Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Professional Upgrade

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.

Note: This is an upgrade version. Any owner of Visual Studio 97 or Visual Studio 6.0 and later--except standard versions--is eligible for the upgrade.

Head to head eclipse is hands down the clear winner, but hey I suggest you draw your own opinions. Download eclipse and see for yourself.


MS shoots and scores   August 27, 2002
I've been using VS.NET for about 4 months now, and everyday I get more excited about it capabilities. I'm an experienced VB5/6 programmer and VB.NET is a whole new level. The OO features are welcomed and I've been waiting for them. VB development environment has always been the key to RAD in my mind. VS.NET takes that a step further and offers many new enhancements. The VB language is now very eligant and clean with loads a capability provided by the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework simplifies many methods I used to code by hand, and the extent of the base classes are sick!

I have to mention distribution also... I distributed some apps around the company on many machines without installing a single .NET component, just load the framework and you're going (unless you need a legacy COM component).


Adios Java!   July 19, 2002
3 out of 9 found this review helpful

Finished a Java course a few months ago and thought, ok, as far as oop goes, Java is top notch, but boy, oh boy, do the IDE's out there for Java stink! Then I got a hold of VS.NET and started learning C#. Wow! What a killer combo! Even using C# with the free SharpDevelop is better than Java and the incredibly bad Forte. I'll admit JBuilder is pretty good, but no way does it compare to VS.NET. And yes folks, you WILL see .NET applications running on Unix, Linux and Mac very soon, so start learning now!! Gee, you think this might give Sun less to wine about? We'll see. :-)