New Microsoft VS Code browser editor update – better Go, Python language, Docker support

March 01, 2020

Developer: Demand for Python skills has exploded
SQL and Java feature the most in US tech job listings, but Python is catching up fast.

Microsoft’s latest update to Visual Studio Online, its new browser-based code editor that can be accessed remotely using VS Code, has been updated with beefed-up support for Docker containers.

Microsoft launched Visual Studio Online last May to help developers quickly access the code editor from anywhere and to give better support to distributed development teams, who might also rely on freelancers.

The browser-based editor also includes IntelliCode, Microsoft’s autocomplete tool for coding, and Visual Studio Live Share. Microsoft calls it a “web-based companion editor” to VS Code and Visual Studio.

The collaboration tool was put into public preview in November with the aim of helping teams quickly prototype new features and swiftly bring new team members on board. Of course, all developer environments are hosted in Microsoft’s Azure cloud, allowing developers to dial up compute and memory resources on demand.

According to Allison Buchholtz-Au, a program manager for Visual Studio Online, early users were clamoring for support for Docker image and Dockerfiles, which has now been enabled.

Users can also pick a GitHub pull request or branch URL, so they can quickly access them.

Again, based on user feedback, Microsoft has expanded default environment configuration to include PowerShell, Azure command-line interface, native debugging for Go and C++ programming languages, updated .NET Core software developer kids, and better Python support.

Users can now also tweak environment settings after an environment has been created, allowing developers to start with a standard instance and upgrade to a premium one when more power is needed. Users can also automatically suspend an instance for better control over resource consumption.

Finally, Visual Studio Code Insiders can try out the latest additions to Visual Studio Code in the browser or on a local machine.