Microsoft releases new tools for app developers

Microsoft Corporation announced new and updated tools spanning Android, Azure, iOS, Linux, Office and Windows.

During its annual Connect developer event, the software giant announced the immediate availability of Visual Studio Dev Essentials, a new free program designed to provide any developer with everything needed to create applications on any device or operating system, using their technology of choice.

The program, according to the company, provides easy access to popular Microsoft developer services, tools and resources as well as several new benefits to help developers get started building apps.

The company also announced the general availability of the Microsoft Graph, offering developers a consistent way to access data, intelligence and APIs within the Microsoft cloud and with a single authorization token. With the Microsoft Graph, developers can tap into the collective power of the Microsoft cloud to create smart, people-centric applications that help companies and end users achieve more with contextual insights.

Microsoft also announced the availability of Azure Service Fabric in public preview, making it easy for developers to build and operate microservice-based applications at scale that fully integrate with Microsoft Azure and Visual Studio.

Microsoft released Visual Studio Code beta as an open source project, available on GitHub. Visual Studio Code is an advanced code editor and part of the Visual Studio family that runs on Linux, OS X and Windows.

“As a developer company we want to empower developers with open and flexible technologies that enable innovation on their terms,” Scott Guthrie, executive vice president, Cloud and Enterprise Group, Microsoft says. “The additions of Visual Studio Code beta, the free Visual Studio Dev Essentials program, and .NET Core RC for Linux, OS X and Windows show that Microsoft is now the company working hardest for all developers.”