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Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional | 
| From: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
List Price: $799.00
Buy New: $499.99
You Save: $299.01 (37%)
New (36) Used (1)
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 375
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows Xp, Windows 2003 Server
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Professional
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Operating System: Windows Vista
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.2 x 1.5
MPN: C5E-00245
Model: C5E-00245
UPC: 882224533904
EAN: 0882224533904
ASIN: B000WM04HU
Release Date: December 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Build applications for Windows, the Web, the Microsoft Office system, the .NET Framework, SQL Server, and Windows Mobile with integrated drag-and-drop designers; be part of a community of millions of developers | | • | Visual Studio integrates Visual Basic, Visual C#, and Visual C++ to support a wide variety of development styles; Editor features simplify the cycle of designing, developing, and debugging an application | | • | Deploy client applications easily with ClickOnce, which enables developers and IT Pros to deploy an application and its prerequisites and then ensure that the application remains up-to-date | | • | Build applications which target the .NET Framework, shortening development time by reducing the need for infrastructure code and helping to enhance application security | | • | Use ASP.NET to speed the creation of interactive, highly appealing Web applications and Web services. Master Pages allow developers to easily manage a consistent site layout in one place |
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| Similar Items:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition is a comprehensive set of tools that accelerates the process of turning the developer's vision into reality. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition was engineered to support development projects that target the Web (including ASP.NET AJAX), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, The 2007 Microsoft Office system, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Mobile devices. The number of platforms that developers must target to meet business needs is increasing rapidly. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition provides the integrated toolset for addressing all of these needs by providing a superset of the functionality available in Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition./p table width="200" cellpadding="10" align="right" tr td align="center"img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/ms-vs-1-th.jpg" border="0" psmallbiThe Microsoft Visual Studio development system is a suite of development tools designed to aid software developers--whether they are novices or seasoned professionals--face complex challenges and create innovative solutions./i/b/small /td /tr /table pToday's developers face the challenge of targeting a broad range of platforms and crafting applications that quickly deliver value to the business. Integrated designers and language features in Visual Studio allow developers to build the connected applications demanded by today's businesses while taking advantage of the .NET Framework 3.5 to reduce development time. pbDesign high-performance applications/bbr Connect to the data you need, regardless of its location, and build data driven applications using Language Integrated Query (LINQ). pbBuild great client applications/bbr Develop compelling solutions that leverage the user experience and capabilities of the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Windows Vista. pbBuild powerful Web applications/bbr Build rich, interactive applications using the ASP.NET AJAX interactive Web interfaces. pbWhat's New in 2008/bbr ul liBuild applications that utilize the latest Web technologies with improved support for AJAX and Web Controls and the Microsoft AJAX Library liCreate Web applications more easily with an improved design surface and standards support liUtilize data from any data source more smoothly with LINQ, a set of language extensions to Visual Basic and Visual C# liManage and build applications that target multiple versions of the .NET Framework. For the first time, you can use one tool to work on applications that run on .NET Framework versions 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5 liEnsure application correctness more easily with integrated unit testing in Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition liDiscover the full power of the .NET Framework 3.5 with integrated tools which simplify building great user experiences and connected systems liBuild stunning user experiences with integrated designers for Windows Presentation Foundation. Experiences built with WPF can interoperate seamlessly with Windows Forms liCreate connected applications using new visual designers for Windows Communications Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation liUse Visual Studio's professional development environment to build Microsoft Office-based solutions that are reliable, scalable, and easy to maintain (available in Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition only) liEnhance collaboration between developers and designers to create more compelling user experiences /ul pbFeature Highlights/bbr ul liBuild applications for Windows, the Web, the Microsoft Office system, the .NET Framework, SQL Server, and Windows Mobile with integrated drag-and-drop designers liVisual Studio integrates Visual Basic, Visual C#, and Visual C++ to support a wide variety of development styles liEditor features such as Edit and Continue and Microsoft IntelliSense simplify the cycle of designing, developing, and debugging an application liDeploy client applications easily with ClickOnce, which enables developers and IT Pros to deploy an application and its prerequisites and then ensure that the application remains up-to-date liBuild applications which target the .NET Framework, shortening development time by reducing the need for infrastructure code and helping to enhance application security liUse ASP.NET to speed the creation of interactive, highly appealing Web applications and Web services. Master Pages allow developers to easily manage a consistent site layout in one place liA community of millions of developers ensures that developers can find partners and other community members addressing the same challenges /ul pimg src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/msvs-icon-1.png" align="left"span class="h3color"bWrite Code Faster/b/spanbr At the core of all software solutions is the code that developers write. Visual Studio 2008 helps developers write code faster through a wealth of productivity-enhancing features, such as IntelliSense technology, auto-completion, auto-colorization, method lookup, syntax and type checking, code refactoring, code-snippet management, and many more. pbAvoid Memorizing Syntax/bbr Introduced by Microsoft more than a decade ago, IntelliSense technology in Visual Studio is a form of automated completion that displays a list of the members that are available for that class or object after a developer types a class or object name and a period. It speeds coding by reducing the number of keystrokes required and the need to reference external documentation. IntelliSense in Visual Studio 2008 adds support for JavaScript to provide the same benefits to Web developers, including those who are using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) programming techniques. pbWrite Less Code/bbr Visual Studio includes prebuilt building blocks for native and managed code, such as Active Type Library, Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC), and the Microsoft .NET Framework. By taking advantage of these, developers can reduce the amount of low-level code they must write and instead focus on solving business problems. Visual Studio 2008 supports the .NET Framework version 3.5, which includes enhancements to the base class libraries, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, and Windows CardSpace--and delivers improved interoperability between native and managed code. pbHandle Data More Productively/bbr Programming against data sources has traditionally meant having to learn a new data access technology or paradigm for each data source. Language-Integrated Query (LINQ), a set of extensions to the C# and Visual Basic languages and the .NET Framework 3.5, enables developers to employ a consistent approach and write less code when querying and transforming object collections, ADO.NET, XML data, and relational data from Microsoft SQL Serverbased databases. Developers using LINQ benefit from design-time assistance in Visual Studio 2008--such as statement completion, smart compile auto-correction, and IntelliSense technology--enabling them to invest less time in learning how to access the data through syntax for languages like T-SQL or XPATH and instead focus on what to do with the data. pimg src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/msvs-icon-2.png" align="left"span class="h3color"bUse Integrated Tools/b/spanbr Visual Studio 2008 also enhances developer productivity by providing an integrated set of tools for activities other than writing code. The Visual Studio project system makes all aspects of a project easy to manage, from writing the first line of code through packaging finished software for deployment. During development, visual designers, server and data explorers, debuggers, automated build tools, background compilation, integration with source code control, an integrated Help system, and a range of third-party extensions for Visual Studio all come together to help developers remain focused on business needs and deliver faster. pbProgram in Multiple Languages/bbr Visual Studio supports several of the world's most popular programming languages, including Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual C++, and JavaScript, making it useful to a broad range of developers and for a broad range of applications. Solutions for Visual Studio from more than 200 other companies add support for additional languages and a multitude of other capabilities, enabling developers to continue using the same familiar tools as they learn new languages, grow their skills, address unique business needs, and switch between projects pbManage Project Files and Jump-Start New Projects/bbr The Visual Studio 2008 project system enhances productivity by tying together the tools and files for a project. When developers select a prebuilt project template, the project system customizes the Visual Studio UI to support the task at hand. (For example, if a developer chooses to create an application for Windows, the project offers a Windows form item.) The Visual Studio project system is compatible with Microsoft Expression design software, enabling developers to collaborate with UI and Web designers. pbTarget Multiple Versions of the .NET Framework/bbr With previous versions of Visual Studio, developers could build applications that ran on only one version of the .NET Framework. Visual Studio 2008 provides the ability to target versions 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5 of the .NET Framework from within a single environment, with the editor, designers, and debugger intelligently adapting to the specified version. With this capability, developers can upgrade to Visual Studio 2008 and begin taking advantage of the new benefits it provides without having to upgrade their projects or have multiple versions of Visual Studio installed. pbBuild Higher-Quality Applications/bbr With the trend toward test-driven development and the importance of quality and security in distributed applications, unit testing is now an integral part of many developers' tasks. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition includes integrated support for unit testing, which was previously available only in Visual Studio Team System products. pimg src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/msvs-icon-3.png" align="left"span class="h3color"bBuild Software for Windows/b/spanbr Developers can use Visual Studio 2008 to program against core Windows APIs, Microsoft Foundation Classes, the .NET Framework, or any of several software development kits (SDKs), enabling them to use a single tool set to build system services, device drivers, utilities, games, desktop software, line-of-business applications, and more. Regardless of the type of software, Visual Studio helps developers deliver rich user experiences, connect applications and business processes, and accelerate solution delivery. pbDeliver Rich User Experiences/bbr Visual designers in Visual Studio 2008 enable developers to create rich, engaging applications based on Windows Presentation Foundation, the graphical subsystem in the .NET Framework 3.5 for taking advantage of today's modern graphics hardware. Developers also can build applications that take advantage of the more than 8,000 new native APIs in Windows Vista, and can take advantage of enhancements in MFC and Visual C++ to easily move applications to the new Windows Vista look and feel. pbBuild Connected Solutions and Streamline Business Processes/bbr Developers can use the graphical designer and debugger for Windows Communication Foundation in Visual Studio 2008 to easily connect systems or applications, programming to a common API regardless of the underlying transports and protocols used. Similarly, tools for Windows Workflow Foundation enable developers to model real-world business processes in software by providing the means to easily visualize, create, edit, and debug both human and machine-based workflows. pbCollaborate with UI Designers/bbr Support for Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) in Visual Studio 2008 enables developers to collaborate and share design assets with designers who use Microsoft Expression Blend design software. The ability to transfer user interface design elements between the developer and the designer means that edits to either the code or UI can be made simultaneously without affecting layout or code adversely. The developer and designer work on their respective tasks without any dependency on each other, and their efforts are then integrated by simply sharing source files. pbBuild Specialized Software/bbr Visual Studio 2008 supports more than just the development of OmainstreamO applications for Windows. When developing Windows drivers to support new hardware or targeting platforms such as the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, hardware vendors, software vendors, and others can program directly against the Win32 APIs and take advantage of Microsoft-provided device driver and game development kits to ensure compatibility and accelerate solution delivery. pimg src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/msvs-icon-4.png" align="left"span class="h3color"bBuild Software for the Web/b/spanbr Most companies that employ Internet technology for public Web sites and/or internal business applications are looking for ways to accelerate solution delivery, enhance the end-user experience, and improve integration. Visual Studio 2008 and ASP.NET 3.5 (part of the .NET Framework 3.5) provide a versatile tool set for building stunning Web sites or for connecting distributed systems using Web services. pbBuild Rich, Responsive Web Sites/bbr Support for AJAX in Visual Studio 2008 enables developers to deliver richer, more responsive Web applications--and a more interactive user experience--by eliminating the need to reload an entire Web page when a user makes a change. Developers using AJAX can take advantage of IntelliSense technology to discover variables, objects, and their methods, and can debug JavaScript code by setting breakpoints inside Visual Studio--a capability that works with the most popular Web browsers. Developers also benefit from improved designers and editors. pWeb developers will also benefit from enhancements in ASP.NET 3.5. The new ListView control provides unprecedented flexibility in how data is displayed (with complete control over the HTML markup generated), and the new DataPager control handles the work of allowing users to page through large numbers of records. The LinqDataSource control makes it easy to create data-driven Web sites by enabling developers to use LINQ to retrieve, filter, order, and group data that can then be declaratively bound to data visualization controls. pbConnect Systems and Applications Using Web Services/bbr Developers can use Windows Communication Foundation in the .NET Framework 3.5 to build Web services that are exposed using any number of Internet-standard protocols, such as SOAP, RSS, JSON, POX, and more. Whether developers are building an AJAX application that uses JSON, syndicating data via RSS, or building a standard SOAP Web service, Windows Communication Foundation makes it easy to create service endpoints. Plus, Windows Communication Foundation now supports building Web services in partial-trust situations like a typical shared-hosting environment. pbCollaborate with Web Designers/bbr Developers can easily collaborate with designers who use Microsoft Expression Web through the use of cascading style sheets and shared project files. Designers can use Expression Web to design a UI and then turn it over to developers with confidence that the UI design and subsequently developed business logic code will both remain intact. pimg src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/msvs-icon-5.png" align="left"span class="h3color"bBuild Software for Microsoft Office System/b/spanbr The user interfaces of line-of-business applications can be difficult to learn, respond sluggishly to user input, and require people to be connected to the corporate intranet. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition provides a powerful tool set for building Office Business Applications (OBAs), which extend the data in line-of-business systems to end users through familiar Microsoft Office programs. Through such an approach, developers can integrate the front office and back office, making the information in ERP, CRM, and other enterprise systems directly accessible from within everyday business processes. pbDevelop Applications for Microsoft Office Using Existing Skills/bbr Visual Studio Tools for Office is a fully integrated component of Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition, giving developers everything they need to target the more than 500 million users of Microsoft Office using the same managed-code development skills that they use to write applications for Windows or ASP.NET applications. Applications built on Microsoft Office are first-class projects in Visual Studio, which includes project templates, designers, and debugging tools to help developers rapidly build solutions based on current and earlier versions of Microsoft Office desktop products, as well as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. pbTake Advantage of the UI in the 2007 Office Release/bbr With Visual Studio 2008, developers can take advantage of familiar Microsoft Office UI elements to provide users with access to new types of information. Developers can extend the Microsoft Office Fluent interface to add buttons to the Ribbon. Outlook Form Regions and Custom Task Panes provide a convenient way to let users view and edit data in back-end systems, and Windows Communication Foundation provides a convenient way to connect OBAs to back-end systems. Developers also can build native C++ applications that use UI elements of the 2007 Office release, such as the Ribbon Bar, Ribbon Status Bar, and Mini toolbar. pbEasily Deploy and Update Applications/bbr Companies can easily deploy applications for the Microsoft Office system built with Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition by using the same ClickOnce deployment method used for other applications for Windows. Development groups can simply copy a new version of an application to a directory on a Web server and send users a link to the application in an e mail message. pimg src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/software/detail-page/msvs-icon-6.png" align="left"span class="h3color"bBuild Software for Mobile Devices/b/spanbr Mobile employees are often forced to work inefficiently, such as spending additional time in the office transferring paper-based records to a line-of-business application. Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition makes it easy to extend the information in existing systems and applications to Windows Mobile powered devices, enabling mobile users to work more productively by putting the capabilities and information that mobile workers need at their fingertips when it is most useful--while they are on the move. pbDevelop Mobile Applications Using Existing Skills/bbr Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition makes it easy to extend the information in line-of-business systems to mobile workers. A project template for Windows Mobilebased applications provides a workspace with familiar tools, while the .NET Compact Framework lets developers use existing skills and familiar technologies, such as Windows Forms, Windows Communication Foundation, and LINQ. Enhanced mobile Windows Forms controls make it easy to modify and optimize mobile applications' screens to support the smaller displays of mobile devices. pbEasily Test and Deploy Mobile Applications/bbr New device emulators automate testing scenarios, allowing developers to simulate real-world changes in device state, such as signal drop-off or a battery running out of power. Unit-testing support lets developers reuse some of the same unit tests that have been developed for a desktop version of a mobile application, or write new ones where needed. A security-aware IDE makes it easy to understand and manage custom security settings, and to view, add, remove, and manage security certificates on the device. pbManage and Synchronize Data/bbr Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition provides integrated support for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition, a free, lightweight version of SQL Server 2005 that makes an ideal, high-performance local data store for mobile applications. Developers can keep local data synchronized using the Microsoft Sync Framework, which enables collaboration and offline access for applications, services, and devices, including technologies and tools that enable roaming, sharing, and taking data offline. h2Professional Edition and Standard Edition Product Comparison/h2h3Product Similarities/h3pVisual Studio 2008 Professional Edition and Standard Edition share the following features in the Integrated Development Environment (IDE):/pulliProject system, including templates and multi-project solution support/liliCode editors/liliWindows Forms editor and designer/liliWeb Forms editor and designer/liliResource editors/liliCSS editor to create, apply, and manage styles and cascading style sheets/liliWeb Page Designer, including split-pane HTML designer, markup validation, and Document Outline Window/liliXML editor (XML, XSL, and XSLT)/liliIntelliSense, including support for JavaScript/liliCode Snippets/liliDebugging (local and remote)/liliLanguage compilers (Visual Basic .NET, Visual C#, and Visual C++)/lili64-bit compiler support (x64 only)/liliMulti-Targeting support (.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5)/liliASP.NET AJAX support/liliWindows Presentation Foundation (WPF) support, including a split-pane WPF designer, debugger support, and project template/liliWindows Communication Foundation (WCF) support, including Test Client and Auto-Hosting tools/liliWindows Workflow Foundation (WF) support, including designer/liliLINQ support, including Object Relational Designer, SQLMetal command-line tool, LINQ-aware code editors, and debugger support/liliDatabase design tools (local and remote)/liliObject and Relational Designer (local and remote)/liliDeployment tools (ClickOnce and MSI)/liliAutomation to write, record, and run macros/liliIDE extensibility to create and use add-ins and packages/liliVersion control integration support (MSSCCI-compatible)sup1/sup/liliSQL Server Reporting Services support/liliVisual Studio Conversion Wizard for legacy projects/li/ulh3Product Differences/h3pVisual Studio 2008 Professional Edition and Standard Edition differ as follows:/p table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"trtdpstrongFeature/strong/p/tdtdpstrongStandard Edition/strong/p/tdtdpstrongProfessional Edition/strong/p/td/trtrtdpBuild applications for the Microsoft Office system/p/tdtdpNo/p/tdtdpYessup2/sup/p/td/trtrtdpBuild software for mobile devices/p/tdtdpNo/p/tdtdpYes/p/td/trtrtdpSoftware Assurance-Eligible/p/tdtdpNo/p/tdtdpYessup3/sup/p/td/trtrtdpUser experience/p/tdtdpSimplified menus and defaults/p/tdtdpFull/p/td/trtrtdpDocumentation/p/tdtdpOnlinesup4/sup/p/tdtdpOnline and Offline/p/td/trtrtdpClass Designer and Object Test Bench/p/tdtdpNo/p/tdtdpYessup5/sup/p/td/trtrtdpCrystal Reports/p/tdtdpNo/p/tdtdpYes/p/td/trtrtdpServer Explorer/p/tdtdpNo/p/tdtdpYes/p/td/trtrtdpUnit Testing/p/tdtdpNo/p/tdtdpYessup6/sup/p/td/trtrtdpAdditional Tools Included/p/tdtdpSQL Server 2005 Express Edition/p/tdtdpSQL Server 2005 Developer Edition/p/td/tr/tablep /ppstrongNotes:/strong/polliMicrosoft Visual SourceSafe available for purchase separately/liliDoes not include support for C++ projects/liliSoftware Assurance provided through MSDN Subscription/liliOffline documentation available as a separate download/liliLimited support for native C++ code, intended to be used only for visualization and documentation/liliDoes not include Code Coverage; C++ support is limited/li/ol/div/td/tr/table
Product Description
Turn your vision into reality with Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition, a complete set of development solutions. Build applications for the web, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, SQL Server 2008, and Windows Mobile devices. Create applications faster than before, from start to finish: designing, debugging, and right through to packaging. Make application-building more integrated and seamless than ever before. BRBR Integrated support for unit testing Build Software for Windows - program against core Windows APIs, Microsoft Foundation Classes, the. NET Framework, or any of several software development kits (SDKs) Build Software for the Web - build stunning Web sites or connect distributed systems using Web services Build Software for Microsoft Office System - integrate the front office and back office, making the information in ERP, CRM, and other enterprise systems directly accessible from within everyday business processes Build Software for Mobile Devices - put the capabilities and information that you need at your fingertips when you are on the move
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| Customer Reviews:
Students take note!!! October 14, 2008
Students can get the full NON Express editions for free, direct from Microsoft.br /br /https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/br /br /You will have to reside in a supported country and be a student at an accredited university.br /br /This is not a review of this product, but a note to students that I thought they should know about.
Finally project conversions that are not from Hell July 18, 2008
54 out of 54 found this review helpful
Visual Studio 2008 is the latest version of Visual Studio. Visual Studio is Microsoft's primary IDE. It can be used to develop console applications, Graphical user interface applications, web sites, web applications, and web services in both native code as well as managed code for all platforms supported by Microsoft. It contains four major products Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft Visual C#, Microsoft Visual Basic, and Microsoft Visual Web Developer. However, it is possible to integrate additional products like IronPython and IronRuby. I've integrated Microsoft Robotics Studio and the CCR (Concurrency and Coordination Runtime) libraries with my Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008 (I also enhanced Visual Studio 2005 by downloading .Net 3.5).br /br /Among the major enhancements to Visual Studio 2008 (as compared to Visual Studio 2005) are the .NET Framework 3.5, WPF, WCF, WWF, LINQ, and the language extensions in C# 3.0. The .Net 3.5/3.0 is really the item that provides most of those other components and Studio 2008 provides support and IDE. For us it is the language extensions in C# 3.0, for example, LINQ, and the more concise syntax to get lambda expressions to work that matters the most (the new "=" operator). WCF (Windows Communications Foundation) is a new great programming framework that is used to build applications that inter-communicate. However, we are using CCR instead for that purpose. The CCR primitives are very easy to use and great for multi-threaded applications with, for example, autonomous agents. As I understand CCR is scheduled to be included with Visual Studio 2010/2011 but you can start using the CCR library now with Visual Studio 2005/2008.br /br /Visual Studio 2008 Professional is targeted towards Professionals (software engineers, small development companies, etc.). If you are a student or a hobbyist you should instead down load the four Express editions of the products which you get for free. However, for serious programmers they are not enough. The four express editions are Visual Basic Express, Visual C++ Express, Visual C# Express, and Visual Web Developer Express. I will put a link for the free downloads in a comment that I will add later, and I will also give links for free .Net 3.5 download and CCR/DSS.br /br /It should be noted that the Express Editions have significantly reduced functionality. They only include a small set of tools, and libraries. There is no remote database support for data designer, no extensibility, no class designer and several other tools, no Microsoft SQL Server integration, no support for plug-ins. x64 compilers are not available for the Visual Studio Express edition and there is only a smaller express edition of MSDN. Missing C++ related items are, for example: C++ Name undecorator, Spy++, ATL trace, MASM, Visual C++ Web deployment tool, Server Explorer, no create GUID tool, CRT debug library, CRT source code, ATL, MFC, OpenMP, C++ Support library, etc. Naturally Visual C# and Visual Basic are also scaled down. The standard edition have somewhat reduced functionality and is targeted towards rich and serious students/hobbyists and poor professionals.br /br /I currently have Visual Studio 6.0, Visual Studio 2003, Visual Studio 2005, and Visual Studio 2008 on my computer. I am using mostly Visual C++ and Visual C#, and on rare occasions Visual Web Developer. For that reason I believe that I can contribute some information regarding the difficulty related to upgrading.br /br /It was not too difficult to convert Visual Studio 2005 C++/C# code to Visual Studio 2008 C++/C# code and the interface changes from Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008 were minor simple improvements and added community components, which was nothing to cry about. When I went from Visual Studio 6.0 to Visual Studio 2003 and then to Visual Studio 2005, there were a lot of interface changes to get used to and some of my favorite tools were no longer available (class wizard), and the project file extensions were also different. Some of the projects I worked on also had problems with syntax errors that appeared only after the conversion. br /br /When I converted a medium sized Visual C++ project (65,000 lines) from Visual Studio 2003 to Visual Studio 2005 I got more than 500 syntax errors due to changes in variable (from wrong to correct) and due to changes in what kind of declarations was allowed (from wrong to correct). We also had problems with run time errors that appeared only after conversion from Visual Studio 6.0 to Visual Studio 2003. The reason was that Visual Studio 6.0 executables often were able to execute bad code, like functions returning pointers to stack variables. The problem was really Visual Studio 6.0 not Visual Studio 2003/2005, but when you converted from Visual Studio 6.0 to Visual Studio 2003 the bad code caught up with you. Goofy project settings could also not be converted. It was a lot of work to clean this up.br /br /When I converted the same medium sized Visual C++ project mentioned above from Visual 2005 C++ to Visual 2008 C++ I got no syntax errors and it ran fine the first time. When I converted a much larger application containing several projects with mostly C# code but also managed C++ code that loaded dynamic link libraries built using un-managed Visual 6.0 C++ code, it built and ran problem free instantly. The Visual Studio 2008 Conversion Wizard is also nice. However, there was a small gotcha. If you are doing the conversion offline (without access to configuration control management) and you answer yes, to the question that you do want to have the project files made writable, then this might actually not happen, with the result that the conversion fails. The failure to change the read-only status of the project files happened only for the projects containing both managed and un-managed C++ code (in a mostly Visual C# application). I don't know if that was a coincidence, or if I goofed.br /br /So it seems like the conversion from Visual Studio 2005 to Visual Studio 2008 is much less painful then previous conversions used to be. However, if you convert a Visual Studio 6.0 project to a Visual Studio 2008 project then you might have all the issues mentioned above as when converting to Visual Studio 2003 and Visual Studio 2005. However, this does not mean that Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008 are similar. There are a lot of new and very useful components that have been added to Visual Studio 2008.br /br /I already mentioned the language extensions in C# 3.0 (as compared to C# 2.0), for example, LINQ (querying data bases) which allows you to build strongly typed query expressions. Personally I am hoping that C# will in time more or less replace both C++ and Java. Another component I already mentioned is Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF); a new GUI toolkit that allows you to build extremely interactive and media-rich front ends (2D and 3D graphics and animations) for desktop applications (and web applications). The WPF Designer also provides a split view and snap lines for aligning controls and text. Windows Communication Foundation which allows you to build distributed applications (but we are using CCR instead). WWF allows you to define, execute and monitor workflows to model complex business processes, IntelliSense has been significantly improved and now supports JScript authoring and ASP.NET AJAX scripting. There is a Report Wizard, a class designer extension for unmanaged code, Object Browser improvements, and MSBuild recognizes when a system has multiple processors and uses all the available processors to reduce the build time. br /br /I should add that I have bought two copies of Visual Studio 2005 Professional with MSDN from Amazon (actually my wife did) and I was happy with the price and the delivery. However, I did not get my Visual Studio 2008 from Amazon. As I am become more familiar with Visual Studio 2008 and gain additional experience from using I will probably edit or add to this review.br /
Microsoft is the best of the best of the best. July 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've been using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional for about 2 months. Its IDE works great for multiple languages like C++, C# and Visual Basic. The IntelliSense greatly improves coding and productivity when creating Applications. The automagic controls alignment makes forms editing and designing visually easier. In addition, there is a vast wealth of online help, content and code samples to help in creating new software.
I love VS 2008 March 30, 2008
8 out of 14 found this review helpful
OK, I downloaded the 90 day trial from Microsoft originally. There are some advantages to this software that I love. I love the split panel for web development, code formatting on HTML (I think this might have been a feature in 2005, but I can't remember). All around, this is a really good release of visual studio. However, there is one thing I would like to say. This is a professional development product. Do not buy this if you are trying to learn C# of VB, just get the express product. However, if you are looking to purchase this, something tells me that you have drank the Kool-Aid.
 Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition March 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Microsoft has done it again!br /br /This product is well worth the money, of course you may want to wait a few years to buy it, wait until the next version comes out. This product offers a wide area of programming languages and aspects that offer from basic C, all the way up to the big web design! I personally use this program for website design, but of course on my spare time, I fool around with working with some small applications here and there. If you are considering to start a programming career building small applications and dispersing them out to people AKA open source, or even develope applications for your business to use, if you become tired of using someone elses programs! This product is well worth it, but beware try out the trial version first, before dishing out almost $700.00!br /br /-Thanksbr /John C.br /br /br /br /br /br /br /br /Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional
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