Atom editor review
Posted on Thu 29 March 2018 in misc
The GitHub Inc. has released the Atom editor (https://atom.io) some time ago. It is a nice editor with some basic IDE functionality. Based on the first experiences it is a stable peace of software with a fast interface. The most basic features you would like to see in an editor are present. And the editor has an open plugin API.
The project view
One feature I was missing in my old preferred editor on MacOS was the project view. I want to browse the directory of the open file. These days a lot of frameworks generate a directory structure when you initialise the project. It saves a lot of time if you have this structure available on the screen to switch between different files. It speeds up navigation and keeps your focus on one application.
The plugin system
To have additional plugins available for you editor is a key feature. It keeps the main application focused to the main functionality. It makes no sense for me to have am editor with support for languages I don't use or functionalities I don't use. More code means more bugs.
There are a lot of useful plugins available on https://atom.io/packages Browse them and find the useful bits you need to speed up your workflow as you like it.
Cross platform support
As much as I would like to have only one platform to work with, in reality I have to use Linux/BSD/Windows and Mac in my daytime job. It makes things much easier if an editor is available for the most important platforms I am using. With Mac, Linux and Windows support, Atom is available for the main platforms where I am using a GUI.