An IDE loads a project (which can have many files), allows you to switch between files, provides autocomplete capabilities based on the entire project (not just the open file), integrates with a version control system (such as git), allows you to deploy your project to a test environment, and many other “project-level” features.
If you haven’t chosen an IDE yet, consider the following options:
- Visual Studio Code (cross-platform, free).
- WebStorm (multiplatform, paid).
For Windows, there may also be “Visual Studio”, not to be confused with “Visual Studio Code”. “Visual Studio” is a powerful paid editor that works only on Windows, well suited for programming on the .NET platform. It is also good for programming in JavaScript. It also has a free version: Visual Studio Community.
Many IDEs are paid, but they have a trial period. Their cost is usually insignificant compared to the salary of a qualified developer. Choosing the right editor will save your most valuable resource – your time. So just choose the best option that meets all your needs.
“Lightweight editors” are not as powerful as IDEs, but they are simple, affordable, and quick to launch.
They are usually used to quickly open and edit one or more files.
The main difference between them and IDEs is that IDEs work at the project level, so they load much more data at startup and analyze its structure if necessary. A lightweight editor is much faster if we only need to edit one file.
In practice, lightweight editors can have many plugins, including project-level parsers, autocomplete, etc. Since this greatly expands their capabilities, there is no clear line between lightweight editors and IDEs.
These are the options that deserve your attention:
- Sublime Text (cross-platform, free for a trial period).
- Notepad++ (Windows, free).
- Vim and Emacs are also good if you know how to use them.
