When I started out in the software world, I went with Visual Studio as my go-to editor. It was the top choice for C# development a decade ago, and what I really loved about it was how easy it was to set up - everything just worked smoothly for me. Plus, its debugging integration with Unity was seamless right from the start. At the beginning of my career, what mattered most to me in an editor was simplicity. Software development was already tough, so I didn’t want to waste time configuring my setup.
But things took a turn in my career when I had to dive into Java development for my studies. Visual Studio, which had been my trusty companion, didn’t quite cut it for Java. So, I made the switch to Intellij.
As time went on, I had to change editors again as my work shifted from Unity to web development, needing a different IDE setup. Many of my colleagues were using Visual Studio Code, which was the standard back then, and it met my needs right out of the box. Having to switch IDEs whenever I dived into a new framework started to become a hassle. The goal of changing an IDE is to make your work easier, but it often meant dealing with a learning curve to get used to a whole new tool along with a new framework.
I realized this when I watched a YouTuber named ThePrimeagon, who pointed out that an IDE should do more than just help you get started with a framework. It should be like a programmer’s toolbox, like how a builder invests time in getting the right tools for all sorts of tasks ahead.
That’s when I found Neovim, an editor that didn’t feel limited to a single framework or language. It felt like the perfect tool for a wide range of programming challenges. Neovim has totally changed the game for me, speeding up my work and cutting out the extra hassle when switching between projects.
Yes it does take time to learn how to configure you Neovim setup, and yes it is a pain to learn how to use Vim. But it also broadened my understanding of what an IDE does for me so much.