What's the difference between snippet and template?

Question

Trying to determine when to use a snippet and when to use a template, since they all seem to be able to accomplish the same thing.

Is one better for performance or such, or are they completely differently and I’m misunderstanding something?

Answer 1

Snippets usually refer to code snippets which you see in your intellisense dropdown (or Right click > Insert Snippet such as SurroundsWith, forEach etc.). They usually span few lines and are used to provide shortcut to repeatedly used code patterns.

Templates refer to Item/Project templates which can contain code plus other things such as file structure for a project and more). Think of it as a scaffolding for code file or a project.

E.g. WebSite project templates creates the scaffolding for a typical WebSite by adding files such as default.aspx and folders (App_Code etc) when you choose to create a new website project.

There is also what is known as T4 templates which are used for code generation. The scope of this goes beyond a handful of lines (which is typically what a snippet would add). You can add code and control logic which makes them way more powerful than snippets. At the same time, writing a T4 template for something like forEach is a overkill. You also cannot right click and say insert snippet here within the editor.

Comparing performance is not relevant here as each is a one time thing. You choose one over either based on what you want to do with it.