More Cloud Dev Services Arrive with Visual Studio 2013

Visual Studio (VS) 2013, the .NET Framework 4.5.1, and Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2013 became generally available in Nov. 2013. The latest tools and technologies receive a broad set of improvements over VS 2012, which was released about one year ago. Microsoft also launched new hosted developer services branded Visual Studio Online, which include services previously offered under the Team Foundation Service name, a browser-based integrated development environment (IDE) that can be used with Azure Web Sites, and an application telemetry service. The releases emphasize development strategies that leverage Microsoft’s hosted services, which may now be attractive to more organizations.

Cloud, Mobile, Editor Tools Improved

VS 2013 delivers improvements to the IDE, which has a user interface (UI) primarily composed of a code editor and supporting tools that are exposed in sub-windows that can be displayed and arranged to a developer’s preference. The improvements, which could help developers work with hosted services such as SharePoint Online, build applications for mobile devices, target Windows 8.1, and customize and navigate the IDE, include the following: