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VS Code VS Notepad.exe

Compare VS Code VS Notepad.exe and see what are their differences

VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Notepad.exe logo Notepad.exe

Lightweight macOS code editor. Skip the setup, write code, run instantly. Built-in iOS simulator, AI assistance, and Linux support.
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
Not present

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.

Notepad.exe features and specs

  • Extremely Lightweight
    Notepad.exe is one of the most lightweight text editors available, consuming minimal system resources and launching almost instantly, making it ideal for quick edits and low-powered machines.
  • Built into Windows
    Notepad comes pre-installed with every version of Windows, meaning users don't need to download or install any additional software to have a basic text editor ready to use.
  • Simple and Easy to Use
    The interface is incredibly straightforward with no learning curve. Anyone can open it and start typing immediately, making it accessible to users of all skill levels.
  • Plain Text Editing
    Notepad saves files as plain text by default, which is perfect for editing configuration files, code snippets, batch scripts, and other files where formatting can cause issues.
  • No Bloat or Distractions
    Notepad has no unnecessary features, toolbars, or plugins that could distract from the task at hand. It provides a clean, distraction-free writing environment for simple text tasks.

Possible disadvantages of Notepad.exe

  • Very Limited Features
    Notepad lacks many features found in modern text editors, such as syntax highlighting, line numbering, auto-complete, tabs for multiple files, and find-and-replace with regex support (though recent versions have improved slightly).
  • No Plugin or Extension Support
    Unlike editors such as VS Code or Sublime Text, Notepad does not support plugins or extensions, so users cannot expand its functionality to meet specific needs.
  • Poor Large File Handling
    Notepad has historically struggled with opening and editing very large files, often becoming slow or unresponsive when dealing with files that are several megabytes or larger in size.
  • Limited Encoding Support
    While recent versions have improved, Notepad has traditionally had limited support for different text encodings, which could cause issues when working with files in UTF-8, Unicode, or other non-ANSI encodings.
  • No Multi-Tab or Split View
    Notepad only allows one file to be open per window and does not offer split-view or tabbed editing, making it cumbersome to work with multiple files simultaneously.

Analysis of VS Code

Overall verdict

  • Yes, VS Code is generally considered a good choice for developers due to its flexibility, efficiency, and strong community support. It is lightweight, fast, and user-friendly, catering to both novice and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • VS Code, developed by Microsoft, is a widely popular and versatile code editor. It offers a robust extension ecosystem, which allows developers to customize their workflow and coding environment extensively. Additionally, VS Code supports numerous programming languages right out of the box and provides features like IntelliSense, debugging, Git integration, and a built-in terminal, making it a powerful tool for developers.

Recommended for

  • Web developers looking for a comprehensive yet lightweight coding environment.
  • Software developers who need an editor with extensive language support and customization options.
  • Beginner programmers who would benefit from a feature-rich editor that can grow with their skills.
  • Developers interested in an open-source tool with continuous updates and community-driven enhancements.

Analysis of Notepad.exe

Overall verdict

  • Notepad.exe is a solid, no-frills text editor that excels at simplicity, speed, and reliability for basic text editing tasks, making it a dependable default tool on Windows.

Why this product is good

  • Extremely lightweight and fast, opening instantly even on older hardware
  • Simple, distraction-free interface with virtually no learning curve
  • Comes built into Windows, so there's nothing to install or configure
  • Reliable for quickly viewing or editing plain text and configuration files
  • Uses minimal system resources compared to heavier editors
  • Recent Windows updates have added useful features like tabs, autosave, and spellcheck

Recommended for

  • Users who need a quick and simple way to jot down notes or drafts
  • Viewing or making small edits to plain text and .txt files
  • Editing basic configuration or log files without formatting interference
  • Beginners who want an uncomplicated text editor
  • Anyone needing a fast, always-available tool on Windows without installing extra software

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

Notepad.exe videos

Notepad part1 - use notepad.exe on Fedora Linux

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and Notepad.exe)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
IDE
99 99%
1% 1
Software Development
99 99%
1% 1
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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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 Notepad.exe

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    ยท Working at SpeechKit ยท

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. Youโ€™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

Notepad.exe Reviews

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, VS Code seems to be a lot more popular than Notepad.exe. While we know about 1215 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 4 mentions of Notepad.exe. 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 (1215)

  • History of JavaScript: Browser wars, ECMAScript, Node.js, TypeScript, and React
    Visual Studio Code, a code editor created by Microsoft, was first introduced on April 29, 2015, at the Build conference. - Source: dev.to / 12 days ago
  • How to Get Your First Tool Online
    The step up from there is an editor with a built-in agent like Cursor, Google Antigravity, Windsurf, or VS Code with a coding extension. These are code editors with an AI agent living inside them, and the difference is the responsible party for getting things from place to place. Instead of the software creator shuttling code between windows, the AI agent edits the project files directly and runs the GitHub and... - Source: dev.to / 27 days ago
  • Agentic Engineering: What Does AI Coding Really Cost?
    For IDE-heavy teams, BYOK (bring your own key) can be interesting, no matter whether you live in WebStorm or VS Code. On the JetBrains side, the JetBrains AI plans and Junie BYOK docs allow it, and most VS Code AI extensions offer the same idea: keep the IDE, connect provider keys, pay the provider. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Best Markdown Editors for Developers
    Option 1: Raw editing in IDE. You open the .md file in VS Code or whatever you use. Syntax highlighting shows you the structure. Maybe you toggle a preview pane. This works for quick edits but becomes painful for anything involving tables, diagrams, or complex formatting. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Document Generation for Developers: Security, Compliance, and Build-vs-Buy Decisions for the Template-Plus-Data Pipeline
    You'll need Python 3.8+ and pip for the quickstart, with venv recommended for isolation. Install the requests library for HTTP calls. VS Code with the Python extension works well as an editor, though PyCharm or Sublime Text work equally well. You'll also need a free Foxit developer account. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
View more

Notepad.exe mentions (4)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and Notepad.exe, 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.

Notepad++ for Mac - Notepad++ for Mac is a free, open-source, native macOS code editor. Universal Binary for Apple Silicon (M1โ€“M5) and Intel Macs. No Wine, no Rosetta, no emulation.

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

Avalonia - A multi-platform .NET UI framework

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

Productivity Power Tools - Extension for Visual Studio - A set of extensions to Visual Studio 2012 Professional (and above) which improves developer productivity.