Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

VS Code VS MIT App Inventor

Compare VS Code VS MIT App Inventor and see what are their differences

VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

MIT App Inventor logo MIT App Inventor

App Inventor is a cloud-based tool, which means you can create apps for phones or tablets right in your web browser.
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • MIT App Inventor Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-23

VS Code features and specs

  • Cross-platform
    VS Code works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent development experience across different operating systems.
  • Extensibility
    A vast library of extensions allows users to add functionalities like debuggers, linters, and themes, making it highly customizable.
  • Integrated Git
    Built-in Git integration makes it easy to manage version control tasks directly within the editor.
  • Performance
    Lightweight compared to full-fledged IDEs, ensuring good performance even on systems with limited resources.
  • IntelliSense
    Advanced code completion and refactoring tools help improve coding efficiency and reduce errors.
  • Community Support
    A strong and active community provides extensive support, tutorials, and third-party extensions.
  • Debugging
    Robust debugging tools for various languages and frameworks are available out of the box.
  • Free and Open-Source
    VS Code is completely free to use and open-source, which is beneficial for both individual developers and organizations.

Possible disadvantages of VS Code

  • Limited IDE Features
    While extensible, it may lack some advanced features found in dedicated IDEs out of the box.
  • Extension Management
    Managing and configuring a large number of extensions can become cumbersome and sometimes lead to performance issues.
  • Learning Curve
    Although user-friendly, it has a steeper learning curve for beginners due to its numerous features and customization options.
  • Memory Usage
    Despite being lightweight, it can consume a significant amount of memory when multiple extensions are installed.
  • Update Frequency
    Frequent updates may sometimes introduce bugs or require users to adapt to new changes quickly.
  • Internet Dependency
    Some features and extensions may require an internet connection to function optimally.
  • Telemetry
    By default, VS Code collects usage data, which might be a concern for users sensitive about data privacy. However, this can be disabled.

MIT App Inventor features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    MIT App Inventor offers a drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible for beginners and non-programmers to create mobile applications without writing code.
  • Educational Value
    The platform is designed to teach the fundamentals of programming and computational thinking, which makes it an excellent tool for educators and students.
  • Cloud-Based
    Projects are stored in the cloud, allowing users to access their work from any device with internet connectivity.
  • Extensive Resources
    A wealth of tutorials, guides, and community forums are available to help users learn and troubleshoot.
  • Rapid Prototyping
    The platform enables quick development and testing of app prototypes, which is useful for iterative design processes.
  • Real-Time Testing
    Real-time testing on connected devices speeds up the development cycle by providing immediate feedback.

Possible disadvantages of MIT App Inventor

  • Limited Functionality
    Advanced features and custom functionality can be difficult or impossible to implement due to the platform's limitations.
  • Performance Issues
    Apps created with MIT App Inventor may not be as optimized or performant as those developed with more complex programming environments.
  • Dependency on Internet
    Since it is a cloud-based tool, a stable internet connection is required to access services, which might be a constraint in some situations.
  • Basic User Interface Design
    The drag-and-drop interface may lead to less polished or professional UI/UX compared to apps designed with dedicated design tools.
  • Limited Platform Support
    Primarily supports Android development, which might be a downside for those looking to develop iOS applications.
  • Learning Curve for Complex Apps
    While it is user-friendly for simple applications, creating more complex apps can still require a significant amount of learning and problem-solving.

VS Code videos

My New Favorite Text Editor - Visual Studio Code

More videos:

  • Review - 7 reasons why I switched to Visual Studio Code from Sublime Text

MIT App Inventor videos

MIT App Inventor: Mobile Apps. Built by You.

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Send Data to a Google Sheet with MIT App Inventor
  • Review - Thunkable Vs AppyBuilder Vs Makroid Vs MIT App Inventor ||difference||
  • Tutorial - Create First App in MIT App Inventor 2

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and MIT App Inventor)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
IDE
93 93%
7% 7
Application Builder
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
92 92%
8% 8

User comments

Share your experience with using VS Code and MIT App Inventor. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare VS Code and MIT App Inventor

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    · Working at SpeechKit ·

Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
Visual Studio Code, commonly known as VS Code, is a powerful and extensible code editor developed by Microsoft. With its rich ecosystem of extensions and features like IntelliSense, debugging, and Git integration, VS Code enhances your coding productivity.
Source: convesio.com
13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
Finally, the Visual Studio Code website has numerous tabs for you to learn about the software. The documentation page walks you through steps like the setup and working with different languages. You’re also able to check out some tips and tricks and learn all of the Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts. Along with a blog, updates page, extensions library and API...
Source: kinsta.com
Jupyter Notebook & 10 Alternatives: Data Notebook Review [2023]
Previously, VS Code was more suited to developers or engineers due to its lack of data analysis capabilities, but since 2020, the VS Code team has collaborated with the Jupyter team to create an integrated notebook within VS Code. The end result is a fantastic IDE workbook for data analysis.
Source: lakefs.io
The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
Overview: Although not a traditional IDE, VS Code has gained popularity as a lightweight code editor.
Source: dev.to
20 Best Diff Tools to Compare File Contents on Linux
Visual studio code is a code editor made by Microsoft. It supports several development operations like debugging, task running, and version control. It works on Linux, macOS and Windows operating systems.
Source: linuxopsys.com

MIT App Inventor Reviews

Top 10 Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
MIT App Inventor is a visual programming environment which is developed by Google. It allows users to build apps for tablets and smartphones.
Top 5 App Builder To Build Your Own App Without Coding
Undoubtedly, Kodular has been the best app builder in recent years. It was founded on 6 July 2017 by the partnership of 7 people such as Conor shipp, Vishwas Adiga, Pavitra Golchha, Sander Jochems, Sivagiri Visakan, and Diego Barreiro. It is a Builder based on the MIT App inventor. You can make your apps on this platform without any charges. Everything is 100% free in this...
THE BEST 34 APP DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE IN 2022 LIST
AppInventor.org is a site for learning and teaching how to program mobile apps with MIT’s App Inventor. These tutorials are refined versions of the tutorials that have been on the Google and MIT App Inventor sites from App Inventor’s inception– thousands of beginners have used them to learn programming and learn App Inventor.
Best Mobile App Development Tools for Kids
MIT App Inventor is a web application integrated development environment originally provided by Google and now maintained by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It allows newcomers to computer programming to create application software(apps) for two operating systems (OS): Android, and iOS. It is free and open-source software released under dual licensing.
Source: codinghero.ai
10 Best Android Studio Alternatives For App Development
Thunkable is a powerful drag and drops app builder. And this is made by two of the very first MIT engineers on the MIT app inventor. The platform is geared for the most professional users, who may want higher quality and robust apps for their business, community or just for themselves. Thus, Thunkable has an amazingly active and engaged community. And it also offers live...
Source: techdator.net

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, VS Code seems to be a lot more popular than MIT App Inventor. While we know about 1138 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 41 mentions of MIT App Inventor. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

VS Code mentions (1138)

  • Why Understanding, Not Just Generating Code, Still Matters
    To do this, I used VS Code, an extension called Cline configured in Act mode, and Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 03-25, which is amazing. I made two attempts. The first one using a simple and very generic prompt, and a second one using a more detailed prompt. Let’s talk about them. - Source: dev.to / 2 days ago
  • 🚀 Your First Setup Win: Python and VS Code on Mac (Beginner Friendly)
    I visited code.visualstudio.com and clicked the big, inviting "Download for Mac" button. After downloading, I opened the .zip file, dragged the VS Code app into my Applications folder, and launched it. - Source: dev.to / 6 days ago
  • Vibe coding a GO CLI to extract data from articles
    For this challenge we will use Visual Studio Code and Anthropic Claude (Claude 3.7 Sonnet). Also, Go lang must be installed. I am running Fedora Linux. - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • How to Run and Debug Tests in VS Code (With Keploy Integration)
    VS Code installed on your machine (available from here). - Source: dev.to / 26 days ago
  • Get Started with DeepSeek API for FREE: Guide with Multiple Tools!🔥
    Get your hands on VS Code by downloading it from the official website - your new coding command center. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
View more

MIT App Inventor mentions (41)

  • Awesome-no-code-tools
    App Inventor - Create powerful Android apps without code using blocs coding. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Looking for savable graphing methods
    First thought, play with MIT App Inventor https://appinventor.mit.edu/, they have dedicated blocks for graphing and cross-platform implementations of Bluetooth for Android and iOS. The data format is still up to you. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • App for recording time periods
    Or you could go to https://appinventor.mit.edu/ and design your own custom app (no widget, though). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Easiest code to learn to make an app?
    If you want to make a mobile app you could try https://appinventor.mit.edu/. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Trying to have a Ubuntu server I can turn on from my phone, log in as user, and start the Docker containers for my server. How do I automate this process?
    Maybe a raspberry pi that's on 24/7 connected to wifi and use that to send the wake over lan signal to the server? Arduino on the power pins also works, I did something quite similar but with a Bluetooth board, the code was really simple I just made an Android app with MIT app inventor that sent a signal to the hc_05 bt board, once the Arduino received that signal it shorted the power pin to 5v for half a second... Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and MIT App Inventor, you can also consider the following products

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Thunkable - Powerful but easy to use, drag-and-drop mobile app builder.

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

Kodular - Much more than a modern app creator without coding

Notepad++ - A free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment.

Android Studio - Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA