Emacs vs Webstorm: Full Comparison

As a software developer, you always have to find the best tools suitable for your specific project. But if you don’t have enough knowledge about the tools, choosing one of them will be difficult for you. When it comes to software development, both Emacs and Webstorm have become popular, and both of these tools support Node.js. But that does not mean both are suitable for your Node.js project. That’s why you need a full comparison of which of the two software development tools for editing text and codes you need to improve your website.

Emacs Vs Webstorm: Similarities    

There are some features that both Enacs and Webstorm have in common. One is that they can communicate with external code quality tools like ESLint to deliver real-time code analysis and bug detection. Number two is that they can provide a deep analysis of the JavaScript mode. In Webstorm, you will find a special JavaScript analysis engine, and in Emacs, you will find a J2 mode. Both help in detecting bugs and issues in a particular code.

The issues may include detecting a role that provides no value and can only perform insignificant tasks such as extracting variables. The third difference is that both tools are compatible with smart auto competition, but Emacs does so by utilizing Tern, an open-source JS code analyzer with multiple editors. Webstorm has its own engine that uses JSDoc comments and Typescript descriptor documents.

If you want to learn about both, you must first understand why you should use Webstorm and Emacs separately.

What is GNU Emacs?

The Emacs text editor was designed for Linux operating systems but is now also available on macOS, Windows, BSD, and more. Developers who have used the text editor love it because it comes with complex yet effective commands for performing complicated actions on the software development project. It is also effective for many configurations and plugin hacks that make your life easier.

Emacs is an old text editor designed for modern text file usage like writing, saving, opening, etc. But, it is a complex tool that you need some knowledge of if you want to use it on a long-term basis. This free, old text editor is still used by developers because it makes coding simple. It has many great features that have been winning hearts for four decades.

Why should you use Emacs? 

There are some things that Emacs is better at than Webstorm. One of those features is auto-completion. Even though both Emacs and Webstorm can perform smart completion, Emacs has an advantage over it. When JavaSript does not provide any access to relevant completion, Webstorm does not perform any completion. In that case, Webstorm will force you to type the codes manually. But Emacs does not. Emacs will provide you with auto-completion for every buffer, such as the Javascript buffer, and steal a glance at what you are typing while trying to find a match.

Every time you type a character, it will offer you a few choices for words that have the initials of the characters you are typing. This means you don't have to type the whole word to complete the sentence, but you will still get the job done. Emacs also offers Vim emulation, which is better than Webstorm. In Webstorm’s Vim emulation, there are frequent bugs that hinder the performance of your software. These bugs, such as keys not enlisting, finding abnormal states, and selecting the wrong mouse button where you don't want to click, can be aggravating. But in Emacs, these issues are not present.

What is Webstorm?

Webstorm is an integrated tool for JavaScript programmers. It works with TypeScript, Angular, Node.Js, React, Vue, HTML, etc. technologies to help you with your software development process. It automates your tasks and allow you to easily manage the jobs. You can create, open, and test projects and edit various configuration files and folders such as JSON, .idea, and so on.

When you write code with Webstorm, you can be confident in your work because it will rectify your mistakes in real time. JavaScript programmers like this tool because it makes all the development work efficient and easier.

Why should you use Webstorm? 

We will talk about Emacs soon, but first, let's get started on why you should use Webstorm in the first place. With Webstorm, you can easily detect bugs and debug them in a short amount of time. But when it comes to Emacs, you will have to depend on node.js to debug the software or even detect its issues. But the problem with node.js is that it is slow and is the default debugger in Emacs. But if the debugger or node.JS does not work in detecting flaws in the software, then the performance will drop.

Webstorm solves that problem by employing its own debugger. Another component of Webstorm that we like is the definitions and symbol lookup feature. Emacs has a ternary feature where it delivers definitions and symbols in a single document. But Webstorm reviews your entire assignment and finds a definition. If it does not find the definition, then it will send you a rundown of contenders to test. That means you can easily explore the codes with less time and you will not have to waste time exchanging documents.

You will not have to run individual tests on Javascript testing systems for the test files and test suites. It will only need a few shortcuts to utilize the testing for JavaScript as well as Mocha and Jasmine. Therefore, with the debugging feature and code exchange between documents, Webstorm makes a good software development tool.

Now that you know why you should use Webstorm and Emacs, it is safe to compare these two based on their features.

Emacs and Webstorm: Specifications 

Performance and Consumption of Resources

Emacs is a small and very fast program. Emacs uses a minimum of resources, which makes it a great choice for a low-end machine, or a situation where you need to hurry and don't want to deal with resources that will slow you down. Emacs loads in almost instantly and uses very little ram, especially with a slim configuration, but can store data from plugins in ram and in a worse case suffer from performance lag, especially when running large projects.

WebStorm is a whole IDE package so yes it requires more resources. It's certainly not uncommon for WebStorm to use up a significant amount of ram and be slow on cpu usage, you might run into slowdowns if you do anything that runs behind the scenes like linting in real time, or running or debugging in live preview, etc. You may not notice it on a more modern machine but older hardware can suffer, especially if you have one of those huge or complex projects and are performing operations over many of the flow tools.

In summary you're looking at:

• Emacs: It quickly boots up, low resource usage, with slowdown mainly only through heavy use of plugins.
• WebStorm: It uses a lot of resources, but on modern hardware will have functionality that performs efficiently well enough depending on the heavy plugins.

Customization and Flexibility

Emacs is all about extensibility. It is effectively a blank canvas that enables you to adjust the environment to fit precisely to your specific workflow. If you want to tweak the keybindings or automate something you have to do every day or every few minutes, you can accomplish that with Emacs Lisp (elisp). Adding support for a new programming language, or adding a new feature altogether can be done by installing a package or writing a few lines of code. The real strength in Emacs comes from how deep you can go when extending and augmenting functionality.

However, with all of this incredible extensibility and customizability comes a cost: time. Setting up Emacs to take advantage of all its capabilities is an investment in time; it will require some learning and configuring. However, you will find that the time spent learning and configuring is worth it, because after your initial time investment, Emacs is a powerful application that can do just about anything, including managing your calendar or controlling your music player.

On the other hand, WebStorm provides a more elaborate approach to customization. The editors aren't quite as flexible as Emacs, but JetBrains has made a solid, systematic, plugin-oriented way of incorporating additional features or plugins if necessary. For example, it has a plugin for better linting or changing the editor’s appearance. WebStorm can provide a lot of tools for you to use as is, as well as quick configurations, and therefore you are much more limited in depth to customize when compared to Emacs, though there is much more sophistication in the built in tools. It's like you have a super-fast car that you can customize, but your constraints are still the manufacturer's sun roof and stock engine settings. 

In summary:

• Emacs: The extent with which you can customize is (to this day) unparalleled through elisp. You can control everything in every editor.
• WebStorm: Plenty of plugin support to tweak, though it may not be as granular as Emacs.

Node.js Development Workflow

Emacs: Configure Manually But Get Maximum Flexibility

Emacs gives you the control you need, but there's responsibility that comes with it. Setting up a Node.js environment in Emacs will involve customization. You have to install some packages, and we recommend js2-mode for JavaScript syntax highlighting, tern for autocompletion, and company-mode for linting. For debugging your Node.js code, you should expect to use realgud or gud-mode for debugging; you may even have to configure nodejs-repl from scratch. The workflow is powerful, but you will have to spend time learning about Emacs, and its configuration is difficult to understand. 

• Key Advantages: Highly customizable workflow complete control over the environment
• Drawbacks: Takes time to setup, difficult to learn, no debugging support for Node.js instances out of the box.

WebStorm: Smooth, Instant Setup

Working with Node.js is so much better with WebStorm. You get smart code completion, inline detection of errors, and refactoring tools as defaults, and there’s no configuration required. The integrated terminal supports the automation of Node.js scripts, npm package management, and testing your application without leaving the IDE. The debugging process is not smoother. The integrated Node.js debugger allows you to set breakpoints, see state on variables, and trace execution in real-time. NPM / Yarn integration is seamless as it’s all just a click away, integrated with other desktop functionalities.

• Key Takeaways: Easy to set up, built in tools for testing and debugging, easy npm management.
• Drawbacks: Less customizations possible, heavier on system resources than Emacs.

Summary:

Emacs: If you are a purist who loves customizing everything in your workflow, Emacs has the flexibility, but realize that you will put in time and effort to achieve this.

WebStorm: If you're looking for something that is quick from the beginning and gets you to a better configured workflow around debugging and testing, WebStorm wins there too.

Debugging & Testing Support

Emacs lacks debugging tools. You will require third-party packages, i.e., realgud or gud-mode packages. While these packages can help debug your code, they either require additional setup or are just not very intuitive. Similarly, in terms of testing, you will be able to run tests with tools such as pytest or Mocha, but the experience in Emacs is not as fluid as a dedicated environment.

WebStorm, however, is a testing and debugging machine. It has an included debugger to test JavaScript and Node.js. You can set breakpoints, view variables, and explore the call stack. Further, the IDE can be integrated, out of the box, with testing frameworks such as Jest, Mocha, and Karma to run unit tests in the IDE where it would run real time tests with failing tests being highlighted.

Ultimately, Emacs will take more time to set up and will require manual labor, while WebStorm will offer a clean testing and debugging experience with minimal configuration. If you are interested in ease or efficiency, although both of them seem attractive, WebStorm pushes ahead of Emacs.

Collaboration and Team Integration

Emacs has Git integration with Magit, probably the most powerful Git interface you can have inside any editor. It’s snappy, scriptable, and great for single developers or advanced Git users. However, it lacks support for working with pull request workflows, and code reviews or collaboration. You'll have to bring that together with something like forge.el, gh.el, or terminal collaboration workflows. Efficient, but not friction-free.

WebStorm, on the other hand, comes baked with complete Git, GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket integration. You get inline code reviews, merge conflict resolution UIs, branch management, and commit history all without leaving the IDE. Furthermore, you have tools like Code With Me, which enables real-time pair programming and team sessions, which is a huge win for remote teams. It is a collaboration by design.

Summary: Emacs gives you surgical control over Git. WebStorm gives you a team-ready collaboration suite. Choose based on the appropriate amount for your work that depends on synchronous dev flow.

Community and Ecosystem

Emacs has a long-standing hacker-centric ecosystem. Emacs has made its way to where it is now over decades, thanks to developer contributions and many IDE-like packages available on MELPA, ELPA, etc. These packages run the full gamut from language server protocol (LSP) integrations to intense automation in Org-mode. The user base tends more towards power users, meaning developers who create their existing workflows and share configurations for their .emacs.d folders like Spacemacs and Doom Emacs. Most Stack Overflow and Reddit threads can get emotional and provide a myriad of nuanced answers, expect less handholding in this world of customizability - a world where your tinkering can be both encouraged and annoying.

WebStorm is a basis by JetBrains, a designed, modern ecosystem. WebStorm has a plugin marketplace that is updated regularly, with quick-to-use plugin options that are designed in tight integrations with Prettier, ESLint, TypeScript, and every major JS framework. Software updates can be received from JetBrains with public-facing releases and quick turnaround on support requests, and you often see JetBrains engineers directly addressing problems. The standard WebStorm ecosystem consists of solid documentation, GitHub Issues, and developer communities using modern frameworks like Angular and React. This is a tightly structured ecosystem for developers who want things to “just work” with the minimum amount of time and input - while maximizing the output.

Emacs and Webstorm: Pros and Cons

Both Emacs and Webstorm come with some advantages and disadvantages that you need to consider before choosing one tool for your project. Let’s get into that now.

Emacs Advantages

• You can control Emacs and its actions using only the keyboard.
• Emacs is fully customizable and versatile.
• Emacs is an IDE that helps you manage files, debug packages, etc.
• You can use Emacs as a terminal or graphical user interface application.
• Emacs is a free tool for everyone.
• Text can be rectangularly selected and cut or pasted into a new document.
• You can modify any behavior of Emacs by using the Lisp customization option.
• It offers org-mode.
• Available on multiple platforms.
• It does more than just text editing.
• It supports editing multiple lines at once.

Webstorm Advantages

• Integrated with node.js
• It supports code refactoring to ensure your code is clean and well-maintained.
• It comes with JSHint, ESLint, JSCS, and many customizable IDE settings.
• It has two kinds of auto-completion: structural and word.
• Compatible with a wide range of plugins
• Track all your changes with the local history feature.
• Supports TypeScript
• It supports various JavaScript frameworks.
• You can track hotkeys from previously adopted IDEs.
• Integration with Git and Github.
• The default JavaScript task runner
• standard terminal/run tools.
• It supports multi-line editing.
• default web-server
• Default terminal

Emacs Disadvantages

• Learning Emacs is a long and hard method.
• The keyboard combination is a little difficult to understand for novice programmers.
• The built-in documentation is not beginner-friendly.
• The user interface is poor.
• You need to have experience with Lisp if you want to learn how to customize Emacs.

Webstorm Disadvantages

• It shows slow performance sometimes.
• Not for industrial usage.
• Webstorm is not an open-sourced tool.
• You will have a hard time with JVM memory settings.
• You can’t work on different projects at the same time.
• The default options are not as good as Emacs.
• The recently updated versions are not stable enough for use.  

Summary

Emacs and Webstorm have flaws and strengths, and we have made you aware of those in this article. But the most significant disadvantage is automated refactoring, which can be tricky at times. Emacs and Webstorm do not offer functions after removals or variable renames, and that’s why the refactoring process becomes difficult and vulnerable to errors. Also, Webstorm and Emacs do not gather JavaScript codes, but both of them support developer-defined templates.

Other than that, both of the tools have their own pros and cons that you can consider or ignore depending on the project you are working on. Before you choose one of them for your project, you need to keep all these points in mind so that you can make use of the features to their best.

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