What exactly is Visual Studio Code?

Question

Recently I\'ve read about Microsoft Visual Studio Code. I work primarily with C and C++ languages on GNU/Linux. My question is whether Visual Studio Code is just a simple ed

Answer 1

Sorry, can't see what use Visual Studio Code is for anything other than javascript programmers, unless you just like seeing your C++/Perl/Java code in pretty colours.

To answer your questions directly:

Yes, it is just a simple editor.

No, it does not use whatever compiler exists in the platform, gcc, or any other C++ compiler. It won't compile your C++ code, full stop.

No, it does not come with its own VS compiler, except for (apparently) "ASP.NET, Node.js, or TypeScript".

But it is the first cross-platform development tool in the Visual Studio family, for a certain definition of the phrase "development tool".