Sublime Forum

**deathaxe** · May 27, 2021, 7:28pm

I wonder if someone can write a plugin which just converts the little set of bootstrap 5 snippets from VS Codes JSON format to ST format. Bootstrap Snippet “plugin” which discussion started about is just a set of “some” snippets - nothing complicated.

**srbs** · May 27, 2021, 8:06pm

@deathaxe, I wrote a TextMate to Sublime package converter years and years ago which has a *.tmSnippet to *.sublime-syntax XSLT file you use for VS Code snippets:

github.com

srbs/textmate-to-sublime-converter/blob/master/tm2subl.xsl

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" xmlns:xalan="http://xml.apache.org/xalan" exclude-result-prefixes="xalan">
	<!-- This XSL stylesheet converts TextMate Snippet (*.tmSnippet) files into Sublime Text Snippet (*.sublime-snippet) files. -->
	<xsl:output method="xml" indent="yes" xalan:indent-amount="4" omit-xml-declaration="yes" cdata-section-elements="content" />
	
	<xsl:template match="/">
		<snippet>
			<xsl:for-each select="plist/dict/key">
				<xsl:choose>
					<!-- rename 'name' to 'description' -->
					<xsl:when test="text()='name'">
						<xsl:element name="description">
							<xsl:value-of select="following-sibling::*[1]" />
						</xsl:element>
					</xsl:when>
					
					<!-- ignore uuid tags -->
					<xsl:when test="text()='uuid'" />
					
					<!-- otherwise, copy..ish -->

This file has been truncated. show original

**ruurd** · May 30, 2021, 11:03am

YOU are interested obviously. So maybe direct your energy at improving an old one instead of complaining. Complaining helps nobody.

**ALLMEDIALAB** · May 31, 2021, 7:54am

Complaining? Your reply doesn’t help for sure!

I’m just being very realistic and pointing out the essential problems that Sublime Text is facing as we speak. The fact that developers are leaving the Sublime Plugins development behind to go to VS Code is a serious matter and not solved by telling me (without any plugin development experience) to improve old plugins. I wonder did you only read only one sentence of this whole topic?

Like I said before I do support plugin developers by donating and bug reporting and purchased al necessary licenses for Sublime (even a Sublime Text 4 subscription for my company) and I’m not able to create the plugins my self.

But when you really read this whole topic you already knew this.

**ruurd** · May 31, 2021, 8:04am

¯\(ツ)/¯

**colinkiama** · May 31, 2021, 12:07pm

It’s not that plug-in developers are suddenly leaving Sublime Text, it’s more that they mostly left already when VS Code blew up.

Sublime Text finally got attention again with the ST4 update. So right now, is that the best time to be making plugins because people are coming back/new users are installing it.

If you really need the bootstrap plugins ASAP, then I recommend install VS Code and enabling Sublime Text Key Bindings.

**clci** · May 31, 2021, 12:56pm

And what would be a proper response?

**jfcherng** · May 31, 2021, 1:03pm

I don’t think any of us get paid. Community people are free to NOT to do anything or even abort his own project.

The one you paid is the ST team.

**rnasc** · May 31, 2021, 1:12pm

I did pay for a license. I’m in the company’s website and it doesn’t seem justifiable to me taking this approach.
Anyways, one unhappy customer goes away… many more pleased ones seem to be out there.

**rwols** · May 31, 2021, 1:20pm

The person you replied to doesn’t work for SublimeHQ.

**rnasc** · May 31, 2021, 1:31pm

One thing:
ST HQ directs this forum for support!

**facelessuser** · May 31, 2021, 1:39pm

Why is this shameful? When I came to Sublime Text back with ST2, it was missing things I needed. So I wrote plugins. It was never advertised that ST was going to support specific frameworks I was interested etc.

VSCode also doesn’t personally ensure that plugins of various frameworks get updated, the community does. Sublime is no different.

The fact that VSCode has an updated plugin and Sublime doesn’t is irrelevant, the community does this and has always done this.

People seem very surprised that this is the case for ST4, but I’m not sure why, it has always been this way, nothing has changed.

Am I missing something? Why all this outrage? This is not meant to be confrontational, I’m honestly confused and curious if people can really explain this. I feel like I’m missing some important point or something.

Also, I am not affiliated with Sublime.

**bitsper2nd** · May 31, 2021, 1:43pm

Do you really think everyone on this forum is a SublimeHQ employee? Also plugins are made by third-parties. Always has been. SublimeHQ has nothing to do with Bootstrap or any other popular plugin.

wrong. for actual support. Sublime Text opens an issue to github. All you need to do is go to the help menu in the text editor.

I get it. You don’t want to pay for the new version of ST. Keep using ST3 then.

**rajin100000** · May 31, 2021, 3:25pm

I think sublime is a bit harder to get started with, but it is good if you are a pro developer. Because when we learn javascript, html from beginner, we can’t make good snippetes as we want and to do it, we need to make our own if someone didn’t make them as I want. But to do this, we need the knowledge of XML, Yaml and Json. And there is a few people who starts learning XML, JSON and YAML before they learnt Javascript (for my opinion). So, it is little hard. But in the case when you already know javascript, xml, yaml and json and python, Sublime is really very good. Because Vscode includes some unnecessary things like very high graphics which is unnecessary. And you can make plugins and auch things easily in Sublime, so you don’t have any unnecessary things and it would be faster.

**legran** · July 23, 2021, 6:24am

I used to think exactly the same as you before Sublime 4 arrived: I was afraid that Sublime would be depopulated with Plugins and then what? That is why I am so happy with Sublime Text 4. With the improvements in autocompletion I don’t use any Plugin for any language. Do I open something with PHP? It works and I deduce the snippets. Do I open something with Ruby? It works and I deduce the snippets. And the same for Javascript and for Python.

In Vscode there came a time when some plugins annoyed others. I remember perfectly that when I installed the Plugins for PHP, the operation of other plugins was not adequate …

But the point is this: Stop using Sublime just because it doesn’t autocomplete Bootstrap classes? How many classes does Bootstrap have? I mean, it’s very easy to learn all of the ones out there. Also, to which you copy a navbar or something like that, Sublime will remember that you used those classes and will surely end up suggesting them without the need for you to install anything.

By the way, I do do things with Sublime that I couldn’t exactly do with Vscode. Except for the command to “make all Python functions end with parentheses” in Vscode there is nothing comparable to Sublime’s autocomplete trailing symbols.

In summary, I am very happy with Sublime Text 4, for me it has brought a lot of considerable changes.

**deathaxe** · July 24, 2021, 5:01pm

With regards to Bootstrap completions …

https://packagecontrol.io/packages/BootstrapAutocomplete

**mrsean2k** · July 29, 2021, 10:01pm

By far the biggest pull of ST for me is that generally speaking it just gets out of my road. My own flow is far more important than any automatic nitpicking and suggestion making the likes of vscode and Studio shove under my nose every 5 minutes, uninvited.

I use vscode as the standard at work, largely to get along with everyone else, and is turning into the same intrusive, creaky, bloated mess that Studio already is.

**BPL** · October 30, 2022, 10:27am

Long time Sublime Text user here (using it since 2011 non stop), one of my favourite tools ever. That said, I’ve given vscode some little attempts over the last months in order to understand why this software has got so much traction over the years and it’s become so popular amongst developers, here’s some random thoughts:

a) I won’t state the obvious reasons but I think one of the most important factors has been the extension manager UI, that one has really well designed. Now, if you compare that to the bare-bones (not saying bad by all means) Sublime package-control you’ll understand one of the main reasons why many plugin developers decided to switch vscode.

b) I’ve seen many tools over the years having solid architecture with really well designed sdk but they’d get very little plugins from the community for reasons such as plugins/extensions being very time consuming to be developed, hard exposure/showcase of their work to casual users, very small market oportunity for plugin developers, …

c) Package development is extremely easy with ST and you’ve got full control of the software, true that but you could argue vscode gives more flexibility when it comes to extend the tool itself because it allows to unleash the full power of the electron framework while in Sublime you’re given a certain set of extension points and you can just use the Sublime framework itself… Think about it, let’s say I wanted to create a pyqt6/pyside6 plugin and having it fully integrated on SublimeText, how doable would be to achieve (never tried)?

Probably not bringing anything new to the table but I think adding more dev resources to the above ones would help SublimeText to get more traction, IMHO.

Regards.

**ALLMEDIALAB** · August 24, 2023, 7:02am

Hi @BPL,

You nailed exactly what my experience is!
I’m a long time Sublime Text user too and pay for my company a yearly fee now for Sublime text.

This morning I needed to make a XML sitemap for a huge website and looked for a extension to do that in Sublime Text. Unfortunately it is not available.

Then I went to VS code and typed in “Sitemap” and bang a extension to do that appears.

I expected after the new license system some more development of the Sublime Text Package Control eco system, but did not see much happening. I’m always willing to donate and contribute with testing, but have no time to develop plugins my self.

Think that the Sublime team has enough money coming in to develop some basic plugins and/or pay developers to do so.

David

Reason to consider VS code instead of Sublime Text 4