When comparing Shared GNU Screen Session vs CodeTogether, the Slant community recommends CodeTogether for most people. In the question“What are the best tools for screen sharing for remote pair programming?” CodeTogether is ranked 5th while Shared GNU Screen Session is ranked 14th. The most important reason people chose CodeTogether is:
Even for remote participants, unlike screen sharing or other remote programming solutions, your code appears as you type, with no lag - as if you were using a local editor.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Screen is a standard package in all major distributions
Pro No client software required, just SSH
Pro Run directly on the server
Pro A lot of people can connect at the same time.
Pro Use any editor as long as it runs in terminal window ( VI, EMACS )
Pro Very low comm overhead
Pro Typing is instantaneous
Even for remote participants, unlike screen sharing or other remote programming solutions, your code appears as you type, with no lag - as if you were using a local editor.
Pro Content assist, validation, navigation, and other dev capabilities available
Participants who join coding sessions have access to all coding capabilities, even in a browser.
Pro Participants join using any browser
Participants simply open a link to join a session in any modern browser. No downloads, installations or registrations required.
Pro Run tests & launches
Guests can remotely run tests, analyze the results and can even write tests, allowing test-driven development (TDD) in a remote environment. Guests can also execute run configurations from the host IDE, remotely launching applications with the ability to stop and monitor the invocations.
Pro Can join in a browser
Pro Heterogeneous IDE-IDE Support between Eclipse, IntelliJ & VS Code
You can start a session in any supported IDE, and participants can join from their own IDEs, even if different from the one the host is using.
Pro Low CPU Consumption
For hosts and participants, far more performant than screen sharing, very low CPU consumption.
Pro Supports multiple groups of developers
Groups of developers are independent from each other - they can code or browse without affecting other groups in the same session.
Pro On-premises version available
For maximum security, an on-premises version allows you to run your own private instance of CodeTogether behind the firewall.
Pro Simultaneous editing supported
Whether coding independently or in a group, multiple developers can code simultaneously in a session, even in the same file.
Pro Team Support
View other members of your team connected to the CodeTogether service, easily and securely invite them to sessions, or join already running sessions. https://www.codetogether.com/docs/codetogether-teams/
Pro SSO Integration
Access to CodeTogether can be gated through SSO providers like Okta, Microsoft AD FS, etc., which support the OpenID Connect protocol. https://www.codetogether.com/docs/sso/
Pro Shared terminal and console
Console output is visible to all participants. Participants can request write access to terminals on the host and execute commands in them.
Cons
Con Everybody shares a single cursor
Con Text based interface only
Con No shared debug capability
Cannot currently debug together in a session.