there that you need to consider.
Will I be able to balance my coding style and the speed of your coding by using the text editor? Does the text editor come with full customization? All these things can come to your mind while choosing the right one.
Compared to other text editors, Atom is a much slower editor. Designers made it in such a way so that it can work as a high-functioning piece of software. This editor also allows you to customize your experience to a significant degree. You can choose this tool for increasing your coding style.
However, if you want a text editor for speed mainly, you must choose Visual Studio Code.
Conclusion: Users can use Visual Studio Code and Atom free of cost. Each of these text editors supports macOS, Linux, and Windows. Visual Studio Code is available under a proprietary license, whereas you need the MIT license to download the other one. After checking the contrast between these two editors, it’s all up to you for which one you will go.
