Visual Studio .NET
|
|
Vs7.jpg
Visual Studio .NET is an IDE developed (2002 onwards) by Microsoft. It is for the Microsoft Windows operating system and is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at development for Win32 platforms.
| Contents |
Overview
The latest version in their line of IDEs, Visual Studio .NET supports the new .NET languages C#, Visual Basic .NET and Managed C++ in addition to C++. You can use Visual Studio .NET to make applications targeting Windows (using Windows Forms), Web (using ASP.NET and Web Services) and portable devices (using .NET Compact Framework).
The look-and-feel of Visual Studio .NET is nearly identical to previous versions of the IDE (Microsoft Visual Studio). Some notable exceptions include the cleaner interface and greater cohesiveness. It is also more customizable with status windows that automatically hide when not in use. All versions of Visual Studio, including its predecessor Visual C++, include a debugger that is integrated with the editing environment.
The most notable feature of the IDE is its support of the new .NET languages. Programs developed in these languages do not compile to machine language (like C++ does, for example) but instead compile into something called CIL. When programs execute the CIL application, it is jitted into the appropriate machine language for the platform it is being executed on. Via this method, Microsoft hopes to be able to support various implementations of their Windows operating systems (such as Windows CE). Programs compiled into CIL can be executed only on platforms which have an implemetation of .NET framework. It is possible to run CIL programs in Linux or Mac OS X using some non-Microsoft .NET implementations like Mono and DotGNU.
Versions
Visual Studio .NET
The initial release from 2002, technically Visual Studio 7.0. After the release of Visual Studio .NET 2003, this version became known as Visual Studio .NET 2002.
Visual Studio .NET 2003
Also known as Visual Studio 7.1.
Changes since 7.0
- Incorporates .NET Framework 1.1
- Added support for the .NET Compact Framework (for portable devices)
- Added the ASP.NET Mobile Designer (for building web applications for mobile devices, PDAs and pagers)
- Updated Visual Basic to 7.1 (one major change was support for inline declarations)
- Various minor improvements and interface changes.
Editions
- Professional Edition
- Academic Edition (Professional Edition, but with a bonus "Student Tools" CD and a 90% discount)
- Enterprise Developer Edition
- Enterprise Architect Edition
External links
- Microsoft's Visual Studio .NET website (http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/productinfo/)de:Microsoft Visual Studio .NET