Microsoft Introduces Visual Studio for macOS Preview

Microsoft has announced that it will release a macOS preview version of the Visual Studio development environment. The functionality must match the Windows variant. Microsoft plans to make the preview available at its Connect event.

According to Microsoft, the emphasis is on compatibility and Visual Studio users should be able to use projects without conversion on different platforms. However, there is not yet support for all project types. The macOS version focuses primarily on developing native iOS, Android and Mac applications with Xamarin, which was acquired by Microsoft early this year and integrated into Visual Studio.

In addition, this version is suitable for developing server applications with .Net Core. The preview version supports both C# and F# and is based on Xamarin Studio. Users can use their existing C# libraries and reuse code through Xamarin.Forms, Microsoft said.

Like Xamarin Studio, the macOS software is based on the open source MonoDevelop environment. Other similarities with Visual Studio include the use of the Roslyn compiler platform and support for TextMate bundles. The workspace must also be recognizable to existing Visual Studio users. There are differences, for example in the toolbar.

Earlier, Microsoft made a slimmed-down version of Visual Studio available for the Mac. The Connect event will take place from November 16-18.