The latest Windows 11 update has opened up a number of new options and configurations aimed specifically at developers.
The highly anticipated Windows 11 23H2 update includes Dev Home as a new installation configuration, allowing developers to tailor their installation to their needs.
The upgrade will add Window’s long-awaited AI companion, Copilot, which will help users improve their efficiency by providing recommendations and completing everyday tasks – but we’re also excited about some new additional features for developers…
So what’s new for developers?
Firstly, monitoring your hardware performance has never been easier thanks to the addition of customizable widgets. These can be pasted onto your dashboard alongside a number of GitHub widgets, giving you a dashboard that allows you to fully monitor your project.
Not only that, but you also have the option to build your own extensions for Dev Home, including DevIDs, which allow you to log in and out of a service and associate a repository with individual developer IDs. As more updates are released, you can expect greater functionality and customization from the Dev Home extensions.
Secondly, new storage options have been added via Dev Drive – a new feature that allows you to create a drive that optimizes performance for developer scenarios via Resilient File System (ReFS). This file system uses mirror-accelerated parity to improve storage performance and efficiency, in addition to accelerated VM operations including block cloning and sparse VDL.
Compared to NTFS storage, ReFS is identical in terms of maximum filename and pathname length, but where it excels is in maximum file and volume size: 35 petabytes compared to NTFS’s 256 terabytes. However, there are some crucial features that are not currently available for ReFS, such as compression and file system encryption, but it is possible that these will be added in the future.
Third, Microsoft has placed an emphasis on keeping your project files as safe as possible by adding two new performance levels to Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Performance mode can be applied to your developer drives to provide peace of mind while maintaining speed and performance, and a real-time security mode that scans files as they are opened.
The update is also available for Windows 11 22H2 via a small package update, with the added benefit of extending support for Home and Pro, and Enterprise and Education editions by 24 and 36 months respectively.
These updates are a long-awaited welcome for many developers, and we look forward to seeing what else Windows has planned.
Through The register