Code editor of choice?

tomfreudenberg · March 18, 2015, 2:08pm

ST2 and ST3 +todo plugin

huvber · March 18, 2015, 2:28pm

I used brackets but the last version was nothing more than crap (crash every seconds, very slow). I’m using Atom.io and I’m finding it super.

bryankennedy · March 18, 2015, 2:42pm

Dedicated follower of Vim (my config). Thanks to @slava for the vim-spacebars plugin.

RevMen · March 18, 2015, 2:51pm

I like the built-in terminal and the big Save All button. I’ll take a look at the *Storm programs.

nebbie · March 18, 2015, 2:52pm

That’s pretty much exactly what I’m using.

brwn · March 18, 2015, 2:56pm

I’m a fan of Atom and ST. I’ve heard great things about WebStorm, but its user interface doesn’t seem very friendly.

snowymountainweb · March 18, 2015, 3:38pm

In the Jetbrains (*Storm) programs, I like the built-in terminal as well. I code in Linux, and I can use the standard Copy/Paste keyboard shortcuts inside the IDE’s terminal window. For meteor development, there is no need to ‘Save’ inside the IDE. Saving is done automatically by the IDE and the meteor server renders the code changes in the browser automatically. Plus, all file changes are maintained inside the IDE in a history log. It is easy to view file changes side-by-side and revert to any prior file with one click.

maxhodges · March 18, 2015, 3:52pm

WebStorm is by far the best Meteor editor. Compared to Webstorm, using Sublime or Atom feels like punishment. The interface is absolutely stellar. You only need to learn a few commands to start getting very productive with it.
https://www.jetbrains.com/webstorm/help/keyboard-shortcuts-you-cannot-miss.html

We used Submline for many months, and tried Atom for a few weeks. Webstorm is a dream if you take the time to learn what it can do. Watch this vid to get an overview:

Also WebStorm supports Meteor debugging:

Your milage may vary but for what it’s worth my testimonial is that WebStorm is the best editor for Meteor that money can buy and Meteor dev is an absolute joy with it.

maxhodges · March 18, 2015, 3:53pm

what seems unfriendly about it?

maxhodges · March 18, 2015, 3:55pm

WebStorm has all that, but much more.

chuck · March 18, 2015, 4:03pm

vim ; but i sometimes consider really learning emacs lisp

brwn · March 18, 2015, 5:59pm

I come from a .NET world where we have the panacea known as Visual Studio. I supposed I’m just used to a certain layout and use case - tools/data connections on the left, editor in the center, code tree/properties on the right, errors/output at the bottom, a simple button to launch and debug with easy breakpoints and both simple and advanced stepping and debugging capabilities. Very easy to learn and navigate.

Don’t get me wrong - I hear WebStorm has all of these features and more, and it has the capacity for highl levels of customization. I’m just going to have to take the time to learn it. And that’s a hard pill to swallow sometimes.

brwn · March 18, 2015, 6:02pm

See? I hear what you’re saying about it being the best. It’s just the thing you said right there: “if you take the time to learn what it can do.” Everyone should take the time to learn the tools of their trade - but when you’re already learning a new technology/platform like Meteor it’s hard to also take the time to learn the tooling around it when that tooling isn’t given front-and-center attention in the docs/tutorials/articles surrounding it.

Something Microsoft does right (don’t flame me, bro!) is include all of this around the IDE within their docs on MSDN. But then, they built the tool and the technology to work with the tool, etc. so they could all get behind it.

jwjb · March 18, 2015, 6:48pm

Used Eclipse, Notepad++, Sublime Text 1-3, Atom.io, Codenvy.com, Cloud9, Cloud Foundry, Nitrous.io, Codeanywhere.com, and most recently WebStorm 9.0 with Meteor.js support. Sublime Text and Notepad++ are great first editors and are easy to get up and running in your languages of choice, but WebStorm 9.0 with Meteor.js support is my editor of choice even though it takes just a little bit more effort to set-up, but with all of it’s enhanced functionality it is well worth the effort and price.

sashko · March 18, 2015, 6:54pm

I can’t wait to have Meteor supported in Visual Studio. I think that will be huge for Windows developers. They already support Node.js so maybe it wouldn’t be that hard.

tlohrum · March 18, 2015, 7:36pm

WebStorm 9. It is easy to setup, has differential updates/fixes, can search across editor settings, supports node.js & meteor.js. It’s fun and has many powerful features.

maxhodges · March 19, 2015, 1:26am

Hi brwn! That’s awesome because I’m a .NET guy too. I’ve done Microsoft development for 20+ years. I too have always consider Visual Studio a best-in-class IDE. But honestly, after using WebStorm, when I go back to Visual Studio if feels sluggish and old-fashioned. CTRL + K, CTRL + C (comment); CTRL + K, CTRL + U (uncomment) who came up with that monstrosity?

Now I feel like Webstorm is the more innovative and modern editor in many ways. Your mileage may very, but just wanted to share my testimonial that it was very worthwhile in my experience. Far better than Sublime and ATOM for sure.

But I hear you. Switching tools came be uncomfortable. I also switched cold turkey to a Kinesis keyboard on my Windows machine last year.

Painful learning experience, but well worth it for my comfort. I’ve learned to enjoy the awkwardness of learning a new skill.

Another change I made was to buy a Mac. It’s a much better machine for doing web development than Windows because the OS is essentially the same as a web server. That took some getting used to as well, and I can’t say it’s better in every way. Windows Explorer is much more powerful than OSX Finder. Now I use both Windows and Mac at my office and only use a MacBook Pro at home and while traveling.

So as a .NET guy myself, I now find Meteor development with WebStorm on a Mac to be even more fun that .NET dev with Visual Studio. Webstorm has a lot of the editor tools you’ve grown to love and some which you’ll wonder how you lived without.

maxhodges · March 19, 2015, 1:29am

After my experience with Webstorm, when I go back to Visual Studio I feel like it’s sluggish and old-fashioned. I feel like WebStorm has really rethought some things and have created a more modern product. Btw these are they same guys who make Resharper. They know Visual Studio, and in developing WebStorm it looks like they took many of the best ideas and improved on many others.

Sanjo · March 19, 2015, 4:45am

You can also use it with Java 8 when you change JVMVersion to 1.8* in /Applications/Webstorm/Contents/Info.plist That’s what I’m doing.

brwn · March 19, 2015, 1:54pm

That’s definitely a good thing to hear coming from another .NET / VS developer. I mean, VS2013 is incredible. I’d really like to get used to an IDE that’s better than that, just sort of hard to believe it’s out there. But I’ll give it a definite try!

You know, I haven’t used this keyboard - I’m using a Razer Ultimate Black Widow 2013 Stealth right now (because usually I WFH and my desk is in my bedroom - and well, the wife didn’t like the “clickety-clack” of a regular mechanical. )

I made the same switch several years ago, so I know what you mean But I usually do all my “work” in a VMWare vm of my Windows 8 bootcamp with Visual Studio. I do my Meteor work in Atom on the OS X side. But I’ll be looking into WebStorm and reviewing the tutorials.I’m a fan of ReSharper and the JetBrains guys know their products and their devs, so it’s comforting to know that they have expert analysis, at least, on their use cases.

I really love your relating this to me, and I appreciate it. It gives me confidence in looking at the product when someone from a similar background who’s made similar evolutionary steps and changes in their workflow provides advice.