The summer release of JetBrains’ software development portfolio has landed, bumping IntelliJ IDEA, DataGrip, CLion and Co to version 2021.2.

Among other things, flagship IntelliJ IDEA (along with some of the other IDEs like CLion and RubyMine) now lets users choose a set of actions they’d like the IDE to take when saving a project. Options include reformatting code and optimising inputs, all of which can be activated via the Actions on Save section under preferences.

In order to make the IDE a bit easier to use, it can now detect local Eclipse projects, and will let its user know if plugins for specific frameworks are missing. Under macOS, IntelliJ also learned to offer voiced code completion suggestions or search results.

The editor’s diagrams have been reworked to include a Structure view, with diagram maps and previews of selected blocks and neighbours, while avid markdown writers can profit from format conversion abilities and easier image handling. Version 2021.2 also comes with a Package Search UI, which allows developers to check if there are any new versions of their currently used dependencies available.

Once updated, Java programmers can make use of new inspections meant to help with data flow analysis use cases or get better support when setting up JavaFX projects. Kotlin devs, on the other hand, can finally start testing immediately after opening a file, and use a new inspection to simplify syntax and combine calls, among other things. 

As usual, Ultimate users get a few additional extras, which in v2021.2 include simultaneous renaming of useState values and functions when writing JavaScript code, functionality to define Kubernetes namespaces, and full profiler support on Windows and Apple M1. 

Devs interested in tracking microservice interactions should also check the Endpoints tool window, which now comes with a microservice diagram for such purposes. Ways to work with entity graphs, see gRPC endpoints, and support for Micronaut and Quarkus cache annotations are part of the release as well.

Since the last release of DataGrip, the database and SQL IDE saw the addition of a new menu item ‘Dump to DDL data source’ to generate DDL data sources based on a real equivalent. It also has started to track local changes for object source code and lets users choose which objects to present in the code completion list. 

DataGrip’s database explorer has learned a new option to separate procedures from functions, and comes with a setting to separate nodes for triggers, keys, and indices — which can be useful. A full list of changes, which include table comments and a way to turn edge merges in diagrams off, can be found on the DataGrip web site.

For the CLion update, its creators have put the focus on helpers to debug and write memory-safe code. The C/C++ IDE, for example, partially implements the lifetime safety proposal — which can help catch dangling pointers or local scope escapes — while the included debugger better supports data rendering when working on Windows or remote debugging, and offers breakpoints for assembly code.

Organisations waiting for the new TeamCity will have to exercise patience a little while longer. However, the early access preview with improvements such as authentication via Space, a cross-plattform C# script runner, and a pending changes tab is already available for those who would like to give feedback on the changes.