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VS Code VS OpenJDK

Compare VS Code VS OpenJDK and see what are their differences

VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

OpenJDK logo OpenJDK

OpenJDK is the free version of the Java development platform.
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • OpenJDK Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-14

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.

OpenJDK features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenJDK is an open-source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition, making it freely available for anyone to download, modify, and distribute.
  • Wide Adoption and Community Support
    It is the reference implementation of Java SE, backed by a large community and supported by major companies like Oracle, ensuring regular updates and security patches.
  • Compatibility
    OpenJDK is considered the official reference implementation for Java SE and is compatible with the Java standard, ensuring that applications run consistently across implementations.
  • No Licensing Fees
    Being open-source, OpenJDK does not require licensing fees, which can be beneficial for organizations looking to minimize costs.
  • Customizability
    The open-source nature allows developers to modify and extend the code to suit specific needs.

Possible disadvantages of OpenJDK

  • Potential Performance Variations
    Different builds of OpenJDK may have performance variations compared to the Oracle JDK, which can affect application efficiency.
  • Support Variability
    While community support is strong, official support and services, which might be required by enterprise environments, are often provided by third parties and may come with additional costs.
  • Patch Availability
    Security patches and updates may not be rolled out as quickly in some OpenJDK distributions compared to Oracle's commercial JDK.
  • Limited Features
    Some commercial features in Oracle JDK, such as advanced monitoring and commercial-grade performance monitoring tools, may not be present in OpenJDK.

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.

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

OpenJDK videos

OpenJDK Development

More videos:

  • Review - The Launch Space - The Microsoft Build of OpenJDK and other useful Java things

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and OpenJDK)
Text Editors
99 99%
1% 1
IDE
97 97%
3% 3
Developer Tools
99 99%
1% 1
Software Development
97 97%
3% 3

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 OpenJDK

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

OpenJDK Reviews

We have no reviews of OpenJDK yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, VS Code seems to be a lot more popular than OpenJDK. While we know about 1215 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 33 mentions of OpenJDK. 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 / 10 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 / 25 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

OpenJDK mentions (33)

  • Open Source: A Friendly Guide for New Developers
    Vendor licensing shifts (Java/Oracle): Oracle changed the terms and long-term support model for its Oracle JDK binaries, which led many organizations to switch to community OpenJDK builds or paid commercial distributions. The change shows how vendor licensing can push users toward community-maintained alternatives (see OpenJDK: https://openjdk.java.net/). - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Oracle's Pioneering Role in Open Source and Blockchain: A Deep Dive
    Oracleโ€™s seamless integration of open-source contributions and blockchain adoption is a testament to its forward-thinking approach and commitment to technological innovation. By supporting key projects like Java via the OpenJDK project and ensuring the robustness of its cloud solutions through the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle demonstrates that true innovation is born from a culture of collaboration and... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Setting Up Your React Native Development Environment
    Visit the Oracle JDK download page or use OpenJDK. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Lisp Virtual Machine Design Question
    Reloading is nothing new under the sun for Lisp, I believe. For ML and adequate reload-ability, one might be hard pressed, but it's nothing new under the Sun (hint, hint). Maybe too on the nose, but one probably wants good inlining, and thus more "speculative" de/optimisation to preserve redefinition. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • "Why Apache Harmony" or "How to use Java 8 on Android"
    If they don't want Oracle's Java, why can't they use a subset of OpenJDK (licensing noob here)? Source: about 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and OpenJDK, 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.

AdoptOpenJDK - The code for Java is open source and available at OpenJDKโ„ข.

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

Liberica JDK - Liberica is a 100% open-source Java 13.0.1 implementation.

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

Java - A concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, language specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible