Microsoft WebMatrix 3 Web Development Tool Comes With Deeper Windows Azure Integration And Support For GitHub

Microsoft has released WebMatrix 3, the latest version of its free web development tool. The new version now comes with deeper Windows Azure integration and support for GitHub.

WebMatrix users can now sign in through Windows Azure and create up to 10 sites for free. The capability means users can manage their sites locally or in Windows Azure.

In WebMatrix 3, developers can do remote editing of their sites. It has a new visual site gallery that allows the user to open existing sites on their local machines, or to remotely edit sites that are hosted in Windows Azure.

According to the Windows Azure blog, one of the most requested features users wanted improved upon from WebMatrix 2 was support for version control software:

Following the TFS and Visual Studio announcements to support Git version control, WebMatrix 3 supports both Git and TFS. The source control experience is extensible, and we’ve worked with a few partners to include rich support for CodePlex and GitHub:

The Windows Azure blog also notes that the Git tooling will work with a user’s urgent repositories, configuration, and existing tools. It includes support for commits, branching, multiple remotes and publishing web sites to Windows Azure.

WebMatrix, first introduced in 2010, offers support for ASP.NET, PHP and Node.js. Its deeper fit with Windows Azure follows a pattern. Microsoft is pulling in more of its tools into Windows Azure. For example, last month Microsoft announced general availability for Active Directory in Windows Azure.