Core Value of Customized IDE

Preface

Since early 2018, I have formed an indissoluble bond with VSCode, starting from a [selection report](/articles/定制化 ide 选型笔记/), stumbling for more than 2 years

During this period, repeatedly pondering a lingering question: What is the core value of customized IDE products?

In fact, the answer is not unique, different perspectives yield different value understandings

I. From Problem-Solving Perspective

First, IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a general tool, capable of solving two major problems:

• Development experience: Integrates project management, code editing, compilation build, debugging and other functions, avoiding fragmentation in development experience

• Efficiency: Incorporates related tool suites into development environment, reducing learning and usage costs of fragmented tools

Smooth and fluent development experience, sipping coffee, efficient output work efficiency is what every developer wants to have. A general IDE is like a desk, folders, draft paper, pencils, erasers all within reach, books, documents, coffee, desk lamps also arranged on the side, sitting at such a desk to create, experience and efficiency will definitely not be bad

And customized specialized IDEs are usually to meet special needs, solve specific problems, for example:

• Special technical solutions (mini-programs, cross-end technology etc.) development experience and efficiency problems: Mouse painting creation needs more modern desk, music creation may need completely different professional equipment

• Business-specific concrete efficiency problems (template project generation, visual auxiliary development, performance diagnosis, etc.): For watercolor painting creation, specialized desk has watercolor paper with studio seal

• Upstream and downstream boundary collaboration efficiency problems (design material management, release process access, etc.): Connect desk to production line, deliver immediately after creation completes

• User professionalism problems (drag-and-drop building, operations placement, etc.): Smart desk faces non-professional developers, just fill some forms to quickly generate works, press button to automatically deliver

P.S. Some specialized IDEs simultaneously solve several aspects of above problems, for example Alipay Mini Program IDE simultaneously solves first three problems

Therefore, from problem-solving perspective, core value of customized IDE lies in:

• Specialized: Tailor-made for specific fields, can provide smooth, consistent development experience and efficiency guarantee under established scenarios

• Comprehensive: Provide one-stop service from beginning to end, not only can well supplement first half of engineering chain (development, debugging), but also can connect with mature second half

• Out-of-box: Tedious, high complexity parts are all collected into IDE, provided to users is a tidy, minimalist workbench

II. From Development Perspective

From perspective of a product's development, customized IDE must go through these stages:

• Life and death

• Compatibility and inclusion

• Connection and fusion

• Channel ecosystem

Have different core values at different stages

Life and Death

Customized IDE at this stage may have many imperfections, such as:

• Few core capabilities: Not many selling points to attract users

• Stability is not good: Easy to encounter problems during use

• Poor ease of use: Some functions are not so smooth to use

Value aspect has almost no obvious embodiment, therefore its core value is obedient, that is strong plasticity

Because at this time product is just taking shape, neither has formed user habits, nor need to worry about historical baggage, as long as not very unreasonable requirements, can all be done, early small number of users' needs can be quickly satisfied, as positive feedback passed to precious early adopters, meanwhile maintain rapid iteration, do everything to win some core users

P.S. Obedient, won't it be led astray by users? In fact, early problems are everywhere, most proposed by users are obvious function, experience problems, should be prioritized to solve, just incidentally attach positive feedback

Compatibility and Inclusion

After surviving, begin to have a small number of core users, how to attract more users to switch from general IDE is primary goal at this stage, common strategies such as:

• Fine polishing: Prioritize solving usability, ease of use problems, guarantee out-of-box

• Strong guidance: New tools prioritize integration into customized IDE, don't support CLI and other methods, guide users to use

• Connect in: Existing tools/platforms successively access customized IDE, gradually perfect workflow

• Push out: Each version releases one or two small surprises, give hesitant watching users more confidence

Higher degree of customization of customized IDE fitting business scenarios (greater difference from general IDE), higher degree of business development's dependence on customized IDE, therefore core value at this stage lies in connecting development personnel with tools/platforms, connecting key tools/platforms into development workflow, within reach. More connections, more complete and smoother workflow, greater value of integration efficiency improvement

Fusion and Complement

After connecting key tools/platforms, customized IDE's specialized functions are relatively complete, and have accumulated certain scale of users, next further value must be explored through fusion and complement:

• Fusion: Achieve seamless fusion of tools, thereby producing 1 + 1 > 2 combination effect

• Complement: For problems difficult to solve in single link, can trace upward/downward along process, solve through tool chain complement

Biggest difference between tool chain and integrated development environment (or called workbench) is, former is just undertaking, while latter can achieve fusion. At this time customized IDE's value is no longer limited to solving development experience and efficiency problems of specific links, but focusing on entire workflow, using full engineering chain power to solve previously difficult problems

Channel Ecosystem

Next stage after fusion and complement is channel ecosystem, entering this stage's mark is customized IDE serving more than 80% of target users, user growth rate slows, platform attributes become prominent, at this time possible value directions are:

• Channel promotion: Customized IDE connects large number of users, new functions settling in have opportunity to gain large number of users, amplify value

• Incubate ecosystem: Incubate differentiated capabilities facing business scenarios, such as debugging, testing

At this stage, big should play big advantages, customized IDE's capability support shifts from large scenarios to small scenarios, from closed to open, opening more possibilities, corresponding core value is incubate ecosystem, continuously generate value

III. From Future Layout Perspective

Frontend engineering has gone through these stages:

• CLI tools: Scaffolding, build tools, debugging services, etc.

• GUI clients: GUI-ized CLI tools, not much difference except interaction method

• Customized end IDE: Based on IDE extend scaffolding, build, debug, release, monitoring and other engineering chain capabilities

• Cloud IDE: Based on Web IDE extend series of engineering chain capabilities, entering cloud R&D era

From blooming CLI tool era into brief GUI client period, then set off wave of customized end IDE, perhaps finally will归于 under cloud IDE's giant curtain

Open source end IDE's increasing maturity, greatly reduced customization cost, fitting business scenarios to customize specialized IDE becomes possible, development links centered on source code are formally incorporated into frontend engineering system, as next breakthrough point for improving engineering efficiency

To this day, full cloud R&D mode centered on cloud IDE is already vaguely visible, end-cloud integrated development based on FaaS is main driving force for IDE going to cloud, accompanied by BFF, SSR technology upgrades, R&D mode changes brought by FaaS, cloud IDE as cloud R&D workbench, core value is to make frontend engineering system go further, provide complete chain support of requirements-development-testing-operations