Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Professional 2002

The common runtime is language-neutral so, for example, Visual Basic programmers can use components written in C# and vice versa. Other languages, such as COBOL and FORTRAN, can plug into Visual Studio, and Microsoft provides a version of the Java language called J#.

Overall, Visual Studio .NET is a radical break from the past for Microsoft. C# is an entirely new language, aimed at C and C++ programmers looking for something safer and more productive. Visual Basic .NET is a new twist on the old Microsoft favorite, losing compatibility with earlier versions, but gaining full object orientation as well as access to all the .NET libraries. These two languages, along with J#, have full support for the visual design tools in Visual Studio .NET. Also included is JScript .NET, Microsoft's version of JavaScript, although this comes without a form designer. Visual C++ is similar to earlier versions and is the only compiler included that can build old-style Windows executables. With a compiler switch, it can also target .NET, making it particularly flexible.

Visual Studio .NET has two distinct form designers. Windows Forms are for traditional Windows applications, but managed by the common runtime. Web Forms are ASP.NET pages, which means they run on Web servers and work over the Internet. Microsoft has made designing and coding Windows Forms and Web Forms as similar as possible so that both types of applications can share components and much of the complexity of coding Web applications is kept hidden. Another key feature is Web services, which lets developers create an XML interface for an application so that it can be called across the Web or from any platform or language. XML support generally is strong, with a range of classes for parsing and transforming XML data. There is also a visual designer for XML Schema.

There are a few points against Visual Studio .NET. One is that, like earlier versions, it only creates applications that run on Windows. Web applications are a partial exception, in that they support cross-platform clients, but deployment requires a Windows Web server. Another factor is that, with its multiple compilers and mountains of documentation, Visual Studio .NET eats up gigabytes of disk space, and the IDE tends to be slow with less than around 384 MB RAM. Serious developers will take this in stride, but casual users could have difficulty. Fortunately, the applications created have more modest system requirements, although Windows 95 is not supported. Finally, developers coming from earlier editions face a lot of learning due to radical changes in both Visual Basic and ASP.

Despite these minor issues and a steep learning curve, Visual Studio .NET is an extremely versatile, sophisticated, and capable development tool. --Tim Anderson, Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com Product Description
Visual Studio .NET Professional enables developers to build the next generation of Internet applications with XML Web services, database applications with XML, and RAD for the .NET Server. It enables developers to build solutions for the broadest range of clients--from Web applications to Windows to thin-client devices to smart devices. The RAD capabilities provide a shared IDE and a choice of programming languages, including Visual Basic, C++, C#, and Java. Visual Studio .NET Professional is RAD for the programmable Web.

In XML, Visual Studio .NET developers can build data-driven applications using built-in ADO.NET tools that target a variety of databases, including SQL Server, Oracle, or any other XML source. With support for XML, ADO.NET enables developers to share data across computing platforms. Additionally, Visual Studio .NET includes the Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE), a SQL Server-compatible database that provides programmers with a viable development database and natively supports XML.

Visual Studio .NET allows programmers to create and deploy critical server-based programming. With Visual Studio .NET, developers can visually compose middle-tier components using the Visual Component Designer (VCD). The VCD enables developers to drag and drop nonvisual objects such as message queues, timers, and event logs to a design surface, automatically discovering all necessary server-based resources and configuring required components.

C# and .NET are the biggest additions to this environment over previous versions.

Our development environment went through a few upgrade pains. The VS .NET 2003 version fixed many usability problems found in VS .NET 2002. The UI is much better than MSVC 6.0. As with most compiler upgrades, certain C/C++ language features changed, which took us a little time to resolve (e.g. , __FILE__ and a few other things). I recommend a phase in approach when migrating to this new environment. Don't jump into this environment.

If you want to do real C/C++ programming, you need at least the professional edition. The Visual C++ .NET 2003 Standard edition doesn't do optimization, but the professional environment does do optimization. Sadly, you can't get just the C/C++ compiler. Fortunately, there are more optimization options in this compiler, and it has buffer security checks, which I have found useful a couple of times.

The HTML editor doesn't create 100% valid strict HTML 4.01, but it's a better HTML editor than MSVC 6. It also makes it easier to edit basic CSS.

I haven't used all of the nifty features of this environment, but it's a decent improvement over MSVC 6. It's way better than MetroWerks CodeWarrior 5, at least with regards to price (current CodeWarrior version is 8.0, but 5.0 had some stability issues when I used it). I can't compare it very well to Eclipse, since I haven't used it that often (I like Eclipse, which is freely available at http://www.eclipse.org/). CygWin is a little difficult to use at times, but the price is right (free).

Overall I recommend Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional. If you're a casual C/C++ programmer, look elsewhere. This will probably be too pricey for you. If you're a professional programmer, you should consider getting this software. If you're a professional Windows programmer, you need this software because this is the future of Windows programming.


.NET - .GET   September 25, 2002
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

This studio is leagues beyond the last. Microsoft is easing the burden of developers by simplifying distributed application development using .NET. Sure, for instance, you can go in and manually write the low level COM interface connectors if you prefer to have the "stick shift" control and specific performance attributes etc., or you can rely on the built in functionality of .NET and speed the development process.

It seems that with this platform there is a bit of a learning curve even for the most experienced developers because of the great differences. But the online help is dynamic and useful when you get stuck on something.

Visual Basic is not Visual Basic now. They seemed to have completely renovated the way VB works.

The Common language Runtime (CLR) makes it possible to create solutions by interweaving any of the languages included with the studio. I believe there is a way to import 3rd party or future MS designed languages as well. So if one language is better at a specific task, then you can switch to it.

The integrated development environment (IDE) is meant to maximize developer productivity. In using it, I haven't experienced the contrary. I must mention that I do like the flexibility of working on web applications in .NET. You can use a grid layout like a form builder, or the flow layout like a web page editor.

I noticed a couple of funny things so far, but not worth mentioning. It takes some getting used to, but this is certainly worth it.


Best Yet   September 11, 2002
Randy Given (Manchester, CT USA)
6 out of 9 found this review helpful

I have been using Visual Studio for a long time (VB for 10 years, VC++ for 5 years). This is the best yet. Sure, the .NET platform is slow in taking off, but it is a MAJOR improvement and will take a while. The new IDE is used by ALL the languages and is fantastic. The debugging tools are an order of magnitude better. The online documentation is essential (make sure you load the whole thing, you will usually need it). Even the IntelliSense is improved. For VB long-timers, this version is probably a bigger improvement than any others, including the transitions of 16-to-32-bit and from interpreted to compiled. Software productivity is almost certain to explored -- once it catches on. The hype is real, but it will take time. This is what it was like before the Web took off -- the people in the know just "knew" it would happen, it is just a matter of time. Be on the front of the wave.