
Visual Studio Code February 2018 Update - pookieinc
https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_21
======
STRiDEX
> Faster VS Code start-up by using asar

> We are now packaging the core node_modules into an Electron Archive (asar)
> for faster start-ups by up to 5%. The file count on disk for a VS Code
> installation also gets reduced by approximately 25%.

Seems quite noticeable here, unless there's other things changing open speed.

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vanderZwan
Same here.

Of course, there is _real_ and _perceived_ performance. I noticed that VSC
shows a screen first, then starts filling it in with content, then syntax
highlighting and other features. I captured it in a GIF and reduced the speed
to make it really visible:

[https://imgur.com/V9MZRM1](https://imgur.com/V9MZRM1)

I don't recall if it always did that. If not, then it probably appears to be
faster because spends less time being "frozen".

If the absolute start-up time really improved by more than 5%, then perhaps
the particular slowdowns fixed here were also bottlenecks for starting up
installed extensions? If the VSC team benchmarked the performance on a clean
installation (which would make sense, since they're not responsible for other
people's extensions), then they would have missed the knock-on effects of code
(not) waiting for other code.

I also wonder if the reduced file _count_ makes an impact. What system are you
on? I'm stuck with Windows 10 for the moment, and I have a vague recollection
that Windows is less happy with tons of small files than Linux. If the devs
who implemented this were on Linux machines and benchmarked on that, they
might not have noticed this boost.

Anyway, I'm sure there are tons of other possible reasons. In the end what
matters is that it's better, no? :)

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EADGBE
Mmmmmm, Terminal Splitting...

[https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_21#_split-
terminals](https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_21#_split-terminals)

~~~
deckarep
Hot damn...that’s some nice terminal splitting right there.

~~~
craftyguy
How is ~1 second or more to get a prompt "nice"?

~~~
vanderZwan
Well, if you're stuck on Windows like me, you save more than that second due
to not having to search for and open a separate terminal emulator (which
probably also takes some time). I'm sure the story is different on Linux with
a good tiling window manager though.

~~~
craftyguy
When I was forced to use windows a few years back, cygwin + tmux was a decent
solution.

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gt_
This software is headed in an amazing direction.

