Visual Studio 2010: features and changes compared to Visual Studio 2008

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"Visual Studio 2010" promises a high developer productivity. The most important features and changes compared to VS 2008.

Immediately after the first launch of Visual Studio 2010's new logo is in the eye, for the .NET Framework 4.0 Visual Studio 2010 and has come up. Initial fears that in the IDE all previous visually compared to the upside was the will, but then quickly dispelled, as the successor to VS 2008 also presented in the usual objective look, a little modernized, and has only been sharpened contours.

Although Visual Studio 2010 for the first time is based on the Windows Presentation Framework (WPF), of which at least in the Professional Edition does not feel way too. The distance to Expression Blend, the second developer tool from Microsoft that is based entirely on WPF has been preserved. Obvious changes are there primarily to the Code Editor, changes can be done by holding down the Ctrl key with the mouse wheel by vector graphic representation of the font size. Also on the second successful and long-overdue innovation you will eventually come only by accident: Visual Studio 2010 supports more monitors connected by every window of the IDE from the main window can move freely across the extended desktop. Thus, it is finally possible to consider design and code view on two monitors.


More comfort on Code Editor

It is often the little things that developers of a new version of their favorite tools delight, in which we of course asked why they have not been previously introduced. This includes, in addition to improved docking behavior of the IDE window and the fact that the close button for a window recently next to the window title and not far away on the right side is, the ability to source code to be able to use types in the before they are defined. Following is a C # developer command :

NewType nt = new ();

One has this harmless command in VS 2008 more then a compiler error resulted when the type NewType not exist. In 2010, the VS IDE via a Smart Tag selection list, that does not exist to define the type yet.


Collaborative debugging

What options the transition to WPF for a code editor, offers fact makes the show that the result of expressions during a debug evaluated are meeting, with a note ("DataTip") and is the little box can be placed in the free editor window. Also, breakpoints can be explained by such remarks. DataTips can, just like breakpoints, and exported to a developer colleagues will be made available, which works on the same project. Two other novelties will lead to more clarity in the source code: If you highlight a symbol name, all places where the name appears in the source code to be highlighted. If the cursor is placed on a method-member and from the context menu entry "Show call hierarchy" is selected, displays the Call Stack window, which methods to call each other. A particularly exciting feature for developers in VS 2010 called "Intellitrace"- at the start of the beta phase aka "Historical Debugger". Did you Intellitrace enabled in the options, the executed program sections in the form of recorded events, making it possible for a program interruption using the indicated in the margin Intellitrace symbols is to follow the code execution backwards by a recorded event is triggered. About Intellitrace context menu can be stated often invoked as a specific line or method and which commands have been executed before. Intellitrace should help that reduces development time significantly in larger projects. An interesting aspect arises here in connection with the "Microsoft Test Manager 2010". Users can associate a test run with a recorded Intellitrace log file, so that a developer by importing the log files can now drive those points in the source code, in which the tester has found a bug. Unfortunately Intellitrace only available in the Ultimate Edition of VS and works only with 32-bit managed code. Support for C + + , Microsoft, however, called into view.

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Developing for SharePoint

In VS 2010 with SharePoint platform added another one, for strategic reasons, has been playing an important role. There was often in the past criticism that the development of SharePoint extensions with Visual Studio using only semi-official add-on products was possible. With VS 2010 this has changed completely. From the beginning, are a dozen SharePoint templates for C # and Visual Basic are available, covering all the key areas of SharePoint development from the Web (supported by those designers who also ASP.NET) is used controls to the site definition to cover User. The deployment of a SharePoint extension is limited to pressing the F5 key. What could spoil the joy of the comfort gained something is the fact that the new comfort for SharePoint 2010 is available.


Microsoft has launched relatively unnoticed .NET 4.0, a paradigm shift. The first time, classes and tools for parallel programming is an official part of the framework and the IDE. The framework provides the Task class in the new namespace "System.Threading.Tasks" and a series of extension methods for LINQ queries (PLINQ = Parallel Language Integrated Query) is a developer-friendly interface and easy to parallelize "a region of code to" by this to the available cores running simultaneously. The Visual Studio debugger provides a parallel task and a parallel stack window that is displayed during a debugging session, the various tasks and the call stack. Parallel programming need not be complicated.


WPF or Silverlight better?

The fact that Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 for the first time on WPF relies not allowed to obscure the fact that the .NET 3.0 introduced the successor to the Windows Forms GUI package so far behind expectations remained is the and even Microsoft is to Expression Blend out and begins again in Visual Studio in any commercial product. With Silverlight house is also a competition in your own created, however, the subset of WPF emerged is one, and version 4.0 in comparison with WPF. With WPF 4.0 though will be added a number of API improvements, but is still the question of what role Microsoft WPF in the future will attach. After all, VS 2010 offers a slightly improved WPF designers, who will be added for Silverlight applications are used and in which tables and fields from a data source with drag and drop facility, can be dragged to a window to set up this way data binding. With the comfort, the expression has to offer Blend, can not the WPF Designer measured remotely, although this is not the strategic goal of Microsoft, as both tools that appeal despite certain similarities and a compatible project size, two very different target groups.

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Visual Studio Team System 2010

The focus of the new features in VS 2010, Microsoft has on the increasingly important topic of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM). A "Team System Edition" is officially no more, because Microsoft has been thrown into turmoil strong product range, focusing on the names of the Windows SKUs (Stock Keeping Units)-oriented. The standard edition was canceled, the entry-level version for developers is that Visual Studio 2010 Professional, with which as with the previous version only simple unit tests (unit tests can make). The next largest expenditure is the Premium Edition. The new flagship Visual Studio now comes with the Ultimate Edition, which includes all client-side ALM tools that Microsoft provides for developers. A new feature is "Visual Studio 2010 test element", which helps interaction with VS 2010 can be put together in the test procedures. Using "Visual Studio Team Lab Management 2010" can be a virtual server set up test environments. Finally installed in the Ultimate Edition of Microsoft Test Manager 2010, can be used to manage the set up tests and labs. The basis of "Visual Studio Team System 2010" is the "Team Foundation Server" (TFS), for the basic activities such as project and version control, build automation, and project metrics analysis by reporting is responsible. In Version 2010, it has been expanded to incorporate the requirements management and test case management. A new addition is on the server side of the "Team Lab Manager", with the developers and testers can set up virtual environments, to request multiple virtual servers based on Hyper-V summarize.

Two more minor formalities to ensure in future that TFS is also attractive for independent developers and small teams. Thus, the installation in the basic configuration is simplified as much (it is no longer necessary to separate domain controller) that it is done with a few mouse clicks. TFS 2010, is also on Windows Vista / Windows 7 can be installed. Microsoft calls the new TFS installation mode Basic well priced as the (long awaited) successor to the still very popular Visual Source Safe.


The UML is back

After the Unified Modeling Language (UML), the introduction of Visual Studio Team System for strategic reasons "banned" for use with modeling was in VS 2010 and it is available again. The Ultimate Edition provides modeling projects, a comfortable UML design editor for creating classes, use cases and other UML artifacts and an UML Explorer, in which the current model is displayed with its elements. The program code for classes can not derive from a model, which is not necessarily a disadvantage. Microsoft's own modeling language which is still not off the mark and should also be limited in the first version of the database design. The individual technologies for modeling, since November 2009, the name "SQL Server Modeling".


VS 2010 at a glance

Visual Studio 2010 can be, what types of projects supported in the Windows environment is concerned, nothing to be desired. From the traditional WinForms application using WPF, ASP.NET, Silverlight and SharePoint to Cloud Computing is all there.

1. The new code editor benefits from switching to WPF by small features such as data coding tips to make even more productive.
2. Seems almost revolutionary to the new Intellitrace, which allows to monitor the implementation of the code backwards.
3. In addition to C #, C + + and Visual Basic with a new language F # to come.
4. The most significant improvements have occurred in application lifecycle management and testing.
5. However, prices for the Premium and Ultimate editions are still in regions where they appear for individual developers and small teams without a large budget hardly affordable.
6. Also, Visual Studio 2010 there will be no 64-bit edition, but an IDE but can be install under 64-bit systems.
7. Who as C # expected or Visual Basic developers interface available on Windows 7 and Office 2007, is also disappointed. These things must be free from developers together for add-ons such as the Windows 7 API code or Pack the WPF Toolkit.
8. As with the last version also now a big question mark behind the performance of the IDE, which is then mainly an issue when several major projects are loaded.