Article by Ayman Alheraki in March 13 2025 10:56 PM
In an unexpected yet exciting move, Microsoft has announced the rewriting of Visual Studio Code using the Go language, resulting in a 10x performance improvement compared to the previous version built with TypeScript. This decision marks a turning point in software development, reflecting a new trend toward using high-performance programming languages to build robust and fast development applications.
Visual Studio Code is one of the most popular integrated development environments (IDEs) globally, used by millions of developers daily. Its original design relied on TypeScript and Electron, making it easy to develop and extend. However, over time, challenges related to performance and resource consumption became evident, especially when handling large projects.
Microsoft’s decision to adopt Go to address these issues highlights several key points:
Performance Enhancement: Go is known for its execution speed compared to interpreted or semi-interpreted languages like JavaScript and TypeScript. This means VS Code will launch faster, process files more efficiently, and respond to commands more swiftly.
Reduced Resource Consumption: The use of Electron resulted in high memory consumption, a major complaint among developers. Rewriting VS Code in Go significantly reduces memory usage, making it more efficient, especially on resource-limited machines.
Better Support for Parallel Processing: Go features built-in support for concurrency via goroutines, making operations like indexing, source code analysis, and user interactions faster and smoother.
Improved Error Handling: Compared to JavaScript, Go provides a robust error-handling mechanism, making VS Code more stable and less prone to unexpected crashes.
With the rising popularity of Rust as a high-performance alternative to C++ and C, some may wonder why it wasn’t chosen for this project. The answer lies in the fundamental differences between the two languages:
Simplicity and Ease of Development in Go: One of Go’s biggest advantages is its simplicity and ease of learning, allowing large development teams at Microsoft to transition quickly without a steep learning curve.
Good Performance Without Complexity: While Rust provides higher performance due to its strict memory management, Go offers a balance between performance and ease of development, which is crucial for large-scale projects like VS Code.
Better Support for Cloud Services: Given Microsoft’s heavy investment in cloud computing through Azure, using Go facilitates seamless integration with the company’s growing cloud infrastructure.
Avoiding Rust’s Complexity: Although Rust excels in memory safety, its strict ownership system can increase development complexity, whereas Go offers a more flexible approach without sacrificing much performance.
Absolutely. This is one of the smartest moves Microsoft has made in recent times. Transitioning a large-scale project like VS Code to a high-performance language like Go is a strategic step that ensures enhanced performance, reduced resource consumption, and a smoother development experience.
While some may argue that Rust would have been a better choice, Go provides the right balance of speed and simplicity, making it an ideal choice for a project aimed at meeting developers’ needs efficiently and effectively.
Rewriting Visual Studio Code in Go marks a significant milestone in the evolution of integrated development environments. This move demonstrates that modern languages like Go can compete with TypeScript and JavaScript not just in backend services but also in building high-performance desktop applications.
If Microsoft continues this trend, we may see a bright future where more projects adopt Go, potentially encouraging other companies to follow suit. Ultimately, performance and efficiency matter most, and it seems that Go was the perfect choice for this task.
