Visual Studio Codespaces – formerly known as Visual Studio Online – allows you to create Visual Studio solutions entirely in the cloud across multiple devices. This development environment is currently in public preview.
Category: Azure
Microsoft Build 2020 is now free online event
Microsoft Build has been changed to an online only event this year, and runs from May 19 to May 21, 2020 starting at 8 AM Pacific Time. Registration for this online educational event is free at register.build.microsoft.com.
Microsoft and Oracle agreement to connect Azure and Oracle Cloud
Microsoft and Oracle both released announcements on their recent agreement to connect Azure and Oracle Cloud services. This will allow users to connect to both using a unified single sign-on experience.
More information on this service is available at www.oracle.com/cloud/oci-azure.html.
Azure DevOps is the new name for Visual Studio Team Services
Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) has been renamed to Azure DevOps as of September 2018. Microsoft offers guidance on conversion from Team Foundation Server (TFS) to Azure DevOps Services. Features within VSTS have been given new Azure DevOp names as well.
User settings can be changed by logging into app.vsaex.visualstudio.com.
Documentation regarding Azure DevOps is available at docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/.
Azure Data Studio is the new name for SQL Operations Studio
Microsoft announced the September 2018 release of Azure Data Studio, formerly known as SQL Operations Studio (preview version). Azure Data Studio is a new open source desktop environment for SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Data Warehouse data that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
DB-Engines.com ranks hundreds of database management systems
DB-Engines.com publishes lists of database management systems (DBMS) ranked by category, including:
SQL Server and Azure SQL Database Tools and Utilities
Microsoft has made available many free downloadable apps for SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Data Warehouse, including:
- SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
- Azure Data Studio (formerly SQL Operations Studio)
- SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT)
- SQL Server documentation at GitHub
- Database Engine Tuning Advisor and dta utility – analyzes a workload or SQL script and recommends data server structures to improve performance
- mssql-cli – a command-line tool for querying SQL Server on Windows, macOS, or Linux
- SqlCmd utility and Microsoft Command Line Utilities
- Database Console Commands (DBCC)
- SQL Server Diagnostic Connection for Database Administrators (DAC)
- mssql-scripter – multi-platform command line tools for SQL Server scripting
- Trace Flags
- TableDiff utility – a row by row data comparison of two tables
- SqlLogShip – a command line tool for log shipping operations
- SqlLocalDB – a command line tool for SQL Server Express LocalDB
- SqlPackage – a command-line tool for importing and exporting databases and snapshots from SQL Server or Azure SQL databases
- mssql-conf – configure SQL Server on Linux
- RML Utilities for SQL Server – a set of tools and processes to run load tests
- Database Experimentation Assistant (DEA) – an A/B testing solution for SQL Server upgrades
- Distributed Replay – replay a workload like SQL Server Profiler but from multiple computers for SQL Server or Azure SQL databasesA list of most of these SQL tools and utilities can be found at the SQL tools overview and command prompt utilities pages.
Windows Admin Center – a new management tool for Windows 10 and Server
Microsoft announced the release of Windows Admin Center, a new web based administrative management interface for Windows systems. The original development name of this tool was Project Honolulu. This tool consolidates data from Event Viewer, Device Manager, Disk Management, Task Manager, Server Manager and other console windows into one interface. It can be downloaded and installed on Windows 10 Fall Anniversary Update (version 1709) or newer, or Windows Server 2016 or newer. More information can be found at:
- Windows Admin Center Overview and download
- Windows Admin Center FAQ
- Windows Admin Center Documentation
Windows Admin Center is part of a set of management solutions from Microsoft, which also includes Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT), System Center, Operations Management Suite and Azure Stack for Azure-related management, as well as Intune for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices.
Azure SQL Database Managed Instances offer greater SQL Server compatibility
Microsoft has made Azure SQL Database Managed Instances available in Preview mode. These instances offer much greater compatibility with traditional SQL Server when compared with Azure SQL databases.
A free Azure account can be created at azure.microsoft.com/free.
More documentation can be found at:
- Azure SQL Database Managed Instances – General Information
- Choosing a cloud SQL Server option
- Create an Azure SQL Database Managed Instance in the Azure portal
- Migrate SQL Server to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance online or offline
- Connect an application to an Azure SQL Database Managed Instance
- T-SQL differences between SQL Server and Azure SQL Database Managed Instances
- Azure SQL Managed Instances – Feedback Forum
Visual Studio Extensions Marketplace
Extensions for the Microsoft Visual Studio suite of products can be found at marketplace.visualstudio.com. Extensions add support for languages not included in Visual Studio, aid in IDE development, or perform a specific task.
Some current popular extensions are:
- Developer Analytics Tools
- PowerShell
- SQL Server, Azure SQL and SQL Data Warehouse (mssql)
- Deploy to Azure
- Python
- Docker
- PostgreSQL for Visual Studio Code
- Visual Studio IntelliCode (productivity features for Python and Java)
- Visual Studio Live Share
- Visual Studio Pull Requests
- Visual Studio Code Remote for WSL, SSH and Docker containers
- Java Language Support (Red Hat)
- All Microsoft Visual Studio Extensions
Extensions can be free, preview, or paid. Paid extensions are often charged per user per month. Preview extensions are eventually converted to paid extensions. Extensions are either written by Microsoft, third party vendors, or individual developers.
More information can be found at code.visualstudio.com/docs/extensions/overview.