Visual Studio Code

Source code editor developed by Microsoft

Not to be confused with Visual Studio.

Visual Studio Code

Logo used since May 2019

Visual Studio Code starting screen with dark theme

Developer(s)| Microsoft
Initial release| April 29, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-04-29)
Stable release|

1.91.1[1] / 9 July 2024

Preview release|

1.92-insiders[2]

Repository|

* github.com/microsoft/vscode

Written in| TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, CSS[3]
Operating system| Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.15 or later, Linux
Platform| x86-64, ARM32[a], ARM64
Size|

* Windows: 93–97 MB
* Linux: 89–137 MB
* macOS: 127–217 MB

Available in| 15 languages

List of languages

English (US), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Hungarian, Turkish, Polish, Czech[4]

Type| Source-code editor
License|

* Source code: MIT License[5]
* Binaries built by Microsoft: Proprietary software[6][7][8]

Website| code.visualstudio.com

Visual Studio Code, also commonly referred to as VS Code,[9] is a source-code editor developed by Microsoft for Windows, Linux, macOS and web browsers.[10][11] Features include support for debugging, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, code refactoring, and embedded version control with Git. Users can change the theme, keyboard shortcuts, preferences, and install extensions that add functionality.

In the Stack Overflow 2023 Developer Survey, Visual Studio Code was ranked the most popular developer environment tool among 86,544 respondents, with 73.71% reporting that they use it. [12]

## History

[edit]

Visual Studio Code was first announced on April 29, 2015 by Microsoft at the 2015 Build conference. A preview build was released shortly thereafter.[13]

On November 18, 2015, the source code of Visual Studio Code was released under the MIT License and made available on GitHub. Extension support was also announced.[14] On April 14, 2016, Visual Studio Code graduated from the public preview stage and was released to the web.[15] Microsoft has released most of Visual Studio Code's source code on GitHub under the permissive MIT License,[5][16] while the editor itself[clarification needed] is distributed by Microsoft as proprietary freeware.[7]

## Features

[edit]

Visual Studio Code is a source-code editor that can be used with a variety of programming languages, including C, C#, C++, Fortran, Go, Java, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Rust, and Julia.[17][18][19][20][21] Visual Studio Code employs the same editor component (codenamed "Monaco") used in Azure DevOps (formerly called "Visual Studio Online" and "Visual Studio Team Services").[22]

The downloadable version of Visual Studio Code is built on the Electron framework,[23] which is used to develop Node.js web applications that run on the Blink layout engine. Visual Studio Code for the Web is a browser-based version of the editor that can be used to edit both local files and remote repositories (on GitHub and Microsoft Azure) without installing the full program.[24] It is officially supported and hosted by Microsoft and can be accessed at `https://vscode.dev`.

Out of the box, Visual Studio Code includes basic support for most common programming languages. This basic support includes syntax highlighting, bracket matching, code folding, and configurable snippets. Visual Studio Code also ships with IntelliSense for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, CSS, and HTML, as well as debugging support for Node.js. Support for additional languages can be provided by freely available extensions on the VS Code Marketplace.[25]

Instead of a project system, it allows users to open one or more directories, which can then be saved in workspaces for future reuse. This allows it to operate as a language-agnostic code editor for any language. It supports many programming languages and a set of features that differs per language. Unwanted files and folders can be excluded from the project tree via settings. Many Visual Studio Code features are not exposed through menus or the user interface but can be accessed via the command palette.[26] The command palette is able to execute virtually every feature the graphical interface supports, making it very keyboard-accessible.[27]

Visual Studio Code can be extended via extensions,[28] available through a central repository. This includes additions to the editor[29] and language support.[26] A notable feature is the ability to create extensions that add support for new languages, themes, debuggers, time travel debuggers, perform static code analysis, and add code linters using the Language Server Protocol.[30]

Source control is a built-in feature of Visual Studio Code. It has a dedicated tab inside of the menu bar where users can access version control settings and view changes made to the current project. To use the feature, Visual Studio Code must be linked to any supported version control system (Git, Apache Subversion, Perforce, etc.). This allows users to create repositories as well as to make push and pull requests directly from the Visual Studio Code program.

Visual Studio Code collects usage data and sends it to Microsoft to help improve the product. This telemetry feature can be disabled.[31] The information contained in this telemetry data can be inspected by the public, since the product is open source.[32]

### Insiders

[edit]

Visual Studio Code Insiders logo

A nightly build called Visual Studio Code Insiders is also available. Its configuration, including any settings, extensions, themes are completely separate from the standard build. This enables side-by-side installation of both builds without any interference.

## Reception

[edit]

In the 2016 Developers Survey of Stack Overflow, Visual Studio Code ranked No. 13 among the top popular development tools, with only 7% of the 47,000 respondents using it.[33] Two years later, however, Visual Studio Code achieved the No. 1 spot, with 35% of the 75,000 respondents using it.[34] In the 2019 Developers Survey, Visual Studio Code was also ranked No. 1, with 50% of the 87,000 respondents using it.[35] The 2020 Developers Survey did not cover integrated development environments.[36] In the 2021 Developers Survey, Visual Studio Code continued to be ranked No. 1, with 74.5% of the 71,000 respondents using it,[37] 74.48% of the 71,010 responses in the 2022 survey,[38] and 73.71% of the 86,544 responses in the 2023 survey.[39]

## Relevant incidents

[edit]

### CEC-IDE controversy

[edit]

On June 20, 2023, during the Guangdong Province's Digital Government Innovation Development Forum held in Guangzhou, CEC-IDE was released and described as the first Chinese-produced integrated development tool.[40][41] However, CEC-IDE was subsequently found to be a rebranded release of Visual Studio Code that, among other things, failed to include a copy of the MIT license as required for redistributions. On June 26, Digital Guangdong published a statement, admitting that CEC-IDE is based on Visual Studio Code.[42]

## See also

[edit]

* Free and open-source software portal

* Comparison of integrated development environments
* GitHub Copilot
* List of formerly proprietary software
* Visual Studio
* Eclipse Theia

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Linux only

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "June 2024 Recovery 1". Retrieved 14 July 2024.
2. ^ "Documentation for Visual Studio Code". Retrieved 3 July 2024.
3. ^ GitHub repository microsoft/vscode, Microsoft, 2020-12-20, archived from the original on 2015-11-23, retrieved 2020-12-20
4. ^ "Visual Studio Code Display Language (Locale)". Visual Studio Code. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
5. ^ a b "LICENSE.txt". github.com/Microsoft/vscode. Microsoft. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
6. ^ "Download Visual Studio Code". Visual Studio Code. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
7. ^ a b "Microsoft Software License Terms". Visual Studio Code. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
8. ^ "The best parts of Visual Studio Code are proprietary". Underjord. Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
9. ^ Stanton, Lee (2021-08-17). "How to Run Code in VS Code". Alphr. Archived from the original on 2022-06-02. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
10. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (April 29, 2015). "Microsoft Launches Visual Studio Code, A Free Cross-Platform Code Editor For OS X, Linux And Windows". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
11. ^ Devine, Richard (22 December 2022). "How to use Visual Studio Code in a web browser". Windows Central. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
12. ^ "Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023". Stack Overflow. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
13. ^ McBreen, Sean (April 29, 2015). "Announcing Visual Studio Code - Preview". Archived from the original on 2015-10-09.
14. ^ "Visual Studio now supports debugging Linux apps; Code editor now open source". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
15. ^ "Visual Studio Code editor hits version 1, has half a million users". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. 15 April 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
16. ^ Dias, Chris (4 December 2015). "Issue: Menu license links to non Open Source license". Microsoft/vscode repo. Microsoft. Response #161792005. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2019 - via GitHub.com. "We wanted to deliver a Microsoft branded product, built on top of an open source code base that the community could explore and contribute to."
17. ^ Kanjilal, Joydip (2015-05-06). "Visual Studio Code: A fast, lightweight, cross-platform code editor". InfoWorld. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
18. ^ Bisson, Simon (2018-09-11). "It's gotten a little easier to develop PWAs in Windows". InfoWorld. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
19. ^ Krill, Paul (2018-02-24). "What's new in Microsoft Visual Studio Code". ChannelWorld. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
20. ^ Wanyoike, Michael (2018-06-06). "Debugging JavaScript Projects with VS Code & Chrome Debugger". SitePoint. Archived from the original on 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
21. ^ "Julia in Visual Studio Code". Visual Studio Code. Archived from the original on 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
22. ^ "Monaco Editor". microsoft.github.io/monaco-editor. Archived from the original on 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
23. ^ "Microsoft's new Code editor is built on Google's Chromium". Ars Technica. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
24. ^ "Visual Studio Code for the Web". code.visualstudio.com. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
25. ^ "Programming Languages, Hundreds of programming languages supported". Microsoft. Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
26. ^ a b "Language Support in Visual Studio Code". Visual Studio Code. October 10, 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
27. ^ "Visual Studio Code User Interface". code.visualstudio.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
28. ^ "Extending Visual Studio Code". Visual Studio Code. October 10, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
29. ^ "Managing Extensions in Visual Studio Code". Visual Studio Code. October 10, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
30. ^ "Creating Language Servers for Visual Studio Code". Visual Studio Code. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
31. ^ "Visual Studio Code FAQ". Visual Studio Code. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016. "VS Code collects usage data and sends it to Microsoft to help improve our products and services. Read our privacy statement to learn more. If you don't wish to send usage data to Microsoft, you can set the telemetry.enableTelemetry setting to false."
32. ^ "vscode/src/vs/platform/telemetry at main branch". microsoft/vscode repo. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2020 - via GitHub.
33. ^ "Developer Survey Results 2016". Stack Overflow Insights. Stack Exchange. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
34. ^ "Developer Survey Results 2018". StackOverflow Insights. Stack Exchange. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
35. ^ "Developer Survey Results 2019 – Most Popular Development Environments". Stack Overflow Insights. Stack Exchange. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
36. ^ "Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2020 - Development Environments and Tools". Stack Overflow Insights. Stack Exchange. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
37. ^ "Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2021 - Integrated Development Environment". Stack Overflow Insights. Stack Exchange. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
38. ^ "Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022 - Integrated development environment". Stack Overflow Insights. Stack Exchange. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
39. ^ "Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023 - Integrated development environment". Stack Overflow Insights. Stack Exchange. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
40. ^ "广东省数字政府科技创新发展论坛举办" [Guangdong Province Digital Government Technology Innovation Development Forum Held]. People's Government of Guangdong Province (in Chinese (China)). 2023-06-21. Archived from the original on 2023-07-21.
41. ^ 麒麟软件 (2023-06-26). ""粤"上高地｜麒麟软件与数字广东携手推动广东数字政府建设". Weixin Public Platform (in Chinese (China)).
42. ^ Digital Guangdong (2023-08-26). "致 歉 声 明" [Apology Statement]. Digital Guangdong (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2023-08-31.

## External links

[edit]

* Microsoft's Visual Studio Code site
* Microsoft's "Code - OSS" Github repository

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* BlueGriffon
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* Ace
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|

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* JSDoc

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* Ace
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Engines|

* List of ECMAScript engines

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Related technologies|

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Package managers|

* npm
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Module bundlers|

* Webpack
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Server-side|

* Active Server Pages
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Unit testing frameworks (list)|

* Jasmine
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People|

* Douglas Crockford
* Ryan Dahl
* Brendan Eich
* John Resig

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