Introduction to Visual Studio Code for Web Development

Overview

• Learn to set up and use Visual Studio Code (VS Code) for web development.
• VS Code is a popular, free, open-source, cross-platform code editor.

Why VS Code?

• Free and open-source
• Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS)
• Extensive community support and many extensions
• Fully customizable and lightweight

Installation

• Download VS Code from code.visualstudio.com/download.
• Select the appropriate version for your OS and install.
• During installation, check all additional tasks to integrate VS Code fully into your OS.

Basic Interface Overview

• Sidebar: Contains various tools and panels.
  • Explorer: View project files and directories.
  • Search: Find and replace within your project files.
  • Source Control: Git integration.
  • Run and Debug: (Not covered in detail)
  • Extensions: Add functionality via extensions.
• Manage Cog: Access settings, themes, and shortcuts.
• Command Palette: Access all commands (~ shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+P or F1).
• Status Bar: Displays current branch, line number, language, etc.

Key Shortcuts

• Command Palette: Ctrl+Shift+P or F1
• Sidebar: Toggle with Ctrl+B
• Explorer: Ctrl+Shift+E
• Search: Ctrl+Shift+F
• Source Control: Ctrl+Shift+G
• Debug: Ctrl+Shift+D
• Extensions: Ctrl+Shift+X
• Open File: Ctrl+P
• Keyboard Shortcuts Panel: Ctrl+K Ctrl+S
• Settings: Ctrl+Comma

Initial Setup

• Font Size: Change to personal preference (example: 18).
• Tab Size: Change to personal preference (default is 4, example: 2).
• Bracket Pair Colorization: Enable it.
• Word Wrap: Turn on to prevent code from overflowing.
• Themes: Access via Manage Cog > Themes or Ctrl+K Ctrl+T.
  • Popular themes: Night Owl, Cobalt 2, Shades of Purple, Coder Coder Dark, Code Stacker.
• Icon Packs: Install additional icon packs (example: VS Code Icons, Fluent Icons).

Creating a Project Structure

• Open a Project Folder:
  • Right-click folder > Open with VS Code.
  • Inside VS Code: File > Open Folder.
• Adding Files and Folders:
  • Create new files and folders using sidebar or Add New File/Folder button.
  • Use / to create folder and file simultaneously (e.g., js/app.js).

Emmet & Intellisense

• Emmet:
  • Use shorthand to speed up HTML/CSS coding.
  • Example: ! for basic HTML structure, ul>li*4 for a list with 4 items.
• Intellisense:
  • Provides context-aware suggestions.
  • Available for many programming languages.

Extensions

• Live Server: Auto-refresh for real-time code changes (~17M downloads).
• Prettier: Code formatter for uniform code.
• Auto Rename Tag: Automatically renames paired HTML tags.
• Additional Extensions: Search and install from the Extensions panel.

Using the Terminal

• Open terminal with Ctrl+Backtick or Terminal > New Terminal.
• Set default terminal (Preferences > Select Default Profile).
• Useful for git, npm, and other command-line tools.

Learning and Next Steps

• Follow HTML, CSS, and JavaScript crash courses.
• Explore additional VS Code resources and courses at vscodehero.com.

Conclusion

• VS Code is a comprehensive and customizable tool for web development.
• Invest time in learning shortcuts and features to maximize productivity.