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SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro Free and open-source
Atom is free, open source, and written in C++, LESS, and CoffeeScript.
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.
Pro Extensive list of packages
Atom has a built-in package manager and an extensive list of packages. Packages are written in CoffeeScript.
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.
Pro Embedded Git control
Atom will highlight folders, files, and lines that have any uncommitted edits made. It also integrates really well with GitHub.
Pro Allows for instant file switching
By pressing Ctrl or Command + T and using fuzzy search, you can look for a file in your project.
Cons
Con Eventually gets very slow
Runs on the chrome webkit engine, hence works similar to a browser. This makes it take up a lot of RAM makes it run slow as you accumulate plugins on it.
Recent versions are much better at memory management
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.
Con Very slow start up
Atom is very slow to start up, which is a big disadvantage if you are accustomed to launching and closing the text editor to make quick changes on your files.
Con Does not support multi-user environment
On Windows it does not allow to select where to install - instead it installs silently to the user's %APPDATA% directory and consequently is bound to the user.
Con Has difficulty with large text files
Tends to crash or hang with large >(10MB) text files, making it less useful as a general text editor.
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Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Pro Free and open source
Atom is free, open source, and written in C++, LESS, and CoffeeScript.
