Light Table vs Monaco Editor: What are the differences?

Introduction

Light Table and Monaco Editor are two popular code editors used for development purposes. While they serve similar functions, there are key differences between the two. This markdown code provides a concise and formatted overview of the differences.

1. 1. User Interface: Light Table provides a clean and minimalistic user interface with a focus on simplicity. It offers a sidebar with various tabs for easy access to files, controls, and plugins. On the other hand, Monaco Editor has a more feature-rich and complex interface, with a top navigation bar, multiple panes, and a customizable layout.

2. 2. Extensibility and Customization: Light Table offers a unique feature called "Inline Plugins," which allows users to extend and customize the editor in real-time. This means that developers can add functionality to the editor while coding, without the need to restart or reload the application. Monaco Editor, on the other hand, provides a rich set of APIs and supports extensions, allowing developers to customize and enhance the editor's capabilities.

3. 3. Language Support: Light Table supports a wide range of programming languages out-of-the-box, including popular languages like JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. It provides syntax highlighting, code completion, and documentation for these languages. Monaco Editor also supports multiple programming languages, thanks to its Language Server Protocol integration, which allows for intelligent code editing features such as code suggestions, linting, and debugging.

4. 4. Documentation and Community: Light Table, despite being a powerful editor, has a smaller user base and community compared to Monaco Editor. This can make finding extensive documentation and getting community support challenging. Monaco Editor, on the other hand, benefits from the support of the larger Visual Studio Code community and has extensive documentation, tutorials, and active forums where developers can seek assistance and share knowledge.

5. 5. Collaboration and Real-time Editing: Light Table offers a unique feature called "Instarepl," which allows developers to see the results of their code instantly, similar to a REPL. It also supports collaborative editing, enabling multiple developers to edit the same file simultaneously. Monaco Editor, while lacking built-in Instarepl functionality, provides features like real-time collaboration through services like Live Share, which allow multiple developers to work together on the same project in real-time.

6. 6. Platform Compatibility: Light Table, being built using the Electron framework, is compatible with various platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Monaco Editor, being web-based, can be easily embedded into web applications and supports major browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

In summary, Light Table offers a more minimalistic user interface, unique features like inline plugins and Instarepl, but has a smaller community and limited documentation support. On the other hand, Monaco Editor provides a feature-rich interface, extensive documentation, and a thriving community, with support for collaborative editing and intelligent code editing through Language Server Protocol integration.