Comment by kerkeslager

I use vim on the command line, and screen to switch between terminal and vim. vim does have autocomplete, but it doesn't pull names from the entire codebase, just from the current files open.

I don't remember every type and field in the codebase--I have to familiarize myself with them when I work with them, just like you do--and if you don't familiarize yourself with your types, the IDE telling you what your type is, isn't going to be particularly elucidating. With good code, it's usually pretty clear what the type of a variable or field is, even if the type definition isn't in your current viewport. If that's not the case, your code is likely overcomplicated, and needs a refactor. If there's too much inherent complexity in the problem to allow for that, then you've no choice but to keep a whiteboard handy to sketch stuff out--that's much easier and more useful than anything an IDE does to trace complexity.

Go-to-definition lets you lose track of the big picture, because you don't have to have a working knowledge of your project's file structure to work around it. The result is often multiple definitions of the same thing with loose translation layers between them which people don't really touch often enough to feel obvious pain from, so they end up just sitting there hurting performance and introducing subtle bugs whenever adjacent code changes. I've worked on a few Java/C# codebases like this.

It's really important to me to read and understand all the code around what I'm modifying before I make a modification, so I can make exactly the change I want to make and nothing more.

Workflow: Make sure you are on the same page as product with what the feature is, asking any questions you can think of. Write an integration test, if possible (it isn't always). If not, write a test case for manual testing (it's better if you can get the testers to do this, and even better if you can do it with them). Get an architecture in my head, or draw one on a whiteboard if it doesn't fit in my head. Visualise the "flow" of data through the different units, and what needs to change--if the feature is complicated, write this down so you don't have to start from scratch figuring it out tomorrow. Start at the beginning of that flow and write a unit test, then implement it, cycling through unit test and implementation in a circle until each unit change is implemented. Then run the integration test and manual test. Take a step back and see if there's anything you missed. Deliver it to product/testing.