Visual Studio 2013 Update 2

Visual Studio Update 2 is a significant milestone due to its support for the Universal Project - write once and work on every Windows platform.  Well, it is not quite true.  This is understandable considering the drastic differences among the form factors of devices running differnt Windows.  The so called Universal Project actually contains three project - Window 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1 and Shared.  This essentially makes sharing code as easy as possible.

There are numerous improvement.  The following are just a few notable ones:

• New JSON editor
• If your model is using Enums, then the MVC Scaffolder will generate dropdown for Enum. This uses the Enum helpers in MVC.
• There is a new CPU Usage tool for examining which managed, native, and JavaScript functions are using the CPU. The CPU Usage tool replaces the previous CPU Sampling tool for Windows Store Apps and has fast time filtering, fast thread filtering, and an improved Just My Code experience.
• TypeScript is an open-source language that makes it easier to create cross-platform, large-scale JavaScript applications that run on any browser or host. TypeScript offers developers the advantages of strongly-typed languages on top of the flexible, dynamic runtime, and the ubiquity of JavaScript. TypeScript, a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript, works seamlessly with existing JavaScript tools and libraries, and easily integrates with existing applications and sites. TypeScript's native types and class-based modular programming model enable scalability and better productivity through early error detection and enhanced tooling, such as Intellisense, code refactoring, and code navigation.