Everything goes well if it ends well. Last week I arrive an update of Visual Studio Code (1.86) and it did so with a novelty that those of us who use a Linux distribution that is a few months old will not notice and those who are on one that is a few years old will not notice, but for the worse: its minimum requirements included that glibc had to be 2.28 at least, and since Ubuntu 18.04, released in April 2028, uses glib 2.27 and an update for that library is not expected, it was no longer compatible.
The main problem is faced by many developers who manage servers, although they are not the only ones who may prefer not to update. Last week they complained when they heard this news, and not without reason if it came without any type of notice that would give them time to take the necessary measures. But Microsoft has listened to them and plans to release a “recovery” update for Visual Studio Code coming soon. Among what will be recovered, the possibility of using the remote developer tools in the popular text editor.
Visual Studio Code gives more time to "old" distros
Among those affected, those who made the most noise were those from Ubuntu 18.04, but there are also those of RHEL 7, CentOS 7, Amazon Linux 2 and everything based on these systems. Now, just as informs OMG! Ubuntu! quoting Microsoft's Isidor Nikolic, support is only extended for 12 months:
"We have discussed this further on the VS Code team and have decided to allow VS Code to connect to an operating system that is not supported by VS Code (does not support glibc >= 2.28) for an additional 12 months."
12 months It's what the company behind the world's most used desktop operating system considers enough time for them to move on to a more modern option, and it should be. In fact, I think the correct thing would have been to do this directly, just as they do with their operating systems: with enough time to spare, they warn that they will run out of support on a certain date and give them time to update or assume the consequences, but making an informed decision.
By early 2025, anyone using a Linux distribution with glibc 2.27 or earlier will need to have upgraded to something newer or will no longer be able to use the editor and its tools to manage servers remotely.