Microsoft Visual Studio is a development environment created by Microsoft which allows the development of console and GUI (Graphical User Interface) applications, as well as web services, sites, and apps, for the platforms supported by Microsoft (Windows Mobile,.NET Framework, Microsoft Silverlight and more).

The main built-in programming languages supported by Visual Studio are: VB.Net, C#, C, C++. Apart from these, Visual Studio also supports, through language service, other languages, such as Python, CSS, XML, HTML and XHTML. This development tool has a rich set of tools, such as: database tools, Web design tools, debugging tools and many others, which constitute a powerful and in the same time easy to use environment for application development.

Visual Studio 2008 (codename Orcas) was released on November, 2007 together with.NET Framework 3.5, and targets the development of Web applications, as well as apps for Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. Although, it runs on.NET Framework 3.5, it allows users to choose the framework version in which they desires to run the program.

By using the 2008 version, users gain the ability to capture and analyze information and also to develop more secure and reliable applications that employ Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. The three main advantages of the 2008 version are: fast application development, improved user experience and successful team collaboration.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 development environment has a rich variety of features which makes it suitable for building complex applications. It can be successfully used for:

* Developing Smart Client, Microsoft Office and Windows Vista applications
* Managing data more fruitfully, thanks to the insertion of LINQ (Language Integrated Query) and other data-access enhancements which permit programmers to use a more consistent approach when it comes to data handling and to utilize built-in classes for design patterns
* Creating new and interactive Web applications, by integrating the ASP.NET programming model in the “client-side” execution
* Enhancing ALM (Application Lifecycle Management), by offering support for the management of the whole software development cycle

The latest version of Visual Studio brings in “an XAML-based designer”, an entire set of user interface widgets for WPF and desktop applications, MSBuild – “the multithreaded build engine”, the “Visual Studio debugger” which ease the debugging for multi-thread apps, as well as new code analysis instruments. It’s important to know that the 2008 version is in fact the last version to be compatible with Windows 2000 for C++ apps.

To sum it up, Visual Studio 2008 is a great tool for enhancing a team’s productivity and performance by delivering good and fast results.

References :Ezine