Developing Multi-Platform Apps with Visual Studio Code: Get up and running with VS Code by building multi-platform, cloud-native, and microservices-based apps

Visual Studio Code becomes more than an editor in Developing Multi-Platform Apps with Visual Studio Code: it is the common workspace for building, debugging, and deploying a cloud-native application across several technologies. Ovais Mehboob Ahmed Khan and Khusro Habib guide readers from everyday VS Code features into a hands-on microservices project, making this a practical choice for developers who want to put the editor to work across a varied stack.

Start with the tools you use every day

The opening chapters cover VS Code fundamentals, including workspaces, navigation, editing, debugging, version control, and extensions. These skills form the groundwork for the book’s larger project, while the discussion of extensions shows how the editor can be tailored to different languages and workflows.

Build across a multi-language stack

The central project brings together backend services built with, Java, Python, Core, alongside an Angular frontend. Rather than focusing on a single language or framework, the book demonstrates how VS Code can support development across these different parts of an application.

Connect services and prepare for deployment

Along the way, the authors explore Dapr and Kafka-based messaging, then turn to debugging, Docker containers, Azure services, and Kubernetes deployment. The examples offer a connected view of application development: coding is one part of the work, alongside testing, coordinating services, managing source, and preparing a deployment.

Go beyond the desktop editor

Later chapters cover Git and Azure DevOps, creating custom VS Code extensions, and remote development with tools such as SSH, containers, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces. Together, these topics show how the editor fits into development workflows that extend across machines and cloud environments.

Who may find it useful?

This book is intended for developers and software architects with basic programming knowledge who want to use VS Code across multiple languages and platforms. Readers interested in microservices, cloud-native application development, or making VS Code part of a broader build-and-deploy workflow will find a project-led route through the subject.

Explore a substantial, cross-platform development workflow—and see how far one flexible editor can take a project. 💻