Emacs vs Webstorm: Full Comparison

As a software developer, you always have to find the best tools suitable for your specific project. But if you don’t have enough knowledge about the tools, choosing one of them will be difficult for you. When it comes to software development, both Emacs and Webstorm have become popular, and both of these tools support Node.js. But that does not mean both are suitable for your Node.js project. That’s why you need a full comparison of which of the two software development tools for editing text and codes you need to improve your website.

Emacs Vs Webstorm: Similarities 

There are some features that both Enacs and Webstorm have in common. One is that they can communicate with external code quality tools like ESLint to deliver real-time code analysis and bug detection. Number two is that they can provide a deep analysis of the JavaScript mode. In Webstorm, you will find a special JavaScript analysis engine, and in Emacs, you will find a J2 mode. Both help in detecting bugs and issues in a particular code.

The issues may include detecting a role that provides no value and can only perform insignificant tasks such as extracting variables. The third difference is that both tools are compatible with smart auto competition, but Emacs does so by utilizing Tern, an open-source JS code analyzer with multiple editors. Webstorm has its own engine that uses JSDoc comments and Typescript descriptor documents.

If you want to learn about both, you must first understand why you should use Webstorm and Emacs separately.

What is GNU Emacs?

The Emacs text editor was designed for Linux operating systems but is now also available on macOS, Windows, BSD, and more. Developers who have used the text editor love it because it comes with complex yet effective commands for performing complicated actions on the software development project. It is also effective for many configurations and plugin hacks that make your life easier.

Emacs is an old text editor designed for modern text file usage like writing, saving, opening, etc. But, it is a complex tool that you need some knowledge of if you want to use it on a long-term basis. This free, old text editor is still used by developers because it makes coding simple. It has many great features that have been winning hearts for four decades.

Why should you use Emacs? 

There are some things that Emacs is better at than Webstorm. One of those features is auto-completion. Even though both Emacs and Webstorm can perform smart completion, Emacs has an advantage over it. When JavaSript does not provide any access to relevant completion, Webstorm does not perform any completion. In that case, Webstorm will force you to type the codes manually. But Emacs does not. Emacs will provide you with auto-completion for every buffer, such as the Javascript buffer, and steal a glance at what you are typing while trying to find a match.

Every time you type a character, it will offer you a few choices for words that have the initials of the characters you are typing. This means you don't have to type the whole word to complete the sentence, but you will still get the job done. Emacs also offers Vim emulation, which is better than Webstorm. In Webstorm’s Vim emulation, there are frequent bugs that hinder the performance of your software. These bugs, such as keys not enlisting, finding abnormal states, and selecting the wrong mouse button where you don't want to click, can be aggravating. But in Emacs, these issues are not present.

What is Webstorm?

Webstorm is an integrated tool for JavaScript programmers. It works with TypeScript, Angular, Node.Js, React, Vue, HTML, etc. technologies to help you with your software development process. It automates your tasks and allow you to easily manage the jobs. You can create, open, and test projects and edit various configuration files and folders such as JSON, .idea, and so on.

When you write code with Webstorm, you can be confident in your work because it will rectify your mistakes in real time. JavaScript programmers like this tool because it makes all the development work efficient and easier.

Why should you use Webstorm? 

We will talk about Emacs soon, but first, let's get started on why you should use Webstorm in the first place. With Webstorm, you can easily detect bugs and debug them in a short amount of time. But when it comes to Emacs, you will have to depend on node.js to debug the software or even detect its issues. But the problem with node.js is that it is slow and is the default debugger in Emacs. But if the debugger or node.JS does not work in detecting flaws in the software, then the performance will drop.

Webstorm solves that problem by employing its own debugger. Another component of Webstorm that we like is the definitions and symbol lookup feature. Emacs has a ternary feature where it delivers definitions and symbols in a single document. But Webstorm reviews your entire assignment and finds a definition. If it does not find the definition, then it will send you a rundown of contenders to test. That means you can easily explore the codes with less time and you will not have to waste time exchanging documents.

You will not have to run individual tests on Javascript testing systems for the test files and test suites. It will only need a few shortcuts to utilize the testing for JavaScript as well as Mocha and Jasmine. Therefore, with the debugging feature and code exchange between documents, Webstorm makes a good software development tool.

Now that you know why you should use Webstorm and Emacs, it is safe to compare these two based on their features.

Emacs and Webstorm: Specifications 

Emacs and Webstorm: Pros and Cons

Both Emacs and Webstorm come with some advantages and disadvantages that you need to consider before choosing one tool for your project. Let’s get into that now.

Emacs Advantages

• You can control Emacs and its actions using only the keyboard.
• Emacs is fully customizable and versatile.
• Emacs is an IDE that helps you manage files, debug packages, etc.
• You can use Emacs as a terminal or graphical user interface application.
• Emacs is a free tool for everyone.
• Text can be rectangularly selected and cut or pasted into a new document.
• You can modify any behavior of Emacs by using the Lisp customization option.
• It offers org-mode.
• Available on multiple platforms.
• It does more than just text editing.
• It supports editing multiple lines at once.

Webstorm Advantages

• Integrated with node.js
• It supports code refactoring to ensure your code is clean and well-maintained.
• It comes with JSHint, ESLint, JSCS, and many customizable IDE settings.
• It has two kinds of auto-completion: structural and word.
• Compatible with a wide range of plugins
• Track all your changes with the local history feature.
• Supports TypeScript
• It supports various JavaScript frameworks.
• You can track hotkeys from previously adopted IDEs.
• Integration with Git and Github.
• The default JavaScript task runner
• standard terminal/run tools.
• It supports multi-line editing.
• default web-server
• Default terminal

Emacs' disadvantages

• Learning Emacs is a long and hard method.
• The keyboard combination is a little difficult to understand for novice programmers.
• The built-in documentation is not beginner-friendly.
• The user interface is poor.
• You need to have experience with Lisp if you want to learn how to customize Emacs.

Webstorm disadvantages

• It shows slow performance sometimes.
• Not for industrial usage.
• Webstorm is not an open-sourced tool.
• You will have a hard time with JVM memory settings.
• You can’t work on different projects at the same time.
• The default options are not as good as Emacs'.
• The recently updated versions are not stable enough for use. 

Summary

Emacs and Webstorm have flaws and strengths, and we have made you aware of those in this article. But the most significant disadvantage is automated refactoring, which can be tricky at times. Emacs and Webstorm do not offer functions after removals or variable renames, and that’s why the refactoring process becomes difficult and vulnerable to errors. Also, Webstorm and Emacs do not gather JavaScript codes, but both of them support developer-defined templates.

Other than that, both of the tools have their own pros and cons that you can consider or ignore depending on the project you are working on. Before you choose one of them for your project, you need to keep all these points in mind so that you can make use of the features to their best.

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