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. 

This release contains the following improvements and enhancements:

• This release now installs Java™ Development Kit 8, Update 181 (JDK version 8u181). 

These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.7.6:

• Visual C++ Redistributable 2017 does not report the install state in a specific registry location.
• In 15.7 users may see extensions load without all of their assets and cause VS to crash. This has been addressed for 15.7.6.
• Visual Studio 2017 version 15.7.5 crashes when opening a solution. 

Issues Fixed in 15.9.1

These are the issues addressed in 15.9.1:

• Fixed a bug where Visual Studio would fail to build projects using the Microsoft Xbox One XDK.

Details of What's New in 15.9.1

Universal Windows Platform Development SDK

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update SDK (build 17763) is now the default selected SDK for the Universal Windows Platform development workload.

Sometimes, in order to get rapid feedback, it’s useful to throw together a prototype that has literally nothing going on in the backend, but lets the user get a sense of how the application would flow. The problem, of course, is that once users see such a thing, they can’t always tell the difference between smoke and mirrors and the real thing. 

I have been using Windows operating system from the beginning. When I first started using computer Windows XP was the latest operating system and it was amazing. After few years I started my career as a Java developer and in my office also I have been using Windows only.
 After few years Windows Vista got released and I suffered with it for few months and then Microsoft released Windows 7 which is the best Windows operating system IMO. And then they released Windows 8 which I don’t like much. Recently they released Windows 10 and I have upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. Windows 10 is certainly better than Windows 8 but it still sucks compared to Windows 7. 

A pretty epic video from Scrimba’s Bob Ziroll that you’ll need a lot of coffee to get through, but you get to see the development of a complete app based around React Router, and it’s free. 

Node.js Tools 1.0 for Visual Studio (NTVS) is now available for download! NTVS is a free, open source extension for Visual Studio 2012 and Visual Studio 2013 that turns Visual Studio into a Node.js IDE. NTVS 1.0 supports the free Visual Studio Community and Visual Studio Express for Web editions, as well as Visual Studio Professional and higher

Available as a Chrome (and Edge Insider!) extension or a Windows app, this tool from Microsoft will guide you through doing an accessibility assessment on a Web site including both automated and manual checks. 

Cloud Computing is currently the hot topic in the developer world these days, and it seems all anyone wants to talk about is the cloud. If you're like me you signed up for something like Windows Azure just to see what the hype was all about. There are a lot of good reasons to move an app to the cloud, but it's still not for everyone. There are some things you need to think about before taking this gamble with your app.