Pros and Cons of Visual Studio Code

Pros of Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is incredibly versatile and meets the needs of every developer. It is highly customizable, with thousands of extensions available to make it work exactly the way you need. Enhancements are continually made, including improvements to the debugging experience, such as better stepping performance by loading scopes and variables lazily.

Getting Started with Visual Studio Code

If you are a developer looking for an integrated development environment (IDE) with robust debugging and programming features, Visual Studio Code from Microsoft should be on your shortlist. As a fast-loading text editor, it rivals full-bodied IDEs like Atom, Sublime Text, and Notepad++.

VS Code is cross-platform software built using the Electron framework for Linux, macOS, and Windows computers. Once downloaded, install it using your file manager. On Macs, for instance, it should go in your Applications folder. After installation, open VS Code and verify that the Pymakr plugin is properly installed from its GitHub repository. Connect your Pycom device via USB to ensure proper recognition, and use the correct serial port as indicated in the Python VS Code documentation.

Efficient Searching in Visual Studio Code

While Visual Studio Code’s search feature is powerful, it can only search one keyword at a time. For multiple keyword searches, it’s best to use alphabetical order or combine results from multiple searches for more specific and accurate outcomes.

VS Code also allows you to highlight files related to specific projects. This makes organization easier and helps you quickly locate what you need. You can customize highlight styles to easily identify files that need review or updates. Additionally, you can change their color to distinguish between various files and projects, which is particularly helpful for large projects with multiple developers or teams. You can also modify the theme of your VS Code window via the command prompt or keyboard shortcuts.

Setting Up a New Project

Visual Studio Code is an intuitive text editor designed to assist in the creation of computer programs, websites, and mobile applications. Its key features include debugging, version control, and an integrated terminal. VS Code offers plugins to extend its functionality, increasing productivity and making development more efficient. It is accessible to beginners who are just starting to code and includes debugging capabilities for more complex programming.

To get started with Visual Studio Code, create a project folder. This folder will hold all of your code. Make sure it is easy to locate later. We recommend naming this directory “projects.”

Navigate to your project folder using your file manager and open it in Visual Studio Code. This will display its contents in the side pane of VS Code. Initially, it should be empty.

Click the Explorer icon in VS Code’s left-hand menu and select your development folder. Four icons should appear next to the folder name: one for creating new files and two others for opening existing ones. It is crucial that these extensions match so that linters can properly interpret the contents.

Once your files are added to the project, you can start editing immediately. You can run and debug the code directly within Visual Studio Code or use external debuggers like XCode. VS Code offers numerous plugins that can make your experience more productive and enjoyable. Check the Extension Marketplace or use the command “ext recommend” in the Quick Open box to find these extensions. They may include features like task explorers, Ruff Linter support, or automated Python code formatting, which can boost productivity and help you become proficient in Python programming.

Adding Files

Visual Studio Code can be configured as a comprehensive development environment for Feathers UI projects built in Haxe or OpenFL with just a few free extensions installed. Start by creating an empty folder for your project somewhere on your computer and opening it with VS Code from the File menu (or Open Folder on macOS).

Once VS Code has loaded your project folder, you can start adding files. For example, to add an HTML file, right-click and select New Text File, then enter its name and path. To move a file, replace the source_file_path with the original path and the destination_directory with the destination directory.

Create a class file by right-clicking on your project folder and selecting New Class File. Enter both the file name and class type, and choose a template for it.

To build your project, select Run Build Task. In the dialog, choose your target platform. For instance, if you are working on an HTML5/Debug project, it will launch directly into the web browser. To debug a project, select Debug > Start Debugging from the Debug Menu.

In addition to build and debug options, VS Code provides tools to assist with your project. You can view file contents by selecting it and opening the Explorer tab, or right-clicking and choosing “Show Contents.” Solution Explorer helps manage projects by expanding classes, traits, interfaces, and enums, allowing you to see their declarations or find definitions by typing text into the search box.

Once you finish working on a file, save the changes using Ctrl+S on Windows (Cmd+S on macOS) or File > Save from the menu bar. You can also use the Command Palette to execute one-command-at-a-time saving.

Debugging with Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code offers robust development, debugging, and collaboration features for developers. It supports various programming languages and frameworks, providing a uniform platform for coding requirements across software projects. As a worthy alternative to Microsoft Visual Studio, it brings unique strengths.

VS Code’s debugger features an intuitive user interface, making it easier for newcomers to learn and use. Its feature set includes IntelliSense, code folding, and auto-indenting functionality, making it ideal for those unfamiliar with command-line debuggers like GDB and LLDB.

The Debug Trace Viewer shows test results as they run, providing a timeline with expected and received outcomes and a comprehensive call log. This helps you understand test failures better.

Breakpoints are highlighted with a red dot in the debug view, pausing test execution and allowing results viewing through the trace viewer window. Visual Studio Code also enables setting watch expressions that reevaluate every time the focused stack frame changes. You can edit, rename, or remove watch expressions using the Debug view.

We have improved stepping performance by lazily loading scopes and variables for stack frames. Additionally, variable paging support has been added for variables with many children, configurable using VS Code’s new supportsVariablePaging client capability.

Visual Studio Code is an excellent Integrated Development Environment for your coding needs, especially with access to powerful debuggers like LLDB or GDB. While prioritizing Microsoft support or robust features over lightweight environments might not make VS Code the best fit for some, its versatility provides just what is needed for many developers.