The Visual C++ for Linux extension provides Visual Studio 2015 users with the ability to write C or C++ code in VS2015 and then deploy the code to a Linux-based system for compilation and debugging. Source code and project files are transferred via SSH to the remote machine, and the program's output is shown from within Visual Studio.
Microsoft's Marc Goodner has released details on the new version (1.0.5) which focuses on new options in the following areas: makefile project template, remote source copy management, overridable C/C++ compiler path and new debugging options.
The Makefile project template enables you to use an existing build system (make, CMake, etc.) on the remote machine and reference this in your VS2015 project’s property settings. The normal workflow would be to edit code in VS2015, tell VS2015 to start the build, call the existing build system for compilation, and debug the resulting program in Visual Studio.
There is now more granular control over the whether or not source files are copied to the remote machine. Whether or not files should be transferred for a build can be configured at the file and/or project level. Another configuration option available is the ability to specify which compiler(s) should be used. This allows a project to choose clang or a specific compiler version needed for the project. Finally the debugger can be given additional command line arguments and the debugging mode can be set. Changing the debugging mode is helpful for situations where the local machine running Windows does not have a suitable version of gdb.
This extension is available for download at the Visual Studio Gallery, and interested developers can also browse the project page hosted on GitHub.