Scared of Visual Studio, I have used text editors or vscode
Posted by WonderBeast2@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 9 comments
Hello, I come from devops and azure admin background. I write code but I use stuffs like Python, jupyter notebook, Terraform. And these are pretty easy to understand with editors or vscode.
Lately, I need to learn C# .Net because I want to make container apps.
Now, I haven't used .Net since 2010s. And I feel scared of heavy tools like visual studio. The most thing I hate most about that it creates lots of files when a project or solution or whatever is created.
These make me feel insecure and quit c#. I want to learn what those additional files do, esp with VS. Even vscode creates some additional files.
Any tips for me? Can I altogether skip the visual studio? Is a visual studio still relevant in modern days?
Kpow_636@reddit
Is this a joke
Hairless_Gash@reddit
What's there to be scared of?
Frankly is kinda nice to have everything well configure for you when starting out.
Honestly I have a opposite feeling about using vsc. So light weight I've been configuring out for months now. I just want things to work from the start and only tweak the settings I need to. Not the other way around.
ResponsiblePlum5031@reddit
man i totally get this feeling when i switched jobs few years ago and had to use different tooling. those extra files are mostly just configuration stuff and project metadata - nothing scary really. like the .csproj file tells dotnet what dependencies you need and .sln files just group multiple projects together if you have them
visual studio is still super relevant especially for dotnet development. it does lot of heavy lifting automatically which can feel overwhelming but also saves you tons of time once you get used to it. the intellisense and debugging tools are pretty solid compared to what you get in vscode for c#
you can definitely stick with vscode if thats more comfortable - microsoft has really good c# extension for it now. just install the c# dev kit extension and you get most of what you need. the project files will still be there but at least the interface feels more familiar. i actually know few developers who prefer this setup because they can control exactly what they install and configure
BranchLatter4294@reddit
Just use VS Code if you want. VS is fine too. You don't have to pick one or the other. Use what works for your workflow. I personally prefer VS Code for C# but I don't mind using VS either. I don't really care so much about the tool, I just need to get the code working.
auroraOnHighSeas@reddit
Honestly, you could search why each file is being created in the template project, or just ask an LLM to explain why these files are there and when they should be modified.
Designer-Flounder948@reddit
most of those “extra files” are honestly just project metadata, build configs and IDE settings. they look scary at first, but after a while you realize only a small subset actually matters day to day
glandix@reddit
I’m loving VSCode for modern .NET for backend work. Then frontend is all Vue in the same project also edited in VSCode. No need for Visual Studio unless you’re running a really old .NET and even then it isn’t technically required
JoyFerret@reddit
You can skip Visual Studio, but it is highly integrated for C#. It has a lot more features out of the box as an IDE than code. For example it has advanced debugging features, profiling, profiles/settings for different builds (like debug or release), I think even an UI builder for windows forms, and in the case of C# it has a built in NuGet package manager. I think it even helps you manage database connections for web applications.
You can use either Visual Studio or Code as just text editors, but as an IDE, Visual Studio is more complete (for C#). You should check what features Visual Studio offers over code and whether you will need them or if Code has extensions that can provide that functionality.
Queasy_Hotel5158@reddit
You absolutely can skip full Visual Studio if it feels overwhelming. A lot of modern .NET developers use VS Code +
dotnetCLI just fine, especially for APIs, containers, and backend work.Honestly, coming from DevOps/Azure/Terraform, the CLI-first approach will probably feel more natural to you anyway.
Most of the “extra files” are just project metadata/configuration:
.csproj→ dependencies + build config.sln→ groups multiple projectslaunchSettings.json→ debug profilesbin/andobj/→ build artifacts.vs/→ Visual Studio cache/settingsYou do not need to master all of them immediately.
One thing that helps:
create projects manually with CLI so nothing feels “magic.”
Example:
Then slowly inspect what each file does.
Visual Studio is still very relevant in enterprise .NET work because its debugger/tooling is excellent, but it’s no longer mandatory the way it felt in the old .NET Framework days.
Modern .NET is much more lightweight, cross-platform, Docker-friendly, and CLI-oriented than the 2010 era version you probably remember.