What are the best text editors for Scala development?

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Feb 27, 2023

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Visual Studio Code vs Emacs vs Vim

vs Atom vs Spacemacs

Specs

Platforms

Windows, macOS, Linux

License

MIT, Proprietary (official builds)

Extension language

JavaScript

Multi Language Support

Yes

Auto Complete

Yes

Bracket Matching

Yes

Source Control Integration

Git

Integrated Debugger

Yes

Code Templates

Yes

Error Markup

Yes

Plugin Manager

Yes

Collaborative editing

Supported remote file editing protocols

Column selection

Bidi

Supported keybinding styles

RTL

Interactive Console

Refactoring

Interactive Debugger

Go to Definition

Price

Export

Preview

Dev platforms

Cross Platform

Unit Testing

Go To Definition

Platforms

Unix-like, macOS, Windows, Cygwin

License

GPL-3.0-or-later

Extension language

Emacs Lisp, C(Emacs modules)

Multi Language Support

Yes

Auto Complete

Yes

Bracket Matching

Yes

Source Control Integration

Yes (package)

Integrated Debugger

Code Templates

Error Markup

Yes

Plugin Manager

Package, built-in

Collaborative editing

Yes

Supported remote file editing protocols

FTP; HTTP; SSH; WebDAV

Column selection

Yes

Bidi

Yes

Supported keybinding styles

IBM CUA; OSX; Vi; Emacs; Pico; WordStar; WordPerfect; Brief

RTL

Yes

Interactive Console

Yes

Refactoring

Yes

Interactive Debugger

gdb (for C)

Go to Definition

Yes

Price

Export

Preview

Dev platforms

Cross Platform

Unit Testing

Go To Definition

Platforms

Linux, macOS, Windows, Cygwin

License

Vim License

Extension language

Vim

Multi Language Support

Auto Complete

Bracket Matching

Source Control Integration

Integrated Debugger

Code Templates

Error Markup

Plugin Manager

Collaborative editing

Supported remote file editing protocols

Column selection

Bidi

Supported keybinding styles

RTL

Interactive Console

Refactoring

Interactive Debugger

Go to Definition

Price

Export

Preview

Dev platforms

Cross Platform

Unit Testing

Go To Definition

Platforms

Microsoft Windows®, macOS, Linux

License

MIT

Extension language

JavaScript

Multi Language Support

Yes

Auto Complete

Yes (plugin)

Bracket Matching

Yes (plugin)

Source Control Integration

Git

Integrated Debugger

Yes

Code Templates

Yes (plugin)

Error Markup

Plugin Manager

Built-in

Collaborative editing

Plug-in

Supported remote file editing protocols

FTP (plug-in); SSH (plug-in)

Column selection

Plug-in

Bidi

Supported keybinding styles

RTL

Interactive Console

Refactoring

Interactive Debugger

Go to Definition

Price

Export

HTML

Preview

Live side-by-side

Dev platforms

Microsoft Windows®; macOS; Linux

Cross Platform

Yes

Unit Testing

Go To Definition

Platforms

GNU/Linux, MacOS, Windows

License

GPL3

Extension language

Emacs Lisp

Multi Language Support

Yes

Auto Complete

Yes

Bracket Matching

Yes

Source Control Integration

Yes

Integrated Debugger

Yes

Code Templates

Yes

Error Markup

Yes

Plugin Manager

Collaborative editing

Yes

Supported remote file editing protocols

Yes

Column selection

Yes

Bidi

Yes

Supported keybinding styles

Emacs, Vim, CUA

RTL

Interactive Console

Yes

Refactoring

Yes

Interactive Debugger

Yes

Go to Definition

Price

Export

Yes

Preview

Yes

Dev platforms

Cross Platform

Unit Testing

Yes

Go To Definition

Yes

Pros + Cons

Pro
Keyboard-focused, mouse-free editing

Emacs can be controlled entirely with the keyboard.

Comment

Pro
It's also an IDE

You can debug, compile, manage files, integrate with version control systems, etc. All through the various plugins that can be installed.

Comment

Pro
Works in terminal or as a GUI application

You can use Emacs' command line interface or graphical user interface.

Comment

Customizations can be made to a wide range of Emacs' functions through a Lisp dialect (Emacs Lisp). A robust list of existing Lisp extensions include the practical (git integration, syntax highlighting, etc) to the utilitarian (calculators, calendars) to the sublime (chess, Eliza).

Comment

Con
Learning curve is long

While it's better than it used to be, with most functions being possible through the menu, Emacs is still quite a bit different from your standard editor. You'll need to learn new keyboard shortcuts.

Comment

Pro
Excellent performance

As it loads the whole file into RAM, replacing all string occurrences in 100 MB+ files is quick and easy. Every other editor has sort of died during that. It is extremely fast even for cold start. Vim is light-weight and very compact. In terminal, it only uses a small amount of memory and anytime you invoke Vim, it's extremely fast. It's immediate, so much so you can't even notice any time lag.

Comment

Pro
Keyboard-based, mouse-free interface, and trackpad support

There's no need to reach for the mouse or the Ctrl/Alt buttons again. Everything is a mere key press or two away with almost 200 functions specifically for text editing. Vim does support the mouse, but it's designed so you don't have to use it for greater efficiency. Versions of Vim, like gVim or MacVim, still allow you to use the mouse and familiar platform shortcuts. That can help ease the learning curve and you'll probably find you won't want to (or need to) use the mouse after a while.

Comment

Pro
Works in terminal over SSH

Unlike other editors such as Sublime Text, Vim is a command line editor and hence can be used in remote development environments like Chromebooks via SSH.

Comment

Pro
Lightweight and fast

When compared to modern graphical editors like Atom and Brackets (which have underlying HTML5 engines, browsers, Node, etc.), Vim uses a sliver of the system's memory and it loads instantly, all the while delivering the same features. Vim is also faster than Emacs.

Comment

Pro
Extremely portable

Vi/vim exists on almost all Unix-like platforms. It's the de-facto Unix editor and is easily installed on Windows. All you need to make it work is a text-based connection, so it works well for remote machines with slow connections, or when you're too lazy to set up a VNC/Remote Desktop connection.

Comment

Con
Poor support for external tooling

Many plugins depend on optional Python and Lua features, which may or may not be included in whatever binaries are available for your system. And without platform-specific hacks, it is difficult for plugins to operate in the background or use external tooling.

Comment

Con
Difficult learning curve

You'll spend a lot of time learning all the commands and modes supported in Vim. You'll then spend more time tuning settings to your needs. Although once it's tuned to your needs, you can take your .vimrc to any machine you need and have the same experience across all your computers.

Comment

Pro
Beginner friendly

One of the goals of Atom is to be a text editor for both experienced and beginner programmers. You can add keyboard shortcuts, change themes, install plugins, and change core settings by clicking through a GUI, or by manually editing config files the old-fashioned way. It has the added advantage of being built using the same engine that powers Google Chrome, so actions like opening and closing tabs feel familiar, even to new or non-programmers.

Comment

Pro
Built-in package management

Atom was built from the ground up with the community in mind. Package management is therefore a first class feature.

Comment

Pro
Extendable

Due to its modular design, almost any aspect of the editor can be changed. Even seemingly core packages, like those taking care of search and replace functionality, can be forked on GitHub, and changed and replaced in the editor. The documentation for creating new plugins is also great, making it easier for developers to jump in and create plugins for Atom.

Comment

Pro
Extensive list of packages

Atom has a built-in package manager and an extensive list of packages. Packages are written in CoffeeScript.

Comment

Con
Very slow startup time

Atom is very slow to startup, which is a big disadvantage if you are accustomed to using it to make quick changes on your files.

Comment

Con
High memory usage

Atom has a relatively high memory usage, especially when compared to some other text editors not based on Electron. For those who develop on the go, this also tends to mean shorter battery life.

Comment

Pro
VIM Keybindings with EMACS ecosystem

EMACS ecosystem and language support is best in show. The EMACS is a great IDE that was in search of a good text editor. Spacemacs makes EMACS have a good text editor.

Comment

Pro
Preconfigured emacs distro

Spacemacs is just a well-configured Emacs distribution with community-sourced best in class plugins and layers selected to take the setup pain out of Emacs. Evil mode gives the Vim bindings and modes for fast editing, while Helm makes everything discoverable to make learning to be more productive simple and unintrusive.

Comment