I have been a great admirer and user of command line tools. They reduce so much time and energy while getting things done. But, on the other hand I have not been a reasonably good user of Git by itself. I could never come to terms with typing in one too many statements to get to where I was going.
For example -
- Compare changes with previous version
- Check who did changes in a specific version
- Revert to previous version
- Check changes to stage / commit, and periodically commit
These and many more require far too many commands. These commands were sometimes coded in batch files and copied/pasted whenever I needed them. I just could not remember everything - probably not as good a user of Git as I would like to believe.
VSCode changed all that.
VSCode takes GUI for Git to a whole new level. The source code tab along with features offered by a couple of plugins made me appreciate just how productive I could be using the humble version control.
- See changes made since last commit without leaving the main code editor
- Check who made changes and when (GitLens plugin) with one click or shortcut key
- Diff across versions within editor and quickly make changes
- Selectively stage changes
Previously I have been an infrequent user of GitHub Desktop - could never incorporate the tool in my development flow. VSCode has done an excellent job in keeping developer workflow at the centre of everything. Fast forward 6-8 months of using the Git features, I doubt if I ever go back to the previous way of doing things.
VSCode has been an excellent example of how GUI can supplement the power of command line and make development easier for all.
