Visual Studio Code Adds C/C++ Functionality, Focusing on IntelliSense -- Visual Studio Magazine

Visual Studio Code Adds C/C++ Functionality, Focusing on IntelliSense

By David Ramel
03/30/2018

The Visual Studio Code team improved its C/C++ extension, still in preview, with a March update that focuses on improved IntelliSense.

Specifically, the update for the C/C++ extension available in the Visual Studio Code Marketplace features:

Improved auto-complete for local and global scopes: This existing feature allows for a semantic-aware list of auto-complete suggestions when developers type in local and global variables and functions. "Compared with the previous approach, the new auto-complete experience gives you a shorter and more relevant list of suggestions, making it easier to write C/C++ code," Microsoft said .
A simplified configuration process for system includes and defines: Instead of manual configuration of includePath and defines settings, IntelliSense gets include and defines from GCC/Clang-based compilers on its own.
Ability to force IntelliSense processing of arbitrary headers: A new “forcedInclude” setting specifies what headers should be processed, even if they aren't listed in #include statements.

Though still in preview, the C/C++ extension -- providing debugging support in addition to IntelliSense and other language services -- is one of the more popular offerings in the Marketplace, having been installed more than 6.9 million times and garnering a 3.8 rating (scale to 5) from 187 reviewers.

The new update reflects the continuing work the VS Code team has been doing to improve Microsoft's lightweight, open source, cross-platform code editor, which includes a recent update to the most popular extension, for Python development.

Issues and suggestions for the VS Code C/C++ extension can be filed on its GitHub site.

About the Author

David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.

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