Harshada Hole presents the latest Visual Studio v17.13 update, detailing AI-powered debugging, GitHub Copilot integration, and extensive improvements to profiling tools for developers.

New Debugging and Profiling Features in Visual Studio (v17.13)

Author: Harshada Hole

Visual Studio v17.13 introduces robust enhancements in debugging and profiling, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence and GitHub Copilot integration to streamline troubleshooting for developers. The release combines smarter variable analysis, improved profiling tools, and AI-assisted guidance for a more efficient coding workflow.

Highlights of Visual Studio v17.13

  • AI-driven debugging and variable analysis: Enhanced support for smarter and more intuitive data inspection, helping developers identify and resolve issues quicker.
  • Advanced profiling tools: New visualization and support features improve multi-process execution, native code analysis, and async workflows.
  • GitHub Copilot integration: Integrated Copilot features assist with exception and variable analysis, parallel stacks, and code editing through natural language prompts.

For full release notes: Visual Studio 2022 v17.13 Release Notes

GitHub Copilot Assisted Debugging Features

Smarter Exception and Variable Analysis

GitHub Copilot now enhances exception and variable analysis by using the context of the user’s project. This means:

  • Relevant errors are surfaced more intuitively
  • Sharper, actionable insights guide users to the root cause
  • Smarter, context-aware solutions for workflow streamlining

GitHub Copilot explaining an error

AI-Powered Parallel Stacks Window

  • Auto-Summarize: The Parallel Stacks window can now provide AI-generated summaries of each thread, giving an instant picture of thread activity.
  • Copilot Chat Integration: Developers can ask questions, receive explanations, and AI-powered suggestions directly within their debugging session, with Copilot identifying probable problems and recommending solutions.

Screenshot

Enhanced Editable Expressions in IEnumerable Visualizer

  • Copilot Inline Chat: Allows developers to refine expressions using natural language.
  • LINQ Query Suggestions: The tool generates AI-powered LINQ queries for data filtering.
  • Syntax Highlighting: Easier to read and review changes.

IEnumerable expression Visualizer

Profiling Features

Targeted Instrumentation for Native Code

  • Customize Instrumentation: Select specific functions and classes for deeper inspection, streamlining performance monitoring and bug isolation.

Targeted instrumentation

Unified Async Stacks in Profiler

  • Summary and Detail Call Trees: Display stitched async stacks for better clarity in .NET app execution tracing.
  • Follow async execution: Streamlines understanding of asynchronous operations.

Detailed call stacks

Multiprocess Analysis in CPU Usage Tool

  • Color-Coded Swimlanes: Each process is shown with a unique color in stacked area charts.
  • Process Filtering: Quick filtering by process for focused analysis.
  • Enhanced visualization: Isolate and optimize resource usage efficiently.

Multiprocess analysis graphs

Feedback and Continued Improvement

The team encourages feedback to ensure future enhancements match developer needs. These improvements aim to maintain Visual Studio as a powerful and user-friendly tool for modern development workflows.

Happy coding!

This post appeared first on “Microsoft DevBlog”. Read the entire article here