When comparing Sublime Text vs AWS Cloud 9, the Slant community recommends Sublime Text for most people. In the question“What are the best JavaScript IDEs or editors?” Sublime Text is ranked 4th while AWS Cloud 9 is ranked 13th. The most important reason people chose Sublime Text is:
Sublime Text is very lightweight by default. Customization occurs on the fly thanks to Package Control.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Lightweight
Sublime Text is very lightweight by default. Customization occurs on the fly thanks to Package Control.
Pro Comfortable to work with
Sublime Text has a minimap on the side that provides a top-down view of the file and keyboard shortcuts for most actions. It also supports a large number of languages and general text editing features out of the box.
Pro Multi-line select and editing
Multiple cursors and column selection allows for versatile ways of editing.ctrl + d
will select the current word and each time the command is repeated, it adds the next occurrence of the word to the selection.ctrl + click
or middle-mouse click
will place another cursor in the place that's clicked. Cursors can then be controlled together. This also permits selecting vertically.ctrl + shift + l
will place a cursor on every highlighted line.
Pro Functionality can be easily extended
Sublime Text uses TextMate's syntax declaration files to support new languages, it has all its menus and keybindings generated from JSON files, and it can be scripted to add new features using Python.
If Sublime Text doesn't support a desired language or feature, it's usually not long before someone implements it themselves - examples include the plugin package manager and the 'open in browser' command.
Pro Beginner-friendly
When you start using Sublime Text, it doesn't drown you in keyboard shortcuts or non-intuitive use-concepts. However, high-level functionality can still be easily accessed when the need for it arises.
Pro Consistent cross-platform
Sublime Text looks consistently the same across Windows, OS X, and Linux.
Pro Fully customizable
Sublime Text allows for all sorts of customization to help users change almost everything in the editor: Key Bindings, Menus, Snippets, Macros, Completions, and many more. Essentially, just about everything in Sublime Text is customizable with simple JSON files. This system gives the user flexibility as settings can be specified on a per-file type and per-project basis.
Pro Very fast
Sublime is quick to start and never slows down. The UI is always responsive and you know what is happening in the background.
Pro Has tons of plugins available
Pro Installable package manager
The package manager is a plugin and can be swapped with something else custom.
Pro IDE features without the cruft
Sublime Text, while being lighter-weight than an IDE, still supports many IDE features.
- Text from the current file is used to provide autocomplete.
- Project Support (folder browsing, scoped history, build-system declarations).
- Refactoring support is emulated through multi-select, project-wide find and replace, and regular expression search.
- Syntax-aware selection and GoTo for quickly jumping to locations in the project.
- Snippets and Macros.
- A Python console for everything else.
Pro Offers Command Palette
Command Palette allows for fuzzy searching all available settings, snippets, etc.
Pro Easy to get started
All you need to do when starting up is to install a package manager and modify user configuration.
Pro Regex commands
Regex commands help describe a certain amount of text.
Pro Customizable keymapping
From menus to commands, assign key maps to almost anything.
Pro Portable settings
Settings are modular and can be shared.
Pro Distraction free editing mode
Distraction free editing takes over your screen and removes every UI element so you can focus on code.
Pro Dynamic Build System
Choose from many build systems or craft your own.
Pro Freemium
A Sublime license can be bought but it can still be used for free. However, a pop-up appears when you save multiple times.
Pro Permits instant file switching
Open Goto Anything by pressing Ctrl or Command + P and by using fuzzy search you can look for a file in your project. The file will load even without pressing enter, so you can make sure you've found the correct file without committing.
Pro Multiple languages are supported
Pro Haxe and OpenFL integration via plugin
Both of these programming interfaces are cross-platform, open source, and easy to use.
Pro Direct server upload
Provides command line shortcut for server upload.
Pro Projects support multiple folders and git repos
Pro Allows for Vim-style editing
Vintage mode is Vim-style editing that's already built into the text editor.
Pro Support for TextMate themes and window decoration themes
Sublime Text compatibility with Textmate bundles is good, but excludes commands, which are incompatible. In general, Sublime Text syntax definitions are compatible with Textmate language files (.tmLanguage extension).
Pro Highly Theme-able
Create your own theme with online editor.
Pro Functionalities
With lot of functionalities, where other editor even not think to provide.
Pro Full terminal access
Cloud9 gives full terminal access to home directory. In their hosted Linux Ubuntu environment it has sudo powers. No UNIX commands have been blocked - npm, ifconfig, chmod, chown, tar, etc work. All commands can be accessed and any package can be installed.
And if the terminal is used when using Remote SSH feature it connects directly to the server and runs the commands on that server.
Pro Capable editor
Cloud9 uses their own editor called ACE. Besides the basics, it covers most important advanced code editor features such as code folding, converting cases, auto-completion, code analysis and refactoring, regex search and offers easy access to relevant documentation.
It also gives access to the CLI, has support for Vim and Emacs keybindings, includes multiple cursors and zen coding mode that removes all distractions and allows focusing on code.
Pro Great documentation
Cloud9 has extensive, well-organized documentation at docs.c9.io.
Pro Enables real-time online collaboration
An important feature of Cloud9 is the real-time collaboration ability. It allows pairing programs or perform code reviews really easily as well as simultaneously text chat.
Pro Integrates with AWS
Prior to being part of the AWS Toolchain, AWS integrates deeply with CodeStar and AWS Lambda, allowing you to build serverless architechtures.
Pro Offline editing
By installing and running a client application that syncs the local file system and cloud storage Cloud9 can be run locally. Great alternative for situations when the Internet connection is unreliable.
Pro Can be hosted on own server
Since Cloud9 is an open source project with source code available on GitHub, it can be run as a self-hosted solution on own hardware and behind a firewall.
Pro Git & Mercurial support
Git and hg commands can be run in the command-line, the same way as in a local terminal. There are also built-in add-on services for GitHub, BitBucket and GitLab.
Pro Runs any language
The runner has built-in functionality fo Apache, Node, Python, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Go, CoffeeScript, Julia, Mocha and Shell script, but any other language can be used by creating a runner for it.
Pro Desktop application is available
Prior to the Cloud9 core source code being released, an Alpha version of a desktop version can be built from the source which is based from NW.js. Instructions can be found here.
Pro SSH Workspace
Allows you to connect directly to your external server via SSH. Modifying files directly on your server using a cloud based editor allows you to have the portability of the a cloud based workspace with the control of your own server (including complete DNS control).
Pro Debugging with breakpoints for NodeJS server side JavaScript
Breakpoints allow specifying a stopping points in the execution of the application. When these breakpoints are hit, the application will stop executing and give the ability to examine data such as local variables, run commands and control the execution flow of the application.
Pro Ability to clone multiple repos in one project
Cloud9 provides one free private workspace. However, I can host multiple projects there by cloning as many repositories into the root project directory, thanks to the full access terminal.
Pro Package manager
Similar to package managers for the desktop, Cloud9 also includes their own package manager, c9pm, which allows adding new software from a list of available utilities.
Apt-get can be used in the project's workspace terminal to install/update/upgrade software. Composer, Bower or any other utilities of choice can be installed to manage dependencies and packages.
Pro Provides with a simple way to deploy apps
Cloud9 allows quickly deploying apps via CLI. There are instructions on how to deploy to Azure, CloudFoundry, OpenShift, NodeJitsu, Modulus and Heroku. For example, all hosted environments have Heroku's toolbelt installed by default so all heroku commands are available from the get-go.
Pro Provides with own runtime environment
Cloud9 can connect to a dedicated VM to provide a powerful Ubuntu runtime environment in the cloud using Docker. Apps can be either run from the run panel where a selection of runners is provided or from a terminal.
Pro Support for most databases
In addition to launching a server to run code, Cloud9 will also host a database to develop against. Support for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB and SQLite.
Pro Browser testing support
Cloud9 integrates with Sauce Labs a browser testing suite that allows previewing the app in any desktop or mobile browser.
Pro Provides with a simple way to deploy apps
Cloud9 allows quickly deploying apps via CLI. There are instructions on how to deploy to Azure, CloudFoundry, OpenShift, NodeJitsu, Modulus and Heroku. For example, all hosted environments have Heroku's toolbelt installed by default so all heroku commands are available from the get-go.
Cons
Con Paid
Although paying for something good is far from a Con, having the competition this editor has and still have to pay for it is definitely a Con.
Con Proprietary
Sublime Text protects and copyrights its code and is thus not the freedom-ware some would like it to be.
Con Interruption while work
"Purchasing" messages box interrupts while saving file.
Con No printing of files
Sublime Texts offers no way of printing the files it edits.
Con Not a full IDE
It does not necessarily function on a project level.
Con Annoying whitespace management
All too often it does the wrong thing with indentation on otherwise blank lines.
Con Loading big files on Windows is slow
Here's a rough comparison: a 70 MB file takes about 2 seconds to load in Notepad++, whereas the same file in ST3 takes over 10 seconds to load.
Con No toolbar
Sublime Text is more focused on keyboard users, meaning it doesn't come with a tool bar. Even plugins can't toggle bookmarks using the mouse.
Con Slow development
While development has yet to stop on Sublime Text, it is significantly slower than its competitors Atom, VSCode, and others.
Con Inadequate language support
Sublime Text offers poor support for Far-East languages in Linux.
Con No RTL Support
Although it is a "text" editor, Sublime Text does not support rendering text written in Arabic or other right to left languages. The developers seems unwilling to fix this issue any time soon.
Con Often crashes due to poor quality plugins
Some plugins are quite buggy, meaning that installing many can become quite a problem regarding stability.
Con Lacks subdomain options
Building an app that needs subdomains is impossible.
Con Free plan asks for credit card details
Free plan requires you to provide a credit card due to the nature of Cloud 9's "Free Workspaces" to be relatively abused. According to the developers, this is the only way to prevent such.
Con Part of Amazon Web Services
While the c9.io site is still up and running, Cloud9 is exclusive for AWS Customers only, and you pay the AWS Compute pricing when you use Cloud9.
Con Lacks a built-in Java builder and runner
While there is no built-in Java builder or runner currently, C9 has provided instructions on how to set them up. Instructions can be found here.
Con Does not accept New Registrants on c9.io Anymore
As being acquired by Amazon Web Services as part of AWS Cloud9, the c9.io service won't accept new sign ups.
Con Terminal will not work on Windows (Cloud9 SDK)
The terminal package does not work on the Cloud 9 SDK in Windows because it cannot find an appropriate unix shell. This might be a recurring bug undergoing fixes.