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New Particle IoT Development Tool Based on Visual Studio Code
Internet of Things specialist Particle has come out with a new IoT development tool based on the Visual Studio Code editor, in a partnership with Microsoft.
Particle is known for its IoT platform, to which it added three new products, including Particle Workbench, which includes VS Code. The new tool is free of charge, available as a preview by request.
"Particle Workbench and Visual Studio Code provide a free, all-in-one and ready-to-use out-of-the-box experience to develop, program and debug professional-grade apps on Particle's IoT platform, as well as on Microsoft Azure," the company said in a statement earlier this month. "As a robust and flexible complement to Particle Web IDE, Particle Workbench and Visual Studio Code provide everything a developer needs to create and deploy IoT devices locally and offline."
The company said that the Microsoft partnership to include Visual Studio Code gives developers access to more than 8,000 extensions from Microsoft's Visual Studio Marketplace, along with custom extensions that drive Particle Workbench.
One downloadable installer is used for the Particle Workbench/Visual Studio Code offering, which the company said will provide:
- Visual Studio Code's cross-platform desktop developer environment for Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems
- A managed toolchain that supports local and offline compilation and programming, in addition to cloud compilation and over-the-air (OTA) programming
- Smart autocompletion of Device OS APIs while coding by leveraging Visual Studio Code's powerful IntelliSense engine and C/C++ support
- Advanced hardware debugging for actions such as setting breakpoints and step-through debugging, preconfigured for Particle hardware
- Access to more than 3,000 official and community Particle libraries, enabling more reusability and less typing
- Visual Studio Code customizations such as quick snippets, keyboard shortcuts and dark and light themes, developed specifically for Particle Workbench
"Microsoft is committed to fostering innovation, and we're happy to work with Particle to bring Visual Studio Code to more developers so they can bring their IoT products to life," said Amanda Silver, director of Program Management, Developer Tools, Microsoft.
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.