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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.

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