Microsoft has just announced Visual Studio 15 Preview 5. In case you are confused "15" is the next version of Visual Studio.
These days VS has competition even within Microsoft with the cross platform Visual Studio Code stealing a lot of attention and again confusing us even more with a name that is too close to the big IDE was have been using for years. Put simply VS 15 has got to get things right because Microsoft programmers are confused enough without having a dud IDE to work with.
"... Visual Studio loading the solution for the entire .NET Compiler Platform “Roslyn” in 30 seconds with Visual Studio ‘15’ compared to 60 seconds with Visual Studio 2015".
What follows is an edited version of the VS studio blog post to highlight the main points:
Performance
Here are some of the key performance gains in Preview 5:
Shorter solution load time with lightweight project load: Working on solutions that contain upwards of 100 projects doesn’t mean you need to work with all the files or projects at a given time. VS “15” provides editing and debugging functionality without waiting for Visual Studio to load every project.
Faster startup with on-demand loading of extensions: The idea is simple: load extensions when they’re needed, rather than when VS starts.
Moving subsystems from the main VS process to separatel processes: We moved some memory-intensive tasks such as Git Source Control, and our JavaScript and TypeScript language services to separate processes.
Faster project load, coding, and debugging for C++: We have made loading C++ projects faster. We have also made improvements to our linker and PDB loading libraries to make incremental builds and launching the debugger much faster while significantly reducing memory consumption while debugging.
Improved speed of Git source control operations by using git.exe: We have improved debugging performance by optimizing initialization and other costs related to IntelliTrace and the Diagnostic Tools window, and removed several delays that occur when editing and switching between XAML files.
IntelliSense
IntelliSense filtering is now available in C#, VB and C++. While exploring complex APIs, you can narrow to just the type you need (for example, just methods, properties, or events).
In C++, an experimental Predictive IntelliSense feature shows a filtered list of IntelliSense results so you don’t have to scroll through a long list.
In XAML, we have added IntelliSense completion for x:Bind which provides a completion list when you attempt to bind to properties and events.
In JavaScript, we have completely revamped the language service that powers IntelliSense. Previously, as you typed, a JavaScript engine continuously executed your code to provide runtime-like completion lists and signature help. This was great for dynamic JavaScript code, however it often provided an inconsistent editing experience. The new language service uses static analysis powered by TypeScript to provide more detailed IntelliSense, full ES6/ES7 coverage, and a more consistent editing experience.
Debugging
In Preview 5 we have introduced experimental features:
Run to Click: You no longer need to set a temporary breakpoint to skip ahead and stop on the line you desire. When stopped in the debugger, simply click the icon that appears next to the line of code your mouse is over. Your code will run and stop on that line the next time it is hit.
The New Exception Helper: See what you need more quickly with the new Exception Helper. View the most useful exception information at a glance, including seeing what variable was null, in a compact non-modal dialog with instant access to inner exceptions.
aka Dan Kornas who runs a very successful X account about everything related to engineering ML applications. And what is he using in his tutorials? Python, of course.
