What about Visual Studio for Mac?

https://www.engadget.com/2016/11/14/microsoft-visual-studio-for-mac/

Here is what I think about that. Let me start from seemingly unrelated factoids. And in the process manipulate you to the conclusion.

code-editor
Microsoft Multi-platform “CODE” editor. Using Elektron platform and written in JavaScript.

To develop important software Microsoft is using a native platform. And That is Not .NET

Not .NET anything to build anything important. Even if it is a cross-platform project, even than the majority of the MSFT written code is C++ too.

This is the crucial info for anyone trying to understand how is MSFT trying to catch up, vs Google and AWS. In that power triangle, MSFT is right now (2016) not the leading light of progress or good design. That is largely because  .NET is more and more seen as a dead end. “Even” with Xamarin or .NET core, projects are being pushed forward.

Therefore my first thought on the subject of that post: What team would care to use Mac’s and Visual Studio to develop .NET code, on the Mac?

What makes me so cocky and self-confident here? Surprisingly that is another MSFT project. Just look into the VS CODE Git Hub repo. Amazing;y different technology and application architecture vs the Microsoft legacy. To me it is a clear and obvious choice, to develop future software for commercial use.  Xamarin and .NET Core is not the best plan out there right now. VS Code is the proof of why is it so.

But, you might ask, are there no well known .NET based projects in widespread use? Yes, there are a few, well known. open source, .net based projects.  Also at the same time and these days having difficulties deploying to Windows 10. Just observe carefully the forums. Some libraries are getting corrupted “mysteriously”. This is also why no MSFT serious project is based on .net.  And on the other side, there are well known and successful projects NOT based on .Net.  Allow me to repeat. Probably the best example, which also is not based on .NET, and does not need a ridiculous VC redistribution is CODE editor. And also MSFT VS CODE is open-source that is. Unthinkable just a short few years ago.

Why would any team need Visual Studio on Mac?

Is it to use expensive Mac machines to make some Xamarin Hodgepodge?  So that it might be developed on Mac and then released on Windows 10 too?

ENGADGET (and a few other “famous” purveyors of tech news confusions) is a cute kindergarten where the facts presented in for example this article, are completely invisible to them kindergarten happy bunch. Just transparent. And that article is crucial to understand what tools and technologies MSFT use and will use(!) in its development stack to make software. And also and notably: Commercial software that is not open source. And will not be open source any time soon.

And guess what: not surprisingly that is not developed on Visual Studio on Macintosh laptops.