Visual Studio Code vs Sublime Text: Uses, Features, and Comparisons

What is Visual Studio code?

The Visual Studio code used by developers is a powerful, lightweight source code editor that can be used on any desktop platform. It can run on Windows, Mac, and Linux. VSCode is built with support for various languages, including JavaScript, TypeScript, as well as Node.js. So, whether you land a Node.js developer or any others, this is important!

It also has a rich extension ecosystem for other popular programming languages, such as C#, C++, and PHP. The main component of VSCode is built on the Electron shell, which is complemented by the likes of TypeScript, Node.js, and the Language Server Protocol, with frequently updated extensions.

The support offered by VSCode varies depending on the programming language and its extensions. For instance, it supports remote debugging in some languages. Users can also add support for their favorite language by using TextMate colorizers.

To add to that, with the Intellisense code completion tool, VSCode provides a variety of powerful tools for creating and editing complex software. Some of these include graphical debugging, multi-cursor editing, code navigation, refactoring, and Git support.

The code in the VScode repository is open-source, and it’s licensed under MIT. Although it’s free, the product itself is still licensed by Microsoft’s standard product license as it comes with a few Microsoft-specific customizations in the product.

Features simplified

• Debugging: The debugging feature helps one easily detect code errors.
• Intellisense: With the help of Intellisense, you can analyze the words that you are inputting and then provide suggestions on how to finish your work. You can also access a variety of completions through the program, including word-based snippets, language server suggestions, and more.
• Go-to functionality: This feature allows for finding tools and features easily
• Syntax highlighting: This is an interesting tool that displays codes in different colors and fonts depending on the language used.
• Support for snippets: This enables the creation of catalogs for reusable code

Sublime text explained

With its powerful and flexible features, Sublime Text is a great choice for fast and simple code programming. It allows you to easily switch between different windows to perform various tasks, such as debugging and code checking.

Besides supporting over 70 file types, such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, Sublime Text also has a variety of other strengths. These include multiple selection options, a unified command palette, split windows, powerful Git support, and various windows that can be used with all your monitors. It also comes with a built-in plug-in API, which can be used to create simple JSON files. Interestingly, for programmers who are used to other editors, Sublime Text also supports Vi/Vim and TextMate bundles.

In Sublime, you can customize everything about the editor by adding your color scheme, setting the text font, and selecting the global key bindings. It also comes with a variety of other features, such as JSON file preferences and XML preferences files.

Features simplified

• Package control: Similar to VScode extension marketplace, this feature caters to a variety of packages and plugins that people can use to get started with programming. Some of these include C++ starter packages and plugins that will help with completing Python projects. Also, some of these include tools that will speed up the writing of HTML and CSS.
• Command palette: The Command Palette feature will help you find and navigate through various commands much faster than if you had to go through menus. It will also automatically fill in the details of the command you’re looking for, so if you don’t know what you’re looking for, it will give you an idea.
• Snippets: Similar to Visual Studio, Snippets work similarly to how they do in terms of building and installing extensions.
• Multi-edit: You can also multi-edit the file by pressing ctrl+d or ctrl+f (to find and replace). Ctrl+d enables the highlighting of all of the instances of the command or word that you’re currently on.
• Projects: The Projects feature in Sublime Text allows users to organize their files and folders in one place. This eliminates the need to open multiple files in a project manually, and it makes it easier to find all of them at once. It also saves you time by searching across all files in a program at once.
• Go-to functionality: Similar to the VSCode go-to functionality features, this feature is more fully-featured and serves to find tools and features easily within the text editor.

VSCode vs Sublime text: How do they compare?

VSCode and Sublime are similar in various ways yet they also differ in functionality, usage, and features. These comparisons will be tackled through seven criteria, which are:

1. Debugging:

• VSCode: In debug mode, you can execute your code in a variety of ways. The left pane displays the various elements of your code, such as its global variables and local values, call stack, watched values, and the list of breakpoints are also featured. Creating conditional breakpoints is also handy when you are looking for a specific type of data condition.
• Sublime text: To build and debug in Sublime, you’ll need to create build systems. This feature ships with a variety of build systems for different languages. You can also add new build system definitions. These build systems are very useful, as they allow you to run your code directly from the Sublime Text interface.

1. Performance:

• VSCode: The start-up time of VSCode is excellent, as it usually takes around 4 seconds to load. How it handles large projects is not clear. It also consumes a lot of memory, as it runs a variety of processes.
• Sublime text: Sublime text loads very quickly due to its C++ and Python foundation, and it also uses minimal memory.

1. Refactoring:

• VSCode: Before refactoring can be done in VSCode, a setup rope needs to be in place. VSCode supports Extract Variable, Rename, and Extract Method refactoring.
• Sublime text: The Anaconda plugin in Sublime has a function that allows you to rename an object. However, it has an inferior refactoring power.

1. Git integration: Git integration is the measure of how much can be done within an editor without consulting the command line.

• VSCode: If a project has been set up with a Git repository, then VSCode will allow you to initialize one. You can also click on View->SCM from the menu or use the Ctrl+Shift+G shortcut. You can create branches using the “Checkout to…” method and then publish them to the remote using GitHub. A pull request has to be made from the web UI before the branch can be released. This feature allows you to pull and push code changes from within VSCode. VSCode has a pretty good git integration score.
• Sublime text: The best way to integrate Git into a Sublime Text project is through the plugin. On a fresh install, you’ll need to install Package Control. This is usually done automatically, ensuring that the install stays lean. You can install it from the menu, and it will automatically appear in the Preferences section. The plugin features a lot of useful functions, such as Git Add, Git Commit, and Git reset. It also comes with a variety of other commands that will prompt you for options. In summary, Sublime has a very good Git integration ability.

1. Code management: Code Management is one of the most important functions of an integrated development environment (IDE). This allows a developer to easily navigate through the various sections of a code base.

• VSCode: VSCode has a weak dependency management system in code management, albeit with a strong search.
• Sublime text: Here, sublime equals VSCode in functionality with a fairly good code management system.

1. Code completion:

• VSCode: VSCode completely supports code completion. Although it does not automatically add the import statement to new modules, it can still provide an auto-completion function.
• Sublime text: With sublime, there are specific language packages that can be installed to enable autocomplete. More so, Sublime provides the autocomplete feature by default without needing any C plugin.

1. Cross-function compatibility:

• VSCode: Due to the open-source nature of VSCode, it is incredibly portable. VSCode runs on AMD and ARM architectures in 32 or 64 bits. It can be used on various devices, including my Raspberry Pi 4, Manjaro, and Ubuntu.
• Sublime text: Sublime lacks RAM support but it runs on various platforms, such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. More so, it does not support ARM or Raspberry Pi.

Conclusion: Sublime vs Visual Studio Code, which to choose?

Sublime or Visual studio code? VSCode and Sublime are amazing tools used in programming and various editing works. However, one of them is better in application than the other depending on the feature considered. Therefore, before deciding on the one to use, a careful evaluation must be done to make a better decision.

Conclusion: So above is the Visual Studio Code vs Sublime Text: Uses, Features, and Comparisons article. Hopefully with this article you can help you in life, always follow and read our good articles on the website: natuts.com