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Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: What’s Different?
Check out the differences between Visual Code and VS Code
7 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Based on the language you are comfortable working with, most choose between Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code. If you are in the same boat as several others and are confused about the differencesbetween Visual Studiovs VS Code, this guide is here for you.
Here, we will give you the differences that will help you decide which tools to go for. Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), on the other hand, VS Code is a rich text editor. However, the differences don’t end here. Let us discuss them.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: What are they?
1. Visual Studio
Microsoft Visual Studiois an IDE launching pad for developers that can use the tool to build, edit, and debug code. Once they are done with the process, they can easily publish the app.
An IDE is a robust tool far superior to a text editor, as it can let you do other things apart from just writing and editing your code.
An IDE such as Visual Studio gives you the flexibility of running the code or even going a step ahead and downloading plugins to automate the process. We have abunch of Visual Studio extensionsthat you may want to know about to improve your productivity.
Visual Studio was introduced by Microsoft in 1997. It comes with support for C#, C, C++, Python, F#, .NET, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and others. Do note that the support for Java was removed in 2017.
You can run Microsoft Visual Studio on Windows andMac. It is offered in three editions; community, professional, and enterprise. The Visual Studio community version is free to use.
The installation on Windows is a bit complicated, but it is simpler on macOS. You can use Visual Studio to develop web, mobile, and desktop apps. It comes with .NET, with Unity, Azure, and Docker support by default. The .NET Core, Android, iOS, and macOS are optional.
2. Visual Studio Code
VS Code short forVSCodeis a light version of Visual Studio. It is an open-source, lightweight text editor available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
You can even use it on a web browser by visiting thiswebsite. The VS Code supports JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node JS.
However, you can use it to code in any language you want. To do that, you need to download relevant extensions, since it is a light version, the support doesn’t come built-in.
Since this is a mini version of VS, you don’t need much space on your PC to install it. Space around 200-250MB will do the job.
The VS Code also comes built-in with a debugger and IntelliSense. But to get the IntelliSense, compiler, and debugger features, you need to make use of extensions.
It supports languages such as C++, Java, C#, PHP, Go, and Python. VS Code is a text editor and falls in the same category as Atom, Sublime, and Text Wrangler. The things that make it more efficient are its robust features.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Differences
Now that we have a basic understanding of what Visual Studio and VS Code tools are, let us go through the differences that will help you decide which suits your needs.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Pricing
One of the first things that might cross your mind when discussing using the Visual Studio and VS Code tools, is pricing, which we have discussed below:
1. Visual Studio pricing
Speaking of the best things, the Visual Studio IDE tool has a free version called Community. You can use it just like millions of other users.
Some of the notable features of VS are built any app for any platform, lets you design, edit, debug, and compile in a single tool, gives you access to thousands of extensions, and supports multiple coding languages.
Furthermore, if you wish to have advanced IDE functions, you have to go for the paid version of Visual Studio. Here are some of the pricing details you should know about the Visual Studio paid versions.
2. Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is an open-source lightweight version of Visual Studio. It is free of cost and can be used by anyone and everyone.
Also, you can use it on a web browser on the go. It is the best way to keep up with your everyday work and create new apps.
This cost-saving aspect of Visual Studio Code might be one of the strongest deciding factors if you are looking for casual coding or are a freelancer.
Visual Studio vs Visual Studio Code: Verdict
For most developers, Visual Studio Code is the perfect choice for so many reasons that are listed below:
However, serious developers still prefer Visual Studio IDE for coding for the reasons listed below:
So, to make things much clearer, if you are a freelancer or a coder leaning towards cross-stack development, then you should go for Visual Studio Code.
Moreover, remember it is free, so if you aren’t into spending much, VS Code should be your choice.
VS Code has replaced Visual Studio IDE around the world for most coders, however, if you want a full-stacked coding tool that doesn’t rely much on extensions and offers complex functionalities, then you can go for Visual Studio.
Lastly, if you still can’t decide between the code editors, we advise you to try out both platforms and decide which one suits your needs.
You can check out our guide that explains how you can easilyupdate Visual Studioto the latest version with a few simple steps.
Besides we also have a comparison guide betweenAtom and Visual Studio Code. It will help you decide which one to go for based on your needs.
More about the topics:visual studio,visual studio code
Sagar Naresh
Sagar is a web developer and technology journalist. Currently associated with WindowsReport and SamMobile. When not writing, he is either at the gym sweating it out or playing country music on his guitar.
He is an avid traveler and has been to 15 countries, going to more places soon. TRAVEL and WORK is his mantra for a peaceful life.
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