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Visual Studio Gets a Super Smart Assistant!
Hey everyone, John here! Microsoft has just released a new version of Visual Studio 2022 (version 17.14), and it’s packed with some seriously cool updates. The biggest news? It’s getting an “agent mode” powered by the same tech behind GitHub Copilot, which is designed to make coding easier and faster than ever before.
What’s This “Agent Mode” All About?
Think of it like this: You know how sometimes you wish you had a coding buddy who could just *understand* what you’re trying to do and help you figure out the best way to do it? That’s kind of what agent mode aims to be. Microsoft says this new mode will “supercharge” the AI-assisted development experience.
With agent mode, you can chat with Visual Studio using normal, everyday language. Tell it what you want to achieve, and it will try to figure out how to do it, even if it involves multiple steps. It can fix errors, suggest commands, and even analyze problems that pop up while your code is running!
Lila: John, what’s Visual Studio? Is it like a fancy text editor?
John: Great question, Lila! Visual Studio is more than just a text editor. It’s an IDE (Integrated Development Environment). Think of it as a one-stop shop for coding. It includes a text editor, tools for debugging (finding and fixing errors), and other features that make writing software much easier.
How Agent Mode Works Its Magic
Here’s a breakdown of what agent mode can do:
- Understand your code: The agent tries to understand the code you’re working on, so it can give you relevant suggestions.
- Fix errors: If your code has errors, the agent can help you find and fix them.
- Suggest and run commands: Need to run a command in the terminal? The agent can suggest the right command and even run it for you.
- Analyze runtime errors: If your code crashes while it’s running, the agent can help you figure out why.
All of this is designed to help you complete complex coding tasks more quickly and efficiently.
More AI Goodies: Next Edit Suggestions and Doc Comment Generation
But wait, there’s more! Visual Studio 17.14 also includes a feature called “Next Edit Suggestions” (NES). Basically, GitHub Copilot tries to predict what you’re going to type next based on what you’ve already written. It’s like having a mind-reading assistant that can help you write code faster.
And for those of you who write in C++ and C#, there’s now AI-powered documentation comment generation. This means that Visual Studio can automatically generate documentation for your functions, which can save you a lot of time and effort.
Lila: John, what are “functions” in coding? Are they like functions in math?
John: That’s a great analogy, Lila! In coding, a function is like a mini-program that performs a specific task. You give it some input, and it produces some output, just like a mathematical function. For example, you might have a function that calculates the area of a circle or one that sorts a list of names alphabetically.
Model Context Protocol (MCP): Helping AI Understand Context
Visual Studio 17.14 also adds support for something called Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP helps the GitHub Copilot agent get structured access to data, tools, and other resources. It’s like giving the AI assistant a detailed map of your project, so it can find its way around more easily.
Lila: John, what does ‘protocol’ mean in this context? Is it like a secret handshake?
John: Sort of! A protocol is a set of rules or standards that allow different systems to communicate with each other. In this case, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) helps Visual Studio and GitHub Copilot exchange information in a structured way, so the AI can better understand the context of your code.
Even More Improvements!
The new Visual Studio has even more upgrades, including:
- Live Preview: See changes to your app in real-time as you’re designing them.
- Improved Debugging: Better tools for finding and fixing errors in your code.
- C++ 23 Improvements: Support for the latest features of the C++ language.
- Git Enhancements: Better integration with Git, the popular version control system.
Git Goodies: Keeping Your Repositories Open
For those who use Git (a way to track changes to your code), Visual Studio 17.14 has some nice improvements. For example, you can now set Visual Studio to automatically reopen your Git repository when you restart the program. This can save you a bit of time and hassle.
You can also customize the default branch that’s created when you create a new repository. And the Git Repository window now has a filter that lets you show only outgoing and incoming commits (changes to your code).
Lila: John, what’s a ‘repository’ in Git? Is it like a folder where I keep all my files?
John: It’s similar to a folder, Lila, but much more powerful! A Git repository is like a special folder that tracks all the changes you make to your files over time. It allows you to go back to previous versions of your code, collaborate with others, and easily manage your projects.
NuGet, Extensions, and WinForms: Under-the-Hood Improvements
There are also some improvements to NuGet (a package manager for .NET), extension handling, and WinForms (a framework for building desktop applications). These are mostly under-the-hood changes, but they should make life a little easier for developers.
My Thoughts
Overall, this looks like a pretty solid update to Visual Studio. The agent mode is particularly interesting, and I’m excited to see how it evolves over time. It has the potential to really change the way we write code.
Lila: As a beginner, this sounds like having a super helpful coding buddy built right into the program! I’m excited to see how these AI features make learning to code easier!
This article is based on the following original source, summarized from the author’s perspective:
Visual Studio previews agent mode for multi-step coding
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