Everyone has a clear IDE preference and lately I've been using both VS Code and WebStorm. Here's why:
VS Code
Free & open-source
It's customizable, multi-language, fast & lightweight
VS Code combines modern editing & debugging with code assistance and navigation
Webstorm
Highly comprehensive and intelligent
Makes running, debugging, and unit testing of Node.js apps easy
Great code refactoring & auto importing
Considerations
WebStorm gives you the majority of the features you'll need whereas with VS Code, you'll end up installing some extensions manually
WebStorm has amazing Git merge tools that provide for great visualizations of the Git diff changes, making merging complex changes a whole lot easier
WebStorm tracks all file changes out of the box & enables the inspection of file histories, directories & rollbacks
VS Code is lightweight, making it ideal for remote development & fast prototyping
Tl;dr VS Code is open-source, fast & lightweight and WebStorm maximizes code inspection and refactoring.
What's your IDE of choice?
Oldest comments (7)
I've been using VSCode since its beta version. I decided to master it above other IDEs (like WebStorm) cause 2 reasons:
I love simplicity. I don't like having extra buttons (export test results to .pdf was a thing!) I prefer the vscode philosophy: "if you need something, call for it using the command palette or install the plugin" over the contrary: "you have all the options available, choose yours" which leads to endless sub-menus.
I love customization. the direct approach from VSCode (a bunch of json files) is more transparent than in-app panels.
I also like VS Code, but would give Webstorm a try. The git integration of VS Code could be better or what do you think?
SublimeText - been using it since version 2. VSCode just seems to be a slower, more memory hungry copy of it
VS Code "fast & lightweight" only when it is started first time, without any plugins. Being equipped with plugins to reach comparable to WebStorm functionality, it does not make such an impression anymore.
Working close with Azure und Microsoft Tech in general I find that VSCode provides a better integration to Microsofts ecosystem than any other IDE. I tried Webstorm a few times but I never got really warm with it. But as always its mostly personal preferences :-)
Did anyone buy Webstorm privately?
I can understand if you get it from your company but it seems unlikely anyone would actually be paying his own money for it
While language servers are quite good nowadays I prefer IntelliJ IDE features. I like the UI a bit more than VS Code (it looks alien on OS other than Windows). Most the tools I use are bundled within Webstorm and I almost don't need any extra stuff.