Microsoft has presented Visual Studio 17.8 and an initial preview of 17.9 for its development environment. While 17.8 keeps the community’s wishes in mind, the preview relies on AI (artificial intelligence) tools such as GitHub Copilot.
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Visual Studio 17.8 brings extensive innovations
The latest update for Visual Studio 2022 is officially available. With version 17.8 of the development environment, Microsoft brings a wide range of optimizations in the areas of productivity, programming languages and business management. The development of the presented version was carried out taking into account extensive user feedback. Visual Studio 17.8 is fully compatible with .NET 8, which was recently released.
Heise Developer and the .NET experts from www.IT-Visions.de will present the finished version of .NET 8.0 to the German-speaking audience on November 21, 2023 as part of the Better Code .NET 8.0 online conference present. Well-known .NET experts will present all the essential functions using practical examples:
- The innovations of .NET 8.0: SDK, runtime and base classes
- Easier to read, more stable code with C# 12.0
- All new features of ASP.NET Core 8.0 and Blazor 8.0
- What’s new in OR mapping with Entity Framework Core 8.0
- This has changed with Windows Forms 8.0, WPF 8.0 and WinUI 3
- Cross-platform development with .NET MAUI 8.0
- Outlook for .NET 9.0
This release stands out not only for its extensive list of new features, but also for its emphasis on community-driven optimizations. The innovations mentioned above are the highest-rated improvements that, according to the announcement post, were chosen by users themselves. This version is intended to simplify client initialization for companies. New management functions are intended to ensure that development teams can work efficiently.
GitHub Copilot and extended C++ support
In addition to using the AI assistant GitHub Copilot, users have the option to retain upper and lower case letters when searching and replacing. With Case Preserving Find and Replace, the spelling remains the same when replacing in the code. Additionally, the development team behind Visual Studio increased the number of active repositories from 10 to 25. This allows developers to work with a higher number of active repositories simultaneously during software development.
The update introduces a new overview difference view. With “Summary Diff” code changes can be clearly displayed. It can be activated in different comparison views and allows context lines to be quickly switched on and off for efficient file comparison.
Visual Studio 17.8 introduces a new summary display, Summary Diff.
(Picture: DevBlogs Microsoft)
There is also remote Linux unit test support, optimizations in the area of debugging, test profiling and support for remote Linux tests and many other items on the list of innovations.
Additionally, adjustments were made in the areas of C++ development, Unreal Engine tools, .NET/C# development, F# development, JavaScript and TypeScript development as well as diagnostic and testing functions. The update also includes new features for Microsoft Teams app development, CMake Targets View improvements, C++ class size and orientation control features, and more.
An overview of all the new features in Visual Studio 17.8 as well as further information can be found in the announcement post on Microsoft’s DevBlogs.
Visual Studio 17.9 Preview 1 relies on AI tools
The first preview of the upcoming version focuses on artificial intelligence, for example by integrating tools such as GitHub Copilot, an AI assistant. This allows Git commit messages to be generated automatically. IntelliSense support for Unreal Engine projects is also intended to improve the tool.
The highlights of the first preview also include enhancements in the areas of memory management and debugging, including the detection of “event handler leaks”. New functionality such as non-modal debug visualizers, instrumentation tools with “start-pause” option for application profiling, and diagnostic options for #include references in C++ code have also been implemented.
For more information about Visual Studio 17.9 Preview 1 see announcement post on Microsoft’s DevBlogs.
(mdo)