In theory all you need to write a program is a text editor and (depending on the programming language) a compiler. With only this minimal setup however, it will be hard to write or debug your code efficiently. That's why IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) are used to ease the process of programming and prevent mistakes before they happen. 

In this and the upcoming posts we will be looking into VisualStudioCode, especially into the advantages of using this IDE and useful extensions to make your life as a programmer easier.

Overview of VisualStudioCode (VSCode) functionalities

To install VSCode head over to https://code.visualstudio.com/ and download it, following the instructions on the website and the installer. After the installation you should be prompted with a window that looks something like this:

The Menu Bar

File:

• Create new files
• Open files, folders or workspaces
• Save files
• View and edit preferences (settings, extensions, shortcuts)

Edit:

• Undo, Redo
• Cut, Copy, Paste
• Find, Replace
• Find, Replace in files
• Toggle line or block comments

View:

• Configure appearance (of VSCode)
• Edit layout (e.g. split open windows)

Go:

• List of possible ways to move through files and code

Run:

• Run with or without debugging (if environment is configured)
• Set and toggle breakpoints (if environment is configured)

Terminal:

• Add new terminal in VSCode
• Split terminal
• Run task, file or selected text (if environment is configured)

Help:

• Documentation
• Release Notes
• Tips and Tricks

The Side Bar

Explorer:

The Explorer is used to keep track of the files that are in your current work directory. It shows you the files present in a collapsible tree, which helps you to navigate through them, especially if you have a lot of files.

Search:

The quick access to the search bar lets you search and/or replace fast and easy to all files in your working directory. If you click on the three little dots "..." right next to the replace field, you can even specify in which files to include or exclude from the search.

Source Control:

If you linked e.g. your Github profile to VSCode you have the ability to view changes between commits and branches. You can also use it to push, pull and commit.

Run:

Basically the same functionality as described above, but as a quick access.

Extensions:

Here you can browse, download and install extensions for VSCode. There are a lot of extensions available for different use cases. If you think some functionality should exist in VSCode, chances are that there is already an extension providing the functionality.

If you have any question or want to know more of a specific topic, feel free to drop a comment and I make sure to address it.