News

What's New in Visual Studio 2019 for Mac v8.7

Microsoft shipped Visual Studio 2019 for Mac version 8.7, boosting functionality around ASP.NET Core, unit testing integration, Xamarin.Forms, Quick Actions/Refactorings and more.

Here's a look at what's new:

  • gRPC and OpenAPI Client Generation: On the ASP.NET Core side of things, developers can generate an API client from an existing OpenAPI or gRPC service, specifically gaining functionality to:
    • generate the client from a local file or URL
    • manage service references
    • regenerate the client code if the service changes
  • Right-Click to Run Unit Tests: Developers can now kick off tests with a right-click in:
    • a C# class file if it contains unit tests
    • the body of a test class
    • the body of a test method

    Also, a right-click to bring up the context menu for the editor now shows two new options: Run Test(s) and Debug Test(s). The announcement post also details:

    • Rules for determining which tests to run
    • Right-click in the solution pad to run tests
    • Configuring keybindings
    • Smarter integration with Unity
  • Xamarin Forms 4.8: There is more support for this v4.8, which primarily focuses on:
    • Stabilizing current features
    • Graduating experimental features to stable
    • Providing Gradient Brush support
    The new Gradient Brush
    [Click on image for larger view.] The new Gradient Brush (source: Microsoft).
  • Quick Actions and Refactorings: These include:
    • Generate comparison operators for types that implement IComparable
    • Generate IEquatable operators when generating .Equals for structs
    • Create and initialize properties or fields for all unused constructor parameters
    • IntelliSense completion in DateTime and TimeSpan string literals
    • Warning and code fix when a suppression operator is present but has no effect
    • Generate properties when generating a constructor in a type

"This release also includes initial support for macOS Big Sur, with the exception of Xamarin support," said Jon Galloway, senior program manager, Visual Studio for Mac, in the Aug. 6 announcement. "macOS Big Sur support for Xamarin is expected in one of the first servicing releases for Visual Studio for Mac 8.7."

The update is available here.

The latest edition of the Mac IDE's Windows counterpart, Visual Studio 2019 v16.7, was also released this week.

About the Author

David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.

comments powered by Disqus

Featured

  • Mastering Blazor Authentication and Authorization

    At the Visual Studio Live! @ Microsoft HQ developer conference set for August, Rockford Lhotka will explain the ins and outs of authentication across Blazor Server, WebAssembly, and .NET MAUI Hybrid apps, and show how to use identity and claims to customize application behavior through fine-grained authorization.

  • Linear Support Vector Regression from Scratch Using C# with Evolutionary Training

    Dr. James McCaffrey from Microsoft Research presents a complete end-to-end demonstration of the linear support vector regression (linear SVR) technique, where the goal is to predict a single numeric value. A linear SVR model uses an unusual error/loss function and cannot be trained using standard simple techniques, and so evolutionary optimization training is used.

  • Low-Code Report Says AI Will Enhance, Not Replace DIY Dev Tools

    Along with replacing software developers and possibly killing humanity, advanced AI is seen by many as a death knell for the do-it-yourself, low-code/no-code tooling industry, but a new report belies that notion.

  • Vibe Coding with Latest Visual Studio Preview

    Microsoft's latest Visual Studio preview facilitates "vibe coding," where developers mainly use GitHub Copilot AI to do all the programming in accordance with spoken or typed instructions.

  • Steve Sanderson Previews AI App Dev: Small Models, Agents and a Blazor Voice Assistant

    Blazor creator Steve Sanderson presented a keynote at the recent NDC London 2025 conference where he previewed the future of .NET application development with smaller AI models and autonomous agents, along with showcasing a new Blazor voice assistant project demonstrating cutting-edge functionality.

Subscribe on YouTube