The first update for Visual Studio 2012 can now be downloaded, with over 100 bug fixes along with new features.

According to a blog post by S. Somasegar, the corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, this is just the first of a series of planned updates, with Microsoft adopting a strategy of delivering updates integrated directly into the IDE so developers find it easier to keep the Visual Studio client up-to-date.

The extra features in the update are organized into Windows development, SharePoint development, agile teams, and ‘continuous quality’.

Windows development starts with features for Windows Store apps for Windows 8. There’s support for debugging mixed-mode managed/native apps, and for native ARM dump debugging. Better diagnostics and testing support for Windows Store apps comes in the form of a JavaScript memory analysis tools, support for data-driven unit tests, and C++ unit testing enhancements.

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If you’re developing for Windows Phone 8, you can now make use of code analysis, and at the other end of the trendiness scale, you can now target Windows XP with your C++ apps from Visual Studio 2012.

Microsoft’s obsession with SharePoint is, surprise surprise, apparent in the update. According to the blog post, Microsoft has “invested in building out significant new application lifecycle management (ALM) capabilities for SharePoint applications.” In practical terms this means you get multiple forms of testing. You can now make use of simulated load and network conditions for SharePoint apps, and can carry out performance testing by recording and running performance suites against SharePoint solutions. There’s also unit testing where you can set up coded UI tests for simulating user interaction.

Away from the ‘please use SharePoint’ drive, more useful testing tools have been added for HTML and ASP.NET apps. If you’re a fan of agile development techniques, you’ll be pleased to hear that the update adds tools for creating Kanban boards.