14 DAY TRIAL // Software giant Microsoft today announced the availability of another large update for Visual Studio 2013 that comes with a plethora of performance improvements, but also with a new version of the TypeScript programming language that’s very close to the stable channel.
The so-called Visual Studio 2013 Update 2 CTP2 comprises feature additions and fixes, Microsoft said today, including Team Foundation Server 2013 Update 2 RC and new options in the web developer tools.
One of the most important features of the new release is the new version of TypeScript that’s expected to include almost the same options as the stable build expected to see daylight later this year.
TypeScript 1.0 RC is a programming language launched by Microsoft last year and is now available in Visual Studio 2013. It has already been used to build several products developed by Redmond, including Xbox Music and Video, IE11 Developer Tools, and others, but also non-Microsoft solutions, such as Adobe’s Digital Publishing Suite.
“TypeScript has been a hit with developers both inside and outside Microsoft as it's developed toward 1.0 over the last 18 months. Optional static typing, rich IDE features, and support for classes and modules provide foundations for robust software development for JavaScript developers,” Microsoft explained.
Team Foundation Server 2013 Update 2 RC, on the other hand, brings improvements that have already been offered to Visual Online users, including Git support, backlog management in TFS Web Access and support for tags.
Microsoft says that work for some of these improvements will continue in the coming months, so expect more features to be added at a later time.
“We continue to add to the Git support in Visual Studio and TFS. Update 2 now supports the amending commits, pushing to multiple remotes and reverting a commit all within Visual Studio,” it noted.
Another important change in the new Visual Studio 2013 update is the addition of enhanced Azure support, which means that users are now provided with options to auto-create an Azure web site and SQL Azure database whenever users create a new project. This feature, Microsoft says, is especially helpful for MSDN subscribers who have monthly credits for Azure as part of their subscription.
In the end, there is no doubt that this is a necessary update for all Visual Studio 2013 users, so Microsoft’s new release that lets you have a glimpse into what’s to come in the development tool clearly comes in handy.