Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

It can be used to

develop console and graphical user interface applications along with Windows Forms applications, web

sites,web applications, and web services in both native code together with managed code for all platforms

supported by Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, .NET Framework, .NET Compact

Framework and Microsoft Silverlight.

Visual Studio includes a code editor supporting IntelliSense as well as code refactoring. The

integrateddebugger works both as a source-level debugger and a machine-level debugger. Other built-in

tools include a forms designer for building GUI applications, web designer, class designer, and database

schema designer. It accepts plug-ins that enhance the functionality at almost every level—including adding

support for source-control systems (like Subversion and Visual SourceSafe) and adding new toolsets like

editors and visual designers for domain-specific languages or toolsets for other aspects of the software

development lifecycle(like the Team Foundation Server client: Team Explorer).

Visual Studio supports different programming languages by means of language services, which allow the

code editor and debugger to support (to varying degrees) nearly any programming language, provided a

language-specific service exists. Built-in languages include C/C++ (via Visual C++), VB.NET (via Visual

Basic .NET),C# (via Visual C#), and F# (as of Visual Studio 2010[3]). Support for other languages such

as M, Python, andRuby among others is available via language services installed separately. It also

supports XML/XSLT,HTML/XHTML, JavaScript and CSS. Individual language-specific versions of Visual

Studio also exist which provide more limited language services to the user: Microsoft Visual Basic, Visual J#,

Visual C#, and Visual C++.

Microsoft provides "Express" editions of its Visual Studio 2010 components Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual

C++, and Visual Web Developer at no cost. Visual Studio 2010, 2008 and 2005 Professional Editions, along

with language-specific versions (Visual Basic, C++, C#, J#) of Visual Studio 2005 are available for free to

students as downloads via Microsoft's DreamSpark program. The 90-day trial version of Visual Studio can

be downloaded by the general public at no cost.

Contents

[hide]

• 1 Architecture

• 2 Features

o 2.1 Code editor

o 2.2 Debugger

o 2.3 Designer

o 2.4 Other tools

 o 2.5 Extensibility

• 3 Supported products

o 3.1 Included products

o 3.2 Previous products

• 4 Editions

o 4.1 Visual Studio Express

o 4.2 Visual Studio LightSwitch

o 4.3 Visual Studio Professional

o 4.4 Visual Studio Premium

o 4.5 Visual Studio Tools for Office

o 4.6 Visual Studio Ultimate

 4.6.1 Visual Studio Team System

o 4.7 Test Professional

o 4.8 Editions feature grid

• 5 Version history

o 5.1 Visual Studio 97

o 5.2 Visual Studio 6.0 (1998)

o 5.3 Visual Studio .NET (2002)

o 5.4 Visual Studio .NET 2003

o 5.5 Visual Studio 2005

o 5.6 Visual Studio 2008

o 5.7 Visual Studio 2010

 5.7.1 Visual Studio Ultimate 2010

• 6 Pre-installed virtual machines

• 7 References

• 8 External links

[edit]Architecture

Visual Studio does not support any programming language, solution or tool intrinsically. Instead, it allows

plugging in various types of functionality. Specific functionality is coded as a VSPackage. When installed,

the functionality is available as a Service. The IDE provides three services: SVsSolution, which provides the

ability to enumerate projects and solutions; SVsUIShell, which provides windowing and UI functionality

(including tabs, toolbars and tool windows); and SVsShell, which deals with registration of VSPackages. In
addition, the IDE is also responsible for coordinating and enabling communication between services.[4] All

editors, designers, project types and other tools are implemented as VSPackages. Visual Studio

uses COM to access the VSPackages. The Visual Studio SDK also includes the Managed Package

Framework (MPF), which is a set of managed wrappers around the COM-interfaces that allow the Packages

to be written in any CLI compliant language.[5] However, MPF does not provide all the functionality exposed

by the Visual Studio COM interfaces.[6] The services can then be consumed for creation of other packages,

which add functionality to the Visual Studio IDE.

Support for programming languages is added by using a specific VSPackage called a Language Service. A

language service defines various interfaces which the VSPackage implementation can implement to add

support for various functionalities.[7] Functionalities that can be added this way include syntax coloring,

statement completion, brace matching, parameter information tooltips, member lists and error markers for

background compilation.[7] If the interface is implemented, the functionality will be available for the language.

Language services are to be implemented on a per-language basis. The implementations can reuse code

from the parser or the compiler for the language.[7] Language services can be implemented either in native

code or managed code. For native code, either the native COM interfaces or the Babel Framework (part of

Visual Studio SDK) can be used.[8] For managed code, the MPF includes wrappers for writing managed

language services.[9]

Visual Studio does not include any source control support built in but it defines the MSSCCI (Microsoft

Source Code Control Interface) by implementing which source control systems can integrate with the IDE.
[10]
MSSCCI defines a set of functions that are used to implement various source control functionality.
[11]
MSSCCI was first used to integrate Visual SourceSafe with Visual Studio 6.0 but was later opened up via

the Visual Studio SDK. Visual Studio .NET 2002 used MSSCCI 1.1, and Visual Studio .NET 2003 used

MSSCCI 1.2. Both Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 use MSSCCI Version 1.3, which adds support for rename

and delete propagation as well as asynchronous opening.[10]

Visual Studio supports running multiple instances of the environment (each with its own set of VSPackages).

The instances use different registry hives (seeMSDN's definition of the term "registry hive" in the sense

used here) to store their configuration state and are differentiated by their AppId (Application ID). The

instances are launched by an AppId-specific .exe that selects the AppId, sets the root hive and launches the

IDE. VSPackages registered for one AppId are integrated with other VSPackages for that AppId. The

various product editions of Visual Studio are created using the different AppIds. The Visual Studio

Expressedition products are installed with their own AppIds, but the Standard, Professional and Team

Suite products share the same AppId. Consequently, one can install the Express editions side-by-side with

other editions, unlike the other editions which update the same installation. The professional edition includes

a superset of the VSPackages in the standard edition and the team suite includes a superset of the
VSPackages in both other editions. The AppId system is leveraged by theVisual Studio Shell in Visual

Studio 2008.[12]

[edit]Features

[edit]Code editor

The Visual Studio code editor showingIntelliSense suggestions and a docked Task List window

Visual Studio, like any other IDE, includes a code editor that supports syntax highlighting and code

completion usingIntelliSense for not only variables, functions and methods but also language constructs

like loops and queries.[13]IntelliSense is supported for the included languages, as well as for XML and

for Cascading Style Sheets and JavaScriptwhen developing web sites and web applications.[14]
[15]
Autocomplete suggestions are popped up in a modeless list box, overlaid on top of the code editor. In

Visual Studio 2008 onwards, it can be made temporarily semi-transparent to see the code obstructed by it.
[13]
The code editor is used for all supported languages.

The Visual Studio code editor also supports setting bookmarks in code for quick navigation. Other

navigational aids include collapsing code blocks and incremental search, in addition to normal text search

and regex search.[16] The code editor also includes a multi-item clipboard and a task list.[16] The code editor
supports code snippets, which are saved templates for repetitive code and can be inserted into code and

customized for the project being worked on. A management tool for code snippets is built in as well. These

tools are surfaced as floating windows which can be set to automatically hide when unused or docked to the

side of the screen. The Visual Studio code editor also supports code refactoring including parameter

reordering, variable and method renaming, interface extraction and encapsulation of class members inside

properties, among others.

Visual Studio features background compilation (also called incremental compilation).[17][18] As code is being

written, Visual Studio compiles it in the background in order to provide feedback about syntax and

compilation errors, which are flagged with a red wavy underline. Warnings are marked with a green

underline. Background compilation does not generate executable code, since it requires a different compiler
than the one used to generate executable code.[19] Background compilation was initially introduced

with Microsoft Visual Basic but has now been expanded for all included languages.[18]

[edit]Debugger
Main article: Microsoft Visual Studio Debugger

Visual Studio includes a debugger that works both as a source-level debugger and as a machine-level

debugger. It works with both managed code as well as native code and can be used for debugging

applications written in any language supported by Visual Studio. In addition, it can also attach to running

processes and monitor and debug those processes.[20] If source code for the running process is available, it

displays the code as it is being run. If source code is not available, it can show the disassembly. The Visual

Studio debugger can also create memory dumps as well as load them later for debugging.[21] Multi-threaded

programs are also supported. The debugger can be configured to be launched when an application running
outside the Visual Studio environment crashes.

Data tooltips in Visual Studio

The debugger allows setting breakpoints (which allow execution to be stopped temporarily at a certain

position) and watches (which monitor the values of variables as the execution progresses).[22] Breakpoints
can be conditional, meaning they get triggered when the condition is met. Code can be stepped over, i.e.,

run one line (of source code) at a time.[23] It can either step into functions to debug inside it, or step over it,

i.e., the execution of the function body isn't available for manual inspection.[23] The debugger supports Edit

and Continue, i.e., it allows code to be edited as it is being debugged (32 bit only; not supported in 64 bit).
[24]
When debugging, if the mouse pointer hovers over any variable, its current value is displayed in a tooltip

("data tooltips"), where it can also be modified if desired. During coding, the Visual Studio debugger lets
certain functions be invoked manually from the Immediate tool window. The parameters to the method

are supplied at the Immediate window.[25]

[edit]Designer

This section needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed. (May 2008)
Visual Studio includes a host of visual designers to aid in the development of applications. These tools

include:

Visual Studio 2005 in Designer view

The WPF Designer in Visual Studio 2008

Visual Studio Web Designer in code editor view

Visual Studio 2005 in Class Designer view
Windows Forms Designer

The Windows Forms designer is used to build GUI applications using Windows Forms. It includes a

palette of UIwidgets and controls (including buttons, progress bars, labels, layout containers and

other controls) that can be dragged and dropped on a form surface. Layout can be controlled by

housing the controls inside other containers or locking them to the side of the form. Controls that

display data (like textbox, list box, grid view, etc.) can be data-bound to data sources

like databases or queries. The UI is linked with code using an event-driven programmingmodel.

The designer generates either C# or VB.NET code for the application.

WPF Designer

The WPF designer, codenamed Cider,[26] was introduced with Visual Studio 2008. Like the

Windows Forms designer it supports the drag and drop metaphor. It is used to author user

interfaces targeting Windows Presentation Foundation. It supports all WPF functionality

including databinding and automatic layout management. It generatesXAML code for the UI. The

generated XAML file is compatible with Microsoft Expression Design, the designer-oriented

product. The XAML code is linked with code using a code-behind model.
Web designer/development

Visual Studio also includes a web-site editor and designer that allows web pages to be authored by

dragging and dropping widgets. It is used for developing ASP.NET applications and

supports HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It uses acode-behind model to link with ASP.NET code.

From Visual Studio 2008 onwards, the layout engine used by the web designer is shared

with Microsoft Expression Web. There is also ASP.NET MVC support for MVC technology as a

separate download[27] and Dynamic Data project available from Microsoft[28]

Class designer

The Class Designer is used to author and edit the classes (including its members and their access)

using UMLmodeling. The Class Designer can generate C# and VB.NET code outlines for the

classes and methods. It can also generate class diagrams from hand-written classes.
Data designer

The data designer can be used to graphically edit database schemas, including typed tables,

primary and foreign keys and constraints. It can also be used to design queries from the graphical

view.
Mapping designer

From Visual Studio 2008 onwards, the mapping designer is used by LINQ to SQL to design

the mapping betweendatabase schemas and the classes that encapsulate the data. The new

solution from ORM approach, ADO.NET Entity Framework, replaces and improves the old

technology.
[edit]Other tools
 This section needs
additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references.
Unsourced material may bechallenged and removed. (May 2008)

Open Tab Browser in Visual Studio 2008 in Windows Vista

Open Tab Browser and Properties Editor in Windows XP

Open Tabs Browser

The open tabs browser is used to list all open tabs and to switch between them. It is invoked
using CTRL+TAB.
Properties Editor

The Properties Editor tool is used to edit properties in a GUI pane inside Visual Studio. It lists all

available properties (both read-only and those which can be set) for all objects including classes,

forms, web pages and other items.

Object Browser

The Object Browser is a namespace and class library browser for Microsoft .NET. It can be used to

browse the namespaces (which are arranged hierarchically) in managed assemblies. The hierarchy

may or may not reflect the organization in the file system.

Solution Explorer

In Visual Studio parlance, a solution is a set of code files and other resources that are used to build

an application. The files in a solution are arranged hierarchically, which might or might not reflect

the organization in the file system. The Solution Explorer is used to manage and browse the files in

a solution.
Team Explorer
Team Explorer is used to integrate the capabilities of Team Foundation Server, the Revision

Control System into the IDE (and the basis for Microsoft's CodePlex hosting environment for open

source projects). In addition to source control it provides the ability to view and manage individual

work items (including bugs, tasks and other documents) and to browse TFS statistics. It is included

as part of a TFS install and is also available as a download for Visual Studio 2005[29] and 2008.
[30]
Team Explorer is also available as a stand-alone environment solely to access TFS services.
Data Explorer

Data Explorer is used to manage databases on Microsoft SQL Server instances. It allows creation

and alteration of database tables (either by issuing T-SQL commands or by using the Data

designer). It can also be used to createqueries and stored procedures, with the latter in either T-

SQL or in managed code via SQL CLR. Debugging andIntelliSense support is available as well.
Server Explorer

The Server Explorer tool is used to manage database connections on an accessible computer. It is

also used to browse running Windows Services, performance counters, Windows Event

Log and message queues and use them as datasource.[31]

Dotfuscator Software
Services Community
Edition

Visual Studio includes a free 'light' version of PreEmptive Solutions' Dotfuscator product for code

obfuscation and application-size reduction.[32] Starting with Visual Studio 2010, this version of

Dotfuscator will include Runtime Intelligence capabilities that allow authors to gather end-user

usage, performance, and stability information from their applications running in production.[33]
[edit]Extensibility

See also: List of Microsoft Visual Studio Add-ins

Visual Studio

allows developers

to write

extensions for

Visual Studio to

extend its

capabilities.

These extensions

"plug into" Visual

Studio and

extend its

functionality.
Extensions come

in the form

of macros, add-

ins,

and packages.

Macros represent

repeatable tasks

and actions that

developers can

record

programmatically

for saving,

replaying, and

distributing.

Macros, however,

cannot implement

new commands

or create tool

windows. They

are written

using Visual

Basic and are not

compiled.[6] Add-

Ins provide

access to the

Visual Studio

object model and

can interact with

the IDE tools.

Add-Ins can be

used to

implement new

functionality and

can add new tool

windows. Add-Ins

are plugged in to
the IDE

via COM and can

be created in any

COM-compliant

languages.[6] Pac

kages are

created using the

Visual

Studio SDK and

provide the

highest level of

extensibility. They

can create

designers and

other tools, as

well as integrate

other

programming

languages. The

Visual Studio

SDK provides

unmanaged APIs

as well as a

managed API to

accomplish these

tasks. However,

the managed API

isn't as

comprehensive

as the

unmanaged one.
[6]
Extensions are

supported in the

Standard (and

higher) versions

of Visual Studio
2005. Express

Editions do not

support hosting

extensions.

Visual Studio

2008 introduced

the Visual

Studio Shell that

allows for

development of a

customized

version of the

IDE. The Visual

Studio Shell

defines a set of

VSPackages that

provide the

functionality

required in any

IDE. On top of

that, other

packages can be

added to

customize the

installation. The

Isolated mode of

the shell creates

a new AppId

where the

packages are

installed. These

are to be started

with a different

executable. It is

aimed for
development of

custom

development

environments,

either for a

specific language

or a specific

scenario. The

Integrated mode

installs the

packages into the

AppId of the

Professional/Stan

dard/Team

System editions,

so that the tools

integrate into

these editions.
[12]
The Visual

Studio Shell is

available as a

free download.

After the release

of Visual Studio

2008, Microsoft

created

the Visual Studio

Gallery. It serves

as the central

location for

posting

information about

extensions to

Visual Studio.

Community
developers as

well as

commercial

developers can

upload

information about

their extensions

to Visual

Studio .NET 2002

through Visual

Studio 2008.

Users of the site

can rate and

review the

extensions to

help assess the

quality of

extensions being

posted. RSS

feeds to notify

users on updates

to the site and

tagging features

are also planned.

[34]

[edit]Support
ed
products
[edit]Included
products
T
h
i
s

s
e
c
t
i
o
n

n
e
e
d
s

a
d
d
i
t
i
o
n
a
l
c
i
t
a
t
i
o
n
s

f
o
r

v
e
r
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
.
P
l
e
a
s
e

h
e
l
p

i
m
p
r
o
v
e

t
h
i
s

a
r
t
i
c
l
e

b
y

a
d
d
i
n
g

r
e
l
i
a
b
l
e

r
e
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
s
.
U
n
s
o
u
r
c
e
d

m
a
t
e
r
i
a
l
m
a
y

b
e
 c
h
a
l
l
e
n
g
e
d

a
n
d

r
e
m
o
v
e
d
.
(
M
a
y

2
0
0
8
)

Microsoft Visual
C++

Microsoft Visual C++ is Microsoft's implementation of the C and C++ compiler and associated

languages-services and specific tools for integration with the Visual Studio IDE. It can compile

either in C mode or C++ mode. For C, it follows the ISO C standard with parts of C99 spec along

with MS-specific additions in the form of libraries.[35] For C++, it follows the ANSI C++ spec along

with a few C++0x features.[36] It also supports the C++/CLI spec to write managed code, as well as

mixed-mode code (a mix of native and managed code). Microsoft positions Visual C++ for

development in native code or in code that contains both native as well as managed components.

Visual C++ supports COM as well as the MFC library. For MFC development, it provides a set of

wizards for creating and customizing MFC boilerplate code, and creating GUI applications using

MFC. Visual C++ can also use the Visual Studio forms designer to design UI graphically. Visual C+

+ can also be used with the Windows API. It also supports the use of intrinsic functions,[37] which

are functions recognized by the compiler itself and not implemented as a library. Intrinsic functions

are used to expose the SSE instruction set of modern CPUs. Visual C++ also includes

theOpenMP (version 2.0) spec.[38]

Microsoft
Visual C#

Microsoft Visual C#, Microsoft's implementation of the C# language, targets the .NET Framework,

along with the language services that lets the Visual Studio IDE support C# projects. While the
language services are a part of Visual Studio, the compiler is available separately as a part of

the .NET Framework. The Visual C# 2008 compiler supports version 3.0 of the C# language

specifications. Visual C# supports the Visual Studio Class designer, Forms designer, and Data

designer among others.[39]

Micr
osoft
Visu
al
Basi
c

Microsoft Visual Basic is Microsoft's implementation of the VB.NET language and associated tools

and language services. It was introduced with Visual Studio .NET (2002). Microsoft has positioned

Visual Basic for Rapid Application Development.[citation needed] Visual Basic can be used to author both

console applications as well as GUI applications. Like Visual C#, Visual Basic also supports the

Visual Studio Class designer, Forms designer, and Data designer among others. Like C#, the

VB.NET compiler is also available as a part of .NET Framework but the language services, that let

VB.NET projects be developed with Visual Studio, are available as a part of the latter.
M
i
c
r
o
s
o
f
t

V
i
s
u
a
l

W
e
b

D
e
v
e
l
o
p
 e
r

Microsoft Visual Web Developer is used to create web sites, web applications and web

services using ASP.NET. Either C# or VB.NET languages can be used. Visual Web Developer can

use the Visual Studio Web Designer to graphically design web page layouts.
Team
Foun
datio
n
Serve
r

Included only with Visual Studio Team System, Team Foundation Server is intended for

collaborative software development projects and acts as the server-side backend providing source

control, data collection, reporting, and project-tracking functionality. It also includes the Team

Explorer, the client tool for TFS services, which is integrated inside Visual Studio Team System.
[edit]Previ
ous
products
Visual
FoxPro

Visual FoxPro is a data-centric object-oriented and procedural programming language produced

by Microsoft. It derives from FoxPro (originally known asFoxBASE) which was developed by Fox

Software beginning in 1984. Visual FoxPro is tightly integrated with its own relational database

engine, which extends FoxPro's xBase capabilities to support SQL queries and data manipulation.

Visual FoxPro is a full-featured[citation needed], dynamic programming language that does not require the

use of an additional general-purpose programming environment. Microsoft announced in 2007 that

Visual FoxPro has been discontinued after version 9 Service Pack 2, but will remain supported until

2015.[40]
Visual
SourceSafe

Microsoft Visual SourceSafe is a source control software package oriented towards small software-

development projects. The SourceSafe database is a multi-user, multi-process file-system

database, using the Windows file system database primitives to provide locking and sharing

support. All versions are multi-user, using SMB (file server) networking.[41][42][43] However, with Visual

SourceSafe 2005, other client–server modes were added, Lan Booster and VSS Internet (which

used HTTP/HTTPS). Visual SourceSafe 6.0 was available as a stand-alone product[44] and was

included with Visual Studio 6.0, and other products such as Office Developer Edition. Visual

SourceSafe 2005 was available as a stand-alone product and included with the 2005 Team
Suite. Team Foundation Serverhas superseded VSS as Microsoft's recommended platform

for source control.

Microsoft Visual J+
+/Microsoft Visual J#

Microsoft Visual J++ was Microsoft's implementation of the Java language (with Microsoft-specific

extensions) and associated language services. It was discontinued as a result of litigation from Sun

Microsystems, and the technology was recycled into Visual J#, Microsoft's Java compiler for .NET

Framework. J# was available with Visual Studio 2005 but has been discontinued in Visual Studio

2008.
Visual InterDev

Visual InterDev was used to create web applications using Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP)

technologies. It supports code completion and includesdatabase server management tools. It has

been replaced with Microsoft Visual Web Developer.

[edit]Editions

Microsoft Visual Studio

in the following editions

[edit]Visual Studio

Visual Studio Express E

set of free lightweight in

IDEs which are provide

stripped-down versions

Studio IDE on a per-pla

or per-language basis,

the development tools f

supported platforms (w

phone) or supported de

languages (VB, C#) on

Visual Studio Shell App

includes only a small se

compared to the other s

does not include suppo

ins. x64compilers are n

the Visual Studio Expre

IDEs, but are available

Windows Software Dev

that can be installed se
[46]
Microsoft targets the

IDEs at students and h

Express editions do no

full MSDN Library but u

MSDN Essentials Libra

languages available as

Express IDEs are:[47]

 Visual Basic

 Visual C++ E

 Visual C# Ex

 Visual Web D

Express

 Express for W

[edit]Visual
Studio
LightSwitch

Microsoft Visual Studio

is an IDE specifically ta

creating line-of-busines

applications built on ex

technologies and Micro

platforms. The applicat

produced are architectu

the user interface runs

Silverlight; the logic and

tier is built on WCF RIA

and Entity Framework,

ASP.NET; and the prim

storage supports Micro

Server Express, Micros

Server and Microsoft S

LightSwitch also suppo

sources including Micro

SharePoint. LightSwitch
graphical designers for

entities and entity relati

entity queries, and UI s

Business logic may be

either Visual Basic or V

tool can be installed as

alone SKU or as an inte

in to Visual Studio 2010

Professional and highe

[edit]Visual
Studio
Professional

Visual Studio Professio

provides an IDE for all

development language

Visual Studio 2010, the

edition was renamed to

Professional edition.[49]

support is available as

Essentials or the full MS

depending on licensing

supports XML and XSL

and can create deploym

packages that only

use ClickOnce and MS

does not include tools l

Explorer or include inte

with Microsoft SQL Ser

Mobile development su

included in Visual Stud

Standard, however, wit

Studio 2008, it is only a

Professional and highe

Windows Phone 7 deve

support was added to a

Visual Studio 2010.

[edit]Visual Studio
Premium

Visual Studio Premium

includes the tools in Vis

Professional and augm

with other functionality

as Microsoft SQL Serve

(which allows database

created from within Vis

and a remote debugger

Editions) (that allows de

remote system from wit

Studio debugger provid

debugging server is run

remote system). Visual

Professional accepts al

extensibility mechanism

Visual Studio 2010, the

edition was renamed to

Premium edition.[49]

[edit]Visual Studio
for Office

Visual Studio Tools for

SDK and an add-in for

that includes tools for d

the Microsoft Office sui

(for Visual Studio .NET

Visual Studio 2005) it w

separate SKU that supp

only Visual C# and Visu

Basic languages or was

the Team Suite. With V

2008, it is no longer a s

but is included with Pro

higher editions. A sepa

is required when deploy

solutions.

[edit]Visual Studio

Visual Studio Ultimate p

of software and databa

development, collabora

architecture, testing an

tools in addition to the f

provided by Visual Stud

As of Visual Studio 201

Suite edition was renam

Ultimate edition.[49] Visu

Ultimate offers a supers

based on the Applicatio

Management (ALM) rol

used for.

[edit]Visual Studio T
System

Prior to Visual Studio 2

Studio Team System p

role-specific editions ar

 Team Explor

client)

 Architecture

 Database Ed

 Development

 Test Edition

The combined function

four Team System Edit

provided in a Team Su

The Database Edition,

"DataDude", was initiall

as a separate edition a
Studio 2005's initial rele

included with Visual Stu

a separate edition, but

roll its functionality into

Edition with Visual Stud

[edit]Test Profess

Visual Studio Test Prof

edition which was introd

Visual Studio 2010. It's

aimed at the dedicated

and includes support fo

management of test en

the ability to start and r

and to connect to Team

Server. It does not inclu

for development or auth

tests.[45]

[edit]Editions featu
[edit]Version his
[edit]Visual Studio

Microsoft first released

(codenamed "Boston")[

bundling many of its pro

tools together for the fir

Visual Studio 97 came

editions, Professional a

Enterprise. It included V

5.0 and Visual C++ 5.0

Windows programming

1.1 for Java and Windo

programming; and Visu

5.0 for database, speci

programming. It introdu

InterDev for creating dy

generated web sites us

Server Pages. A snaps

the Microsoft Develope

Network library was als

Visual Studio 97 was M

attempt at using the sa

development environm

multiple languages. Vis

Visual J++, InterDev, a

Library all used one en

called Developer Studio

Basic and Visual FoxPr

separate environments

[edit]Visual Studio
(1998)

The next version, versio

(codenamed Aspen, the

Colorado), was release

1998 and is the last ver

on the Windows 9xplatf

version numbers of all o

constituent parts also m

including Visual J++ wh

from 1.1, and Visual Int

was at 1.0. This version

basis of Microsoft's dev

system for the next fou

Microsoft transitioned th

development focus to th

Framework.

Visual Studio 6.0 was t

version to include the C

version of Visual Basic;

versions would include

of the language based

was also the last versio

Visual J++, which Micro

removed as part of a se

with Sun Microsystems

Microsoft to stop produ

programming tools that

the Java Virtual Machin

Visual Basic, Visual C+

FoxPro had separate ID

Visual J++ and Visual I

shared a common new

This new IDE was desi

extensibility in mind, an

on (after several interna

to become the common

for all languages with th

Visual Studio .NET.[12] V

6.0 was also the last ve

include Visual FoxPro.

Visual Studio 6.0 came

editions: Professional a

Enterprise [54] . The Ent

edition contained extra

found in Professional e

including:

 Application Pe

Explorer

 Automation M

 Microsoft Visu

 RemAuto Con

 Visual Studio

[edit]Visual Studio
(2002)

The Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft released Visu

.NET,

codenamed Rainier (fo

s Mount Rainier), in Fe

(the beta version was r

via Microsoft Develope

2001). The biggest cha

introduction of a manag

code development envi

using the .NET Framew

Programs developed us

not compiled to machin

language (like C++ is, f

but instead to a format

called Microsoft Interme

Language (MSIL) or Co

Intermediate Language

an MSIL application ex

is compiled while being

executed into the appro

machine language for t

is being executed on, th

making code portable a

several platforms. Prog

compiled into MSIL can

only on platforms which

implementation of Com

Language Infrastructure

possible to run MSIL pr

in Linux or Mac OS X u

Microsoft .NET implem

like Mono and DotGNU

This was the first versio

Studio to require an NT

Windows platform.[55] Th

enforces this requireme

Visual Studio .NET 200

four editions: Academic

Professional, Enterprise

and Enterprise Architec

introduced C# (C-sharp

programming language
targets .NET. It also int

successor to Visual J++

Visual J#. Visual J# pro

Java's language-syntax

unlike Visual J++ progr

J# programs can only t

.NET Framework, not th

Virtual Machine that all

tools target.

Visual Basic changed d

fit the new framework, a

version was called Visu

.NET. Microsoft also ad

extensions to C++, call

Extensions for C++, so

programmers could cre

programs.

Visual Studio .NET can

applications targeting W

(using the Windows Fo

the .NET Framework),

(using ASP.NET and W

and, with an add-in, po

devices (using the .NET

Framework).

The Visual Studio .NET

was rewritten to partiall

All languages are unifie

environment. Compare

versions of Visual Stud

cleaner interface and g

cohesiveness.[citation needed

more customizable with

windows that automatic

when not in use. While

FoxPro 7 started out as

Visual Studio 7, and ea

allowed debugging insi

based DLLs, it was rem

release to follow its own

development track.

The internal version nu

Visual Studio .NET is v

Microsoft released Serv

for Visual Studio .NET

March, 2005.[56]

[edit]Visual Studio
2003

In April 2003, Microsoft

minor upgrade to Visua

called Visual Studio .NE

codenamed Everett (fo

the same name). It incl

upgrade to the .NET Fr

version 1.1, and is the f

to support developing p

mobile devices, using A

the .NET Compact Fram

Visual C++ compiler's s

compliance improved, e

the area of partial temp

specialization. Visual C

2003 is a free version o

C++ compiler shipped w

Studio .NET 2003 witho

though As of 2010 it is

available and the Expre

have superseded it. Th

version number of Visu

.NET 2003 is version 7

file format version is 8.0

Visual Studio .NET 200

four editions: Academic

Professional, Enterprise

and Enterprise Architec

Studio .NET 2003 Ente

Architect edition include

implementation of Micro

Visio 2002's modeling t

including tools for creat

Modeling Language-ba

representations of an a

architecture, and a pow

Role Modeling (ORM) a

database-modeling solu

"Enterprise Templates"

introduced, to help larg

development teams sta

coding styles and enfor

around component usa

property settings.

Service Pack 1 was rel

September 13, 2006.[58

[edit]Visual Studio

Visual Studio 2005,

codenamed Whidbey (a

to Whidbey Island in Pu

was released online in

and to retail stores a fe

later. Microsoft remove

moniker from Visual Stu

well as every other prod

.NET in its name), but i

targets the .NET Frame

was upgraded to versio

the last version availab

for Windows 2000. Visu

2005's internal version

8.0 while the file format

9.0.[57] Microsoft release

Pack 1 for Visual Studio

December 2006.[59] An

update for Service Pac

Windows Vista compat

made available on 3 Ju

Visual Studio 2005 was

support all the new feat

introduced in .NET Fram

including generics and

2.0. The IntelliSense fe

Visual Studio was upgr

generics and new proje

added to support ASP.N

services. Visual Studio

includes a local web se

separate from IIS, that

ASP.NET applications

development and testin

supports all SQL Serve

databases. Database d

were upgraded to supp

the ADO.NET 2.0, whic

with .NET Framework 2

got a similar upgrade w

addition of C++/CLI wh

to replace the use of M

[61]
Other new features o

Studio 2005 include the

"Deployment Designer"

application designs to b

before deployments, an

environment for web pu

when combined with AS

and load testing to see

performance under var

user loads. Visual Stud

added extensive 64-bit

While the development

itself is only available a

application, Visual C++

supports compiling for x

64 (AMD64 and Intel 64

as IA-64 (Itanium).[62] Th

SDK included 64-bit co

64-bit versions of the lib

Microsoft also announc

Studio Tools for Applica

successor to Visual Ba

Applications (VBA) and

Studio for Applications)

was released to manufa

along with Office 2007.

with Office 2007 and is

the Visual Studio 2005

consists of a customize

on the Visual Studio 20

a runtime that can be e

applications to expose

via the .NET object mo

2007 applications conti

integrate with VBA, exc

InfoPath 2007 which in

VSTA. Version 2.0 of V

on Visual Studio 2008)

in April, 2008.[63] It is sig

different from the first v

including features such

programming and supp

for WPF, WCF, WF, LIN

.NET 3.5 Framework.

[edit]Visual Studio

Visual Studio 2008 Logo

Visual Studio 2008,[64]

Studio Team System

[66]
codenamed Orcas, w

to MSDN subscribers o

November 2007 alongs

Framework 3.5. The

codename Orcas is, like

reference to an island i

Sound, Orcas Island. T

code for the Visual Stud

will be available under

source license to some

of Microsoft's partners a
[67]
Microsoft released S

1 for Visual Studio 2008

August 2008.[68] The int

number of Visual Studio

version 9.0 while the fil

version is 10.0.

Visual Studio 2008 is fo

development of Window

2007 Office system, an

applications. For visual

new Windows Presenta

Foundation visual desig

new HTML/CSS editor

by Microsoft Expression

included. J# is not inclu

Studio 2008 requires .N

Framework and by defa

configures compiled as

run on .NET Framewor

also supports multi-targ

lets the developers cho

version of the .NET Fra

of 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, Silverlig

CoreCLR or .NET Com

Framework) the assem

Visual Studio 2008 also

new code analysis tools

the new Code Metrics t

Team Edition and Team

Edition).[69] For Visual C

Studio adds a new vers

of Microsoft Foundation

Classes (MFC 9.0) that

support for the visual st

controls introduced with

Vista.[70] For native and

code interoperability, V

introduces the STL/CLR

port of the C++ Standa

Library (STL) container

algorithms tomanaged

STL/CLR defines STL-l

containers, iterators an

that work on C+

+/CLI managed objects

Visual Studio 2008 feat

an XAML-based design

(codenamed Cider), wo

designer, LINQ to SQL

defining the type mapp

object encapsulation fo

data), XSLT debugger,

tellisense support, Java

Debugging support, sup

for UAC manifests,

a concurrentbuild syste

others.[73] It ships with a

set of UI widgets, both

Forms and WPF. It also

multithreaded build eng

(MSBuild) to compile m

files (and build the exec

a project across

multiple threads simulta

also includes support fo

compilingPNG compres

ources introduced in W

An updated XML Schem

will ship separately som

the release of Visual St

The Visual Studio

debugger includes feat

easier debugging of mu

applications. In debugg

the Threads window, w

the threads, hovering o

will display the stack tra

thread in tooltips.[75] The

directly be named and

easier identification from

window itself.[76] In addi

code window, along wit

the location of the curre

executing instruction in

thread, the currently ex

instructions in other thr

pointed out.[76][77] The Vi

debugger supports inte

debugging of the .NET

Framework Base Class

Library (BCL) which ca

download the BCL sour

and debug symbols and

stepping into the BCL s

debugging.[78] As of 201

subset of the BCL sour

available, with more lib

planned for later.

[edit]Visual Studio

On April 12, 2010, Micr

released Visual Studio

codenamed Dev10, and

Framework 4.[79][80][81]

Visual Studio 2010 features

developed using WPF

The Visual Studio 2010

been redesigned which

to Microsoft, clears the

organization and "reduc

and complexity."[82] The

better supports multiple

windows and floating to

[82]
while offering better

support. The IDE shell

rewritten using the Win

Presentation Foundatio
[83]
whereas the internal

redesigned using Mana

Extensibility Framework

offers more extensibility

previous versions of the

enabled add-ins to mod

behavior of the IDE.[84] H

ability to customize the

content and position of

menus is limited in Visu

2010.[85]

The new multi-paradigm

programming language

variant F# forms part of

Studio 2010;[86] as do M

modeling language, an

the visual model design

a part of the Oslo initiat

Visual Studio 2010 com

Framework 4 and supp

developing applications

targeting Windows 7.[82

supports IBM

DB2 and Oracle databa

addition to Microsoft SQ
[82]
It has integrated sup

developingMicrosoft

Silverlight applications,

interactive designer.[82]

2010 offers several too

makeparallel programm

in addition to the Parall

Extensions for the .NET

and the Parallel Pattern

Library for native code,

Studio 2010 includes to

debugging parallel app

new tools allow the visu

parallel Tasks and their

runtimestacks.[88] Tools

parallel applications ca

visualization of thread w

and thread migrations a

processor cores.[89] Inte

Microsoft have jointly p

support for a new Conc

Runtime in Visual Stud

2010[90] and Intel has la

parallelism support in P

Studio as an add-on for

Studio.[91]

The Visual Studio 2010

now highlights referenc

a symbol is selected, a

usages of the symbol a

highlighted.[92] It also of

Search feature to incre

search across all symb

C# and VB.NET projec

Search supports substr

and camelCasesearche

l Hierarchy feature allow

developer to see all the

that are called from a c

method as well as the m

call the current one.

[92]
IntelliSense in Visua

supports a consume-fir

which developers can o

this mode, IntelliSense

complete identifiers; thi

developer to use undef

identifiers (like variable

names) and define thos

Visual Studio 2010 can

this by automatically de

if it can infer their types

[92]

Visual Studio 2010 feat

new Help System repla

the MSDN Library view

System is no longer ba

on Microsoft Help 2 and

use Microsoft Documen

Dynamic help containin

related help topics base

the developer was in th

been removed in the sh

product,[93] but can be a

using a download from

[edit]Visual Studio U
2010

Visual Studio Ultimate 2

(formerly Team System

codenamed Rosario.[95]

new modeling tools,[96] s

the Architecture Explor

graphically displays pro

classes and the relation

between them.[97][98] It

supports UML activity d

component diagram, (lo

diagram, sequence dia

use case diagram.[98] Vi

Ultimate 2010 also inclu

Impact Analysis which

hints on which test case

impacted by modificatio

source code, without ac

running the test cases.[

speeds up testing by av

running unneeded test

Visual Studio Ultimate 2

includes a Historical

Debugger for managed

code called IntelliTrace

current debugger, that

the currently-active stac

IntelliTrace records all e

prior function calls, met

parameters, events, ex

This allows the code ex

rewound in case a brea

set where the error occ

[100]
IntelliTrace will caus

application to run slowe

current debugger, and

memory as additional d

be recorded. Microsoft
configuration of how mu

should be recorded, in

allowing developers to

speed of execution and

usage. The Lab

Management compone

Studio Ultimate 2010 u

virtualization to create a

execution environment

and developers. The vi

machines are tagged w

checkpoints which can

investigated for issues,

reproduce the issue.[101

Studio Ultimate 2010 a

the capability to record

capture the specific sta

operating environment

the precise steps used

test. These steps can th

played back to reprodu