There is now a minimal version of VS Code that can run in a browser that is available for development and testing.  

Welcome to the November 2018 release of Visual Studio Code. There are a number of significant updates in this version that we hope you will like, some of the key highlights include:

• Multiline search improvements - Easily create multiline search patterns without using regex.
• Custom title bar on Linux - The custom title and menu bar is now the default on Linux.
• References view - Find All References view includes history of recent searches.
• Snippet comment variables - Snippet variables insert correct comment per language.
• JS/TS callback display - Now you can see the context of anonymous callbacks.
• JSDoc Markdown highlighting - Including syntax highlighting for Markdown code blocks in JSDoc.
• Simplified debug configuration - Better defaults and Quick Pick UI for initial launch configuration.
• Run tasks on folder open - Configure tasks to run when you first open a project folder.
• Choose extension version - Install earlier versions of Marketplace extensions. 

Today we’re making a new extension available that enables C++ development in Visual Studio for Linux. With this extension you can author C++ code for Linux servers, desktops and devices. You can manage your connections to these machines from within VS. VS wil 

• We improved solution load performance by optimizing design time build.
• We've added installation progress details on Visual Studio Installer.
• You can pause your installation and resume at a later time.
• We streamlined the update process so the notification takes you directly to the Installer.
• Non-administrators can create a VS layout.
• We added a new shortcut for Edit.Duplicate in the keyboard mapping.
• We made significant improvements to the F# language and tools, particularly for .NET Core SDK projects.
• The C++ compiler optimizes your code to run faster through improved optimizations.
• C++ Mapfile generation overhead is reduced in full linking scenarios.
• Debug options are available for Embedded ARM GCC support.
• We added strong name signing on CoreCLR for the C# compiler.
• Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin has lots of new productivity updates for iOS and Android developers.
• Python no longer requires a completion DB, and Anaconda users have support for conda.
• The Performance Profiler's CPU Usage Tool can display logical call stacks for asynchronous code.
• The CPU Usage tool displays source line highlighting and async/await code with logical 'Call Stack Stitching'.
• The debugger supports thread names set via SetThreadDescription APIs in dump debugging.
• Snapshot Debugging can be started from the Debug Target dropdown for ASP.NET applications.
• We've launched the initial implementation of Navigate to decompiled sources for .NET code navigation.
• New enhancements for Configure Continuous Delivery include support for TFVC, Git authentication over SSH, and containerized projects.
• You can now click on the Continuous Delivery tile in Team Explorer to configure automated build and deployments for your application.
• Team Explorer supports Git tags and checking out pull request branches.
• Service Fabric Tooling for the 6.1 Service Fabric release is now available.
• The Windows 10 Insider Preview SDK can be installed as an optional component.
• File versions for a number of Visual Studio executables now reflect the minor release.
• Test Explorer has a hierarchy view and real time test discovery is now on by default.
• We have added support for testing Win10 IoT Core applications.
• Visual Studio Build Tools supports TypeScript and Node.js.
• ClickOnce Tools support signing application and deployment manifests with CNG certificate.
• You can access Azure resources such as Key Vault using your Visual Studio accounts. 

We're pleased to announce that version 2.0 of the GitHub Extension for Visual Studio is now available. You can install it directly from the Tools and Extensions gallery in Visual Studio, as well as from our releases page and our website. 

• We added support to change installation locations.
• You can Save All your pending changes before you start your update.
• The update dialog provides you even more details about your update during installation.
• C# 7.3 is included in Visual Studio version 15.7.
• We improved solution load time for C# and VB projects.
• We made numerous updates to F# and its tools, with a focus on performance.
• We reduced the time to enable IntelliSense for large .NET Core projects by 25%.
• We made Quick Info improvements and new .NET refactorings like convert for-to-foreach and make private fields readonly.
• We added the ability to publish ASP.NET Core applications to App Service Linux without containers.
• Live Unit Testing works with embedded pdbs and supports projects that use reference assemblies.
• The Test Explorer has more responsive icons during test runs.
• C++ developers can use CodeLens for unit testing.
• We added new rules enforcing items from the C++ Core Guidelines.
• Debugging large solutions with /Debug:fastlink PDBs is more robust.
• CMake integration supports CMake 3.11 and static analysis.
• Python projects support type hints in IntelliSense, and a Run MyPy command has been added to look for typing errors in your code.
• Conda environments are supported in Python projects.
• We added a next version of our Python debugger based on the popular open source pydevd debugger.
• TypeScript 2.8 is included in Visual Studio version 15.7.
• We improved Kestrel HTTPs support during debugging.
• We added support for JavaScript debugging with Microsoft Edge.
• The Debugger supports VSTS and GitHub Authentication for Source Link.
• IntelliTrace’s step-back debugging feature is supported for debugging .NET Core projects.
• We added IntelliTrace support for taking snapshots on exceptions.
• We removed the blocking modal dialog from branch checkouts in Git when a solution or project reload is not required.
• There is an option to choose between OpenSSL and SChannel in Git.
• You can create and associate Azure Key Vaults from within the Visual Studio IDE.
• Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin can automatically install missing Android API levels required by Xamarin.Android projects.
• The Xamarin.Forms XAML editor provides IntelliSense and quick fixes for conditional XAML.
• We added support for Azure, UWP, and additional project types in Visual Studio Build Tools.
• You can create build servers without installing all of Visual Studio.
• The Windows 10 April 2018 Update SDK - Build 17134 is the default required SDK for the Universal Windows Platform development workload.
• We added support for Visual State Management for all UWP apps and more.
• We enabled automatic updates for sideloaded APPX packages.
• You have new tools for migrating to NuGet PackageReference.
• We added support for NuGet package signatures.
• We added Service Fabric Tooling for the 6.2 Service Fabric release.
• We updated Entity Framework Tools to work with the EF 6.2 runtime and to improve reverse engineering of existing databases.

The IL Linker is a tool one can use to only ship the minimal possible IL code and metadata that a set of programs might require to run as opposed to the full libraries

Summary of Notable New Features in 15.9

• You can now import and export an installation configuration file that specifies which workloads and components should be installed with an instance of Visual Studio.
• We have improved the debugging experience for NuGet packages using the new symbol package format (.snupkg).
• Step back in debugger is now available in C++ for Enterprise customers.
• C++ IntelliSense now responds to changes in the remote environment for both CMake and MSBuild projects targeting Linux.
• We have made updates to UWP Desktop Bridge framework packages and added support for ARM64 C++ Native Desktop scenarios.
• We added support for the range-v3 library with the MSVC 15.9 compiler.
• We fixed several bugs in the F# compiler and F# tools.
• Language service support for new TypeScript features for semantic file renaming and project references.
• Improved Node.js development by updating Vue.js templates and adding support for unit testing using the Jest framework.
• We added SharePoint 2019 project templates, so you can migrate existing SharePoint 2013 and 2016 projects to SharePoint 2019.
• Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin now supports Xcode 10.
• We made improvements to the Xamarin.Android build performance.
• We have added and improved features for Universal Windows Platform developers, including ARM64 support, the latest preview SDK, better debugging of Desktop Bridge applications, and XAML Designer improvements.
• Substantial improvements were made to the experience of using authenticated package feeds.
• There is now support for lock file to enable repeatable restore for PackageReference based projects.
• We have added support for the new license format for NuGet packages.
• We have introduced NuGet client policies in Visual Studio which enables you to lock down environments such that only trusted packages can be installed.
• We made the use of .NET Core within Visual Studio more predictable.

Top Issues Fixed in 15.9

• No way to change "Find All References" background color.
• "Visual C++ Resource Editor Package" load failed.
• VS2017 v15.8 Build does not start if XAML files are not manually saved first.
• Installation failed - manifest signature verification failed.
• Update 15.8.6 breaks Installer Projects.
• Scrolling up with the arrow key causes Visual Studio to page up.
• After updating to 15.8.1, data tip does not show when debugging.
• System.InvalidProgramException: Common Language Runtime detected an invalid program..
• Solution Explorer does not remain pinned after closing Visual Studio.
• Navigation bar in editor has trouble handling long method names. 

ReSharper's unit testing assistance is now available for NUnit and xUnit.net unit tests in ASP.NET Core and .NET Core projects in Visual Studio 2015.