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Product Information
Visual Studio 2010 enables individual developers and teams to build applications across all the Microsoft platforms. From design and development, through to testing and deployment, Visual Studio 2010 can handle it all. Support for a wide range of technologies including ASP.NET, Silverlight, WPF, Windows Forms, Windows Azure, Microsoft Office, Windows Phone 7 and SharePoint, means that you can use one familiar IDE and code base for all your development needs. Visual Studio 2010 enables you to code natively using Visual C++ or on the .NET framework through Visual Basic .NET, C# and F# and has full support for building database applications using Microsoft SQL Server and other platforms.
Visual Studio 2010 introduces a whole host of new features including a new .NET language - F#, for .NET based functional programming, new tools to aid in parallel programming including PLINQ for .NET and a new Concurrency Runtime framework for VC++, many new testing capabilities including Lab Management for testing on virtual machines, and much more.
For greatest value, buy Visual Studio 2010 together with an MSDN Subscription and get development and testing licenses of up to 11 terabytes of Microsoft software, up to 1500 free Azure compute hours per month, free technical support incidents and much more (features dependant on edition purchased).
Documents & Downloads
» Grey Matter Visual Studio 2010 Supplement
» Visual Studio 2010 - Feature Comparison
» Visual Studio 2010 - Premium Edition Datasheet
» Visual Studio 2010 - Professional Edition Datasheet
» Visual Studio 2010 - Team Foundation Server Datasheet
» Visual Studio 2010 - Test Professional Datasheet
» Visual Studio 2010 - Ultimate Edition Datasheet
New Features
Updates to the Visual Studio IDE
Enhancements to the IDE help you write and test code faster.
Enhanced Appearance
Core parts of the Visual Studio IDE have been rewritten using Windows Presentation Foundation for a cleaner interface with improved readability. Code in the code editor window can be zoomed in and out, and windows and frames can now be undocked and moved outside the main IDE window - ideal for developers with multiple monitors.
Easier Coding
Comprehensive search-as-you-type support for everything from file names to comments makes it easy to locate whatever you're looking for. Navigate through a call hierarchy, from a member to the member that it calls and the members that call it.
New Extension Manager
The new Extension Manager allows you to search for Visual Studio add-ins, download them and install them directly from the IDE.
Updated IntelliSense
IntelliSense, the Code Editor and the ToolBox now only display hints and items appropriate to the version of the .NET framework you're targeting.
New language features for VB.NET, C# and Visual C++
Enhanced support for dynamic language constructs and other new features help make it easier to code.
Visual Basic and C# Highlights
- Improved dynamic support in both languages make it easier to interoperate with IronPython, IronRuby and COM
- Type equivalence, also in both languages, enables embedding of type information from a COM library into your applications thereby removing the need to ship applications with Primary Interop Assemblies
- Support for late-binding and named and optional parameters in both C# and VB.NET make it easier to make calls to the Microsoft Office COM APIs
- General language improvements such as auto-implemented properties, collection initialisers and array literals
- C# has a new dynamic keyword to restrict the scope of late-binding
- VB.NET has support for implicit line continuations to more cleanly split a statement over multiple lines
Visual C++ Highlights
- Improved IntelliSense that handles advanced C++ code constructs and conditionally defined macros whilst working in the background to improve parsing speed when switching between project elements
- Support for Windows 7 include multi-touch, a new MFC Ribbon along with a visual designer for it, support for Windows 7 Jump Lists, Aero thumbnails, customised common file dialogs, rich icon previews and more
- A new project format and build tool - MSBuild.exe - provides enhanced diagnostics, extensibility and integration when building applications
- Enhanced support for the new C++0x standard including lambda expressions, rvalue references, compile-time assertions, expression type discovery and automatic type deduction
- Improved compilation speed in a range of instances
New features for Web development
Easier coding and faster deployment make Web development a breeze.
Code snippets and IntelliSense
Visual Studio 2010 introduces new code snippets for HTML, JScript and ASP.NET which can be inserted directly from IntelliSense. IntelliSense has also been updated for JScript with faster parsing and support for a range coding styles meaning IntelliSense supports nearly every library including jQuery.
Quicker, easier deployment
Create Web packages (a .zip or folder structure) which contains all the files, IIS settings, SQL scripts, certificates and more that are required to run your Web application. This makes it easy to deploy your application to any IIS Web server. You can even publish your Web application in one click via the Web Deployment Tool, FTP, folder copying or via FrontPage Server Extensions.
New Language - F#
New .NET based functional language ideal for mathematical and concurrent programming.
Highlights of F#
- Write applications and develop components and libraries in F# using a lightweight syntax. F# can target .NET 2.0 to .NET 4 and supports Silverlight.
- Ideal for parallel and asynchronous programming with language constructs such as immutability
- Use Asynchronous Workflows which allow asynchronous code to be written much like synchronous code, thereby easing development
- Implicitly typed but with all the safety of a statically typed language
- Use units of measure (meters, seconds etc.) within code and verify that code combines units correctly
- Includes a console within Visual Studio for executing F# statements on the fly
- Access the whole .NET framework
Lab Management
Quickly virtualise operating systems and test your application on them. Available in Ultimate/Test Professional. Requires System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
Lab management highlights
- Quickly create virtual machines in minutes from virtual machine templates
- Workflow integration can automate application deployment onto your virtual machines and can run automated tests
- Testers can create a snapshot of the point in time a bug occurred when testing the application on a virtual machine. Developers can then load this snapshot up and see the actual state of the environment at that point in time.
Parallel Programming
Write and debug parallel programmes optimised for multi-core processors.
.NET 4 Parallel Programming
A new version of LINQ, PLINQ (Parallel Language Integrated Query), provides a parallel version of LINQ to Objects, whilst new data types help in the creation of parallel applications.
Visual C++ Parallel Programming
The new Concurrency Runtime framework provides concurrent programming for VC++ and new libraries - the parallel patterns library and the asynchronous library - help make it easier to write parallel programmes in VC++.
New Parallel debugging and profiling tools
To aid in debugging parallel applications you can now view a list of System.Threading.Tasks and view tasks that are running, scheduled and waiting. You can view the call stacks for a task instance and navigate directly to code from the debugger.
To aid in profiling your application's performance, you can see how each processor is being used by your code, how threads are interacting with one another and the computer and how they migrate from core to core.
And there's more!
A new WPF and Silverlight designer, new SharePoint tools, Azure tools, a completely re-engineered Help system and more.
Enhanced WPF and Silverlight designer
The new integrated Silverlight designer in Visual Studio makes it easier to create Silverlight applications without using Expression Blend. For example, select and position items by dragging and dropping on the designer surface. When creating WPF applications you can now drag items from the data sources window to your WPF controls to create data bindings and visualise your WPF objects in a tree view with lists of properties.
SharePoint Updates
It's now easier than ever before to create SharePoint Web parts, sites, lists, document libraries, workflows and more using the new project and item templates and there are new visual designers for simplifying creation of Web parts and models for Business Data Connectivity (BDC).
Azure Tools
Visual Studio 2010 includes the Windows Azure Development Fabric, an emulation of Windows Azure on your development machine, it's perfect for testing your applications before deployment to the cloud. Windows Azure debugging is also built right in to Visual Studio 2010 so there's no need for additional tools.
Visual Studio Help System
A new standards-based Help system offers a seamless transition from local content to Web-based content. Help content no longer uses proprietary formats but XHTML that can be packaged into .zip containers.
Features
Complete Platform Support
Whether you're developing Windows applications using WPF and Windows Forms, Web sites using ASP.NET, Web applications using Silverlight, Office applications, SharePoint applications, or Cloud applications, Visual Studio provides you with the tools you need. Whether you're writing applications in VB.NET, C#, F# or VisualC++, Visual Studio will support you with IntelliSense highlighting, visual designers, advanced debugging tools, testing tools and more.
Powerful Integrated Development Environment
With a range of powerful features such as Intellisense along with new features such as zooming support in the code editor, visual designers for WPF and Silverlight and multi monitor support for individual windows, the Visual Studio IDE makes programming a pleasure, not a chore.
Testing Tools
With unit testing tools now available in every edition of Visual Studio and with automated UI testing, test impact analysis, code analysis and tools to generate realistic test data available in the more advanced editions, you can be sure that when you deploy your applications to your end users, they will operate as expected.
Powerful Database Development
Create and manage databases correctly with the use of source code control to persist versioned database schema information. Easily generate test data, unit tests and deploy your database.
Architectural Tools
Using Visual Studio Ultimate, you can get a visual overview of the workings of your applications by using the Architecture Explorer. Produce models and UML diagrams of how your application is constructed and drill-down into specific areas. Use the new layer diagram to check how your application architecture conforms to your original vision and validate code artifacts against the required architecture.
Team Foundation Server
Team Foundation Server (TFS), included within an MSDN Subscription, provides the powerful collaboration platform developers need. With support for powerful build automation, version control, bug tracking, process guidance, business intelligence and more, all in one easy-to-use team portal.
Lab Management
Lab Management in Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate provides an environment to quickly test your applications in a virtual machine. With rapid provisioning and support for snapshots, it is a highly useful tool for both developers and testers.
For more information on functionality available within each edition of Visual Studio, please view the documents available in the documents and downloads section.
Licensing
Visual Studio 2010 can be purchased as a boxed (retail) product or on a volume licensing scheme. Aside from Visual Studio 2010 Professional where an MSDN Subscription is optional, all other editions include an MSDN subscription (if purchasing a boxed version). The inclusion of an MSDN Subscription when purchasing on a volume licensing scheme depends upon the scheme you purchase on. An MSDN Subscription represents fantastic value for money, providing testing and development licences for a wide range of Microsoft products (and depending on the edition, some production use licences too).
For more information on licensing, please see our ‘Microsoft Licensing’ buyers guide on the left for more information on licensing or click Call Me above and we will get in contact with you to discuss your Visual Studio purchasing options.
Editions
Visual Studio 2010 Professional
Cost-effective edition ideal for individual developers.
The Professional Edition supports:
- Windows application development
- Website development
- Cloud application development
- Microsoft Office and Microsoft Office SharePoint development
- Unit Testing tools
Visual Studio 2010 Professional, when purchased as a boxed (retail) product, comes with
MSDN Essentials, a free, cut-down, one year trial of an MSDN Subscription. MSDN Essentials provides access to Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and SQL Server 2008 R2 for test and development purposes.
Please Note: MSDN Essentials is for boxed (retail) versions only.
The Professional Edition can also be purchased with a full
MSDN Subscription which provides Team Foundation Server 2010 and 1 Client Access Licence (CAL) to access it, test and development licenses of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, SQL Server 2008 R2 along with previous versions of Windows and SQL Server, 2 free technical support incidents and 1 free Microsoft e-learning collection.
A Professional MSDN Subscription also gives you a range of complimentary Azure benefits, including: 375 hours of a small compute instance, 20 GB of storage, 1 million storage transactions, 1 GB SQL Azure database and 25GB of data transfers out.
Visual Studio 2010 Premium
Complete set of tools for creating advanced, database-driven applications.
The Premium Edition supports all of the features of the Professional Edition, plus:
- Static code analysis, code metrics and profiling tools
- Code coverage, test impact analysis and coded UI testing tools for detailed code testing and automated functional testing of UI's
- Can display read-only UML diagrams, Layer diagrams and DGML graphs
- Advanced database development - provides tools for database deployment, change management (requires TFS), unit testing and generation of test data
The Premium Edition's
MSDN Subscription provides all the features of the Professional Edition's MSDN Subscription, plus additionally provides production use licences of Expression Studio 3, Office Professional Plus 2010, Project Professional 2010 and Visio Premium 2010, test and development licenses of Office, Dynamics, all other Microsoft Server products, Windows Embedded operating systems, 4 free technical support incidents and 2 free Microsoft e-learning courses.
A Premium MSDN Subscription also gives you a range of complimentary Azure benefits, including: 750 hours of a small compute instance, 25 GB of storage, 2 million storage transactions, 1 GB SQL Azure database and 30GB of data transfers out.
Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate
The most advanced edition of Visual Studio, ideal for teams who have to manage applications through the whole application lifecycle.
The Ultimate Edition is most advanced edition, containing all the features within the Professional and Premium Editions, plus:
- Lab Management tools for creating virtual test environments
- Comprehensive set of testing tools including Microsoft Test Manager, Web performance testing, load testing, test case management, manual test execution, recording and playback and more
- Architecture Explorer to produce visual models of the design of your application
- Generate layer diagrams to ensure architectural compliance and validate code artifacts
- Generate 5 common UML 2.0 diagrams of your code (Activity, Use Case, Sequence, Class and Component)
- IntelliTrace debugger to help testers file useful and detailed bug reports
The Ultimate Edition's
MSDN Subscription provides all the features of the Premium Edition's MSDN Subscription, plus includes production licenses of Visual Studio Team Explorer Everywhere (for accessing Team Foundation Server from other platforms) and Visual Studio Feature Packs that provide additional functionality exclusively to MSDN Ultimate subscribers.
An Ultimate MSDN Subscription also gives you a range of complimentary Azure benefits, including: 1,500 hours of a small compute instance, 30 GB of storage, 4 million storage transactions, 5 GB SQL Azure database and 35GB of data transfers out.
Visual Studio 2010 Test Professional
A special edition of Visual Studio designed for testers.
The Test Professional Edition comes with:
- Microsoft Test Manager 2010
- Test Case Management
- Manual test execution, recording and playback
- Lab Management tools for creating virtual test environments
The Test Professional Edition comes with a full
MSDN Subscription which provides Team Foundation Server 2010 and 1 Client Access Licence (CAL) to access it, test and development licenses of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise, SQL Server 2008 R2 along with previous versions of Windows and SQL Server, 2 free technical support incidents and 1 free Microsoft e-learning collection. The Test Professional does not include the Visual Studio product itself.