Visual Studio Code

End-to-End Editing and Debugging Tools for Web Developers

Bruce Johnson

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781119588184
• eBook ISBN: 9781119588214
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Programming in C#
• Index: Computer Science

Expert guidance on using Visual Studio Code for editing and debugging your web development projects

Visual Studio Code, a free, open source, cross-compatible source code editor, is one of the most popular choices for web developers. It is fast, lightweight, customizable, and contains built-in support for JavaScript, Typescript, and Node.js extensions for other languages, including C++, Python, and PHP. Features such as debugging capability, embedded Git control, syntax highlighting, code snippets, and IntelliSense intelligent code completion support—several of which set it apart from the competition—help make Visual Studio Code an impressive, out-of-the-box solution.

Visual Studio Code: End-to-End Editing and Debugging Tools for Web Developers helps readers to become familiar with and productive in Visual Studio Code. This up-to-date guide covers all of the essential components of the software, including the editing features of the workspace, advanced functionality such as code refactoring and key binding, and integration with Grunt, Gulp, NPM, and other external tools. New users, experienced developers, and those considering moving from another developer tool will benefit from this book's detailed, yet easy-to-follow information on Visual Studio Code. This book:

• Teaches readers how to use Visual Studio Code to do full-stack development
• Explains the steps to install Visual Studio Code on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms
• Provides a foundation for non-users considering moving to Visual Studio Code
• Helps current users expand their knowledge of the tool and its available extensions
• Describes how to open a.NET Core project and get end-to-end execution and debugging functionality

Visual Studio Code: End-to-End Editing and Debugging Tools for Web Developers is an invaluable guide for both professional and hobbyist web developers seeking immediately-useful information on Visual Studio Code.

1
Introducing Visual Studio Code

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Installing and getting started with Visual Studio Code
• Understanding the cross‐platform components that make up Visual Studio Code

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GETTING STARTED

The choice of the editor used by any developer is an incredibly personal one. The reason to pick one over the rest depends on a collection of attributes typically related to the tasks they perform on a daily basis. Developers look for functionality, keystroke shortcuts, code snippets, colorations, and more that allow them to stay productive.

Dislodging developers from their choice is not easy. Any change in editors is going to result in an immediate loss of productivity. After all, it takes time to become familiar with the features offered and have them become a natural part of the coding “flow.” As a result, it takes a special level of “better” for a developer to switch editors.

For this reason, the success of Visual Studio Code speaks volumes for its features and functionality. Although it has been officially released for just three years (it left public preview in April 2016), it has quickly become one of the top editors in terms of popularity, competing with Sublime Text, Atom, and UltraEdit for the top spot.

But that doesn't matter to you, the reader. What you care about more is what Visual Studio Code can do to help you be productive. As a developer, it is frequently the small things that make the biggest difference—knowing how to add code with a single keyboard chord, being able to do client and server debugging on your Node.js project, or language‐sensitive code completion. Any, all, or none of those might matter, but the goal of this book is to help you find the five or ten features that matter to you and that will make you excited to use Visual Studio Code.

Installing Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a cross‐platform editor. In this instance, cross‐platform means that a version is available to run on Windows (7, 8, and 10), macOS, and Linux. The installation process is similar for each, and the starting point is the same in all cases: https://code.visualstudio.com/Download. Figure 1-1 shows what the download page looks like presently, but it's naturally subject to change.

FIGURE 1-1

Windows

The most efficient starting point for a Windows installation is to download the desired installer. You have six possible options—three different installers each of which is available in 32‐bit and 64‐bit formats, divided along two separate attributes. First, you can choose from three installer types—System, User, and Zip:

• System Installer—This was the original installer for Visual Studio Code. It requires local Administrator privileges and places the executable and supporting files in the Program Files directory structure.
• User Installer—A more recent addition to Visual Studio Code, this installer does not require Administrator permission to be successful. Instead of placing the files into the Program Files structure, you can find the files in AppData\Local\Programs in your user directory. Because this is actually the preferred installer, you will be asked if you want to uninstall any versions that had been installed using the System Installer.
  When Visual Studio Code is installed using one of these two installers, you will automatically be notified when an update is available. The pace of change for Visual Studio Code means that updates are delivered approximately once a month.
• Zip—The Zip option is just a ZIP compressed file containing the contents that are placed into AppData\Local\Programs by the User Installer. Once you have opened the file, you can copy the contents to whatever location you prefer. However, you're responsible for creating any links to the executable (called code.exe) that you want to place on your desktop or task bar. Also, you won't automatically receive updates. If you wish to use a more recent version, you'll need to download a new ZIP file and copy the files over again.

The second attribute available for the installer has a value of either 32‐bit or 64‐bit. This refers to the width of th...

Table of contents

• COVER
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1 Introducing Visual Studio Code
• 2 Exploring the User Interface
• 3 Files and Folders and Projects (Oh My)
• 4 Editing Code in Your Language of Choice
• 5 Integrating with Source Control
• 6 Debugging Code
• 7 External Tools and Task Automation
• 8 Unit Testing
• 9 Working with Extensions
• 10 Creating Your Own Extensions
• INDEX
• END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT