Today we are proud to announce the release of VisualKernel 3.1. This release introduces support for the latest Linux kernels and popular distros and focuses on improving code navigation for the huge Linux Kernel code base. I will give you a quick overview of the highlights of the new features below:
Latest Linux Distro Compatibility
The world of Linux distributions is extremely diverse. Different package managers, different kernel configurations and patches, different tools, you name it. As a result, trying to manually build and debug a kernel module, let alone a custom kernel, would almost guarantee some headache with initial setup. So we have meticulously tested VisualKernel 3.1 with the latest Linux distros and ensured it automatically applies the necessary workarounds and produces usable module and kernel projects out-of-the box for:
- Ubuntu 18 with kernels up to 5.0.2
- CentOS 7
- Debian 9.8
- Fedora 9.2 with kernels up to 5.0.5
- Mint 19
- Raspberry Pi Kernel 4.19.32
Improved Code Navigation
VisualKernel 3.1 comes with CodeJumps – a powerful code navigation interface based on the Clang IntelliSense engine. Simply click on the navigation label near any function, field, type or a global variable and you can instantly view its references, call tree, or even find all functions assigned to a specific function pointer:
Faster File Synchronization
VisualKernel 3.1 fully supports SysprogsSync – a highly optimized file synchronization engine that is fully aware of the Linux symbolic links and special file names and will work much faster than the tar-based file synchronization. This means faster caching of kernel sources and modules, less setup overhead and more streamlined development experience.
Improved Visual Studio Integration
In VisualKernel 3.1 we have added support for Visual Studio 2019 and heavily optimized the initialization logic. Having VisualKernel installed will no longer affect the Visual Studio startup time, as it will only be initialized once you create or open a VisualKernel-based project.
Try It Out
You can download the latest VisualKernel from this page. If you encounter any problems, or would like to suggest a feature, feel free to reach out to us via our support form or post on the forum.