News
Visual Studio 2017 To Be Released March 7
With Visual Studio 2017's official launch next month, the Visual Studio team is polishing up the recently released VS 2017 RC3 with some minor updates and fixes.
- By Michael Domingo
- 02/09/2017
The Visual Studio team has released a pack of updates that amount to some minor fixes for the Visual Studio 2017 Release Candidate 3 that was let loose on the Web a week ago. The team also set a definitive launch date for the feature-complete suite: March 7.
The most recent update, dubbed Build 26260.00, includes updates to the .NET Core SDK, including a new templating engine for projects originating from the dotnet new command. Feedback from developers also precipitated a change in the .NET Standard library class template under the .NET Standard node. Rich Lander, a Microsoft program manager with the Common Language Runtime team, writes in a blog post that there are also about 50 quality fixes "across the .NET CLI, NuGet, MSBuild and also in Visual Studio," and adds, "We will continue to squash bugs as we get closer to Visual Studio 2017 RTM."
The build also adds Redgate SQL Prompt, which provides SQL code completion while coding, and a number of Developer Analytics Tools enhancements.
Outside of fixes covered in the release notes, there is one tool worth noting that is related to VS 2017 RC3. A blog from VS senior program manager Ahmed Metwally posted earlier this week offers up details on a new tool, Continuous Delivery Tools for Visual Studio 2017, which he explains is aimed at streamlining the automated build and release of ASP.NET and .NET Core projects targeting Azure App Services and Azure Container Services. It belongs to that category of tools coming from Microsoft's DevLabs extension, which are "experimental," which means the tools are nascent (such projects can be killed at any time) and so aren't backed by any official support.
Just like this update, from now until launch on March 7 will likely be fixes and updates, but no major feature enhancements or additions. The team will mark the occasion with a two-day livestreamed event at https://launch.visualstudio.com/. Julia Liuson, Corporate Vice President, Visual Studio, blogs about the launch here and also provides a short history on Visual Studio's development.
On a side note: Did you know that the original Visual Studio suite, dubbed Visual Studio 97, was launched on January 28, 1997? That's right: Liuson notes that Visual Studio is 20 years old.
About the Author
Michael Domingo is a long-time software publishing veteran, having started up and managed several developer publications for the Clipper compiler, Microsoft Access, and Visual Basic. He's also managed IT pubs for 1105 Media, including Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine and Virtualization Review before landing his current gig as Visual Studio Magazine Editor in Chief. Besides his publishing life, he's a professional photographer, whose work can be found by Googling domingophoto.