Microsoft and free software
In November 2015 Microsoft takes a step that would have been hard to imagine just a few years earlier: it releases a source code editor under an MIT licence, completely free of charge, for Windows, macOS and Linux. The gesture is significant for a company that has historically built its business on proprietary software and has only recently begun to embrace open source. Visual Studio Code is not a stripped-down version of the commercial Visual Studio IDE: it is a separate project, with a different architecture and philosophy.
Architecture and technologies
VS Code is built on Electron, the framework that combines Chromium and Node.js for cross-platform desktop applications. The interface is developed in TypeScript, the typed superset of JavaScript created by Microsoft itself. This technology choice makes the editor extensible with the same web technologies developers already know.
The architecture separates the editor core — text management, rendering, navigation — from features specific to each programming language. This separation is enabled by the Language Server Protocol (LSP): a standardised communication protocol between the editor and an external process (the language server) that provides autocompletion, diagnostics, source code navigation and refactoring. Each language implements its own language server, and any editor supporting LSP can use it.
Extensions and marketplace
The extension system is the heart of the VS Code ecosystem. An extension is a package that adds functionality to the editor: support for a new language, integration with an external service, visual themes, snippets, debuggers. Extensions are distributed through a centralised marketplace and installed directly from the editor with a single click.
The extension API exposes access to the editor’s structure — panels, commands, context menus, status bar — enabling deep customisation without modifying the editor’s own source code.
Terminal, Git and daily productivity
VS Code natively integrates a full terminal within the editor, eliminating the need to constantly switch between editor and command line. Git integration is built into the core: visual diff, interactive staging, branch management, commit history — all accessible without additional extensions.
The command palette, invoked with a keyboard shortcut, offers quick access to any editor function. The result is an environment that competes directly with Sublime Text and Atom in terms of lightness, while offering features that traditionally required a full IDE.
Link: code.visualstudio.com