Screenshot of Visual Studio 2013, editing the source code of a C++ program | |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2019 version 16.3.1 [1](September 25, 2019; 1 day ago[1])[±] |
| Preview release | 2019 version 16.4.0 Preview 1 (September 23, 2019; 3 days ago[2])[±] |
| Operating system |
|
| Available in | Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish and Turkish[5] |
| Type | Integrated development environment |
| License | Freemium[6] |
| Website | visualstudio.microsoft.com |
Microsoft visual studio 2012 free download - Visual Studio Professional 2012, Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate, Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional, and many more programs.
Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It is used to develop computer programs, as well as websites, web apps, web services and mobile apps. Visual Studio uses Microsoft software development platforms such as Windows API, Windows Forms, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Store and Microsoft Silverlight. It can produce both native code and managed code.
Visual Studio includes a code editor supporting IntelliSense (the code completion component) as well as code refactoring. The integrated debugger works both as a source-level debugger and a machine-level debugger. Other built-in tools include a code profiler, forms designer for building GUI applications, web designer, class designer, and database schema designer. It accepts plug-ins that enhance the functionality at almost every level—including adding support for source control systems (like Subversion and Git) and adding new toolsets like editors and visual designers for domain-specific languages or toolsets for other aspects of the software development lifecycle (like the Team Foundation Server client: Team Explorer).
Visual Studio supports 36 different programming languages and allows the code editor and debugger to support (to varying degrees) nearly any programming language, provided a language-specific service exists. Built-in languages include C,[7]C++, C++/CLI, Visual Basic .NET, C#, F#,[8]JavaScript, TypeScript, XML, XSLT, HTML, and CSS. Support for other languages such as Python,[9]Ruby, Node.js, and M among others is available via plug-ins. Java (and J#) were supported in the past.
The most basic edition of Visual Studio, the Community edition, is available free of charge. The slogan for Visual Studio Community edition is 'Free, fully-featured IDE for students, open-source and individual developers'.
The currently supported Visual Studio version is 2019.
- 2Features
- 3Supported products
- 4Editions
- 5History
- 5.72010
- 5.82012
- 6Related products
Architecture[edit]
Visual Studio does not support any programming language, solution or tool intrinsically; instead, it allows the plugging of functionality coded as a VSPackage. When installed, the functionality is available as a Service. The IDE provides three services: SVsSolution, which provides the ability to enumerate projects and solutions; SVsUIShell, which provides windowing and UI functionality (including tabs, toolbars, and tool windows); and SVsShell, which deals with registration of VSPackages. In addition, the IDE is also responsible for coordinating and enabling communication between services.[10] All editors, designers, project types and other tools are implemented as VSPackages. Visual Studio uses COM to access the VSPackages. The Visual Studio SDK also includes the Managed Package Framework (MPF), which is a set of managed wrappers around the COM-interfaces that allow the Packages to be written in any CLI compliant language.[11] However, MPF does not provide all the functionality exposed by the Visual Studio COM interfaces.[12]The services can then be consumed for creation of other packages, which add functionality to the Visual Studio IDE.
Support for programming languages is added by using a specific VSPackage called a Language Service. A language service defines various interfaces which the VSPackage implementation can implement to add support for various functionalities.[13] Functionalities that can be added this way include syntax coloring, statement completion, brace matching, parameter information tooltips, member lists, and error markers for background compilation.[13] If the interface is implemented, the functionality will be available for the language. Language services are implemented on a per-language basis. The implementations can reuse code from the parser or the compiler for the language.[13] Language services can be implemented either in native code or managed code. For native code, either the native COM interfaces or the Babel Framework (part of Visual Studio SDK) can be used.[14] For managed code, the MPF includes wrappers for writing managed language services.[15]
Visual Studio does not include any source control support built in but it defines two alternative ways for source control systems to integrate with the IDE.[16] A Source Control VSPackage can provide its own customised user interface. In contrast, a source control plugin using the MSSCCI (Microsoft Source Code Control Interface) provides a set of functions that are used to implement various source control functionality, with a standard Visual Studio user interface.[17][18] MSSCCI was first used to integrate Visual SourceSafe with Visual Studio 6.0 but was later opened up via the Visual Studio SDK. Visual Studio .NET 2002 used MSSCCI 1.1, and Visual Studio .NET 2003 used MSSCCI 1.2. Visual Studio 2005, 2008, and 2010 use MSSCCI Version 1.3, which adds support for rename and delete propagation, as well as asynchronous opening.[18]
Visual Studio supports running multiple instances of the environment (each with its own set of VSPackages). The instances use different registry hives (see MSDN's definition of the term 'registry hive' in the sense used here) to store their configuration state and are differentiated by their AppId (Application ID). The instances are launched by an AppId-specific .exe that selects the AppId, sets the root hive, and launches the IDE. VSPackages registered for one AppId are integrated with other VSPackages for that AppId. The various product editions of Visual Studio are created using the different AppIds. The Visual Studio Express edition products are installed with their own AppIds, but the Standard, Professional, and Team Suite products share the same AppId. Consequently, one can install the Express editions side-by-side with other editions, unlike the other editions which update the same installation. The professional edition includes a superset of the VSPackages in the standard edition, and the team suite includes a superset of the VSPackages in both other editions. The AppId system is leveraged by the Visual Studio Shell in Visual Studio 2008.[19]
Features[edit]
Code editor[edit]
Like any other IDE, it includes a code editor that supports syntax highlighting and code completion using IntelliSense for variables, functions, methods, loops, and LINQ queries.[20] IntelliSense is supported for the included languages, as well as for XML, Cascading Style Sheets, and JavaScript when developing web sites and web applications.[21][22] Autocomplete suggestions appear in a modelesslist box over the code editor window, in proximity of the editing cursor. In Visual Studio 2008 onwards, it can be made temporarily semi-transparent to see the code obstructed by it.[20] The code editor is used for all supported languages.
The Visual Studio code editor also supports setting bookmarks in code for quick navigation. Other navigational aids include collapsing code blocks and incremental search, in addition to normal text search and regex search.[23] The code editor also includes a multi-item clipboard and a task list.[23] The code editor supports code snippets, which are saved templates for repetitive code and can be inserted into code and customized for the project being worked on. A management tool for code snippets is built in as well. These tools are surfaced as floating windows which can be set to automatically hide when unused or docked to the side of the screen. The Visual Studio code editor also supports code refactoring including parameter reordering, variable and method renaming, interface extraction, and encapsulation of class members inside properties, among others.
Visual Studio features background compilation (also called incremental compilation).[24][25] As code is being written, Visual Studio compiles it in the background in order to provide feedback about syntax and compilation errors, which are flagged with a red wavy underline. Warnings are marked with a green underline. Background compilation does not generate executable code, since it requires a different compiler than the one used to generate executable code.[26] Background compilation was initially introduced with Microsoft Visual Basic, but has now been expanded for all included languages.[25]
Debugger[edit]
Visual Studio includes a debugger that works both as a source-level debugger and as a machine-level debugger. It works with both managed code as well as native code and can be used for debugging applications written in any language supported by Visual Studio. In addition, it can also attach to running processes, monitor, and debug those processes.[27] If source code for the running process is available, it displays the code as it is being run. If source code is not available, it can show the disassembly. The Visual Studio debugger can also create memory dumps as well as load them later for debugging.[28] Multi-threaded programs are also supported. The debugger can be configured to be launched when an application running outside the Visual Studio environment crashes.
The debugger allows setting breakpoints (which allow execution to be stopped temporarily at a certain position) and watches (which monitor the values of variables as the execution progresses).[29] Breakpoints can be conditional, meaning they get triggered when the condition is met. Code can be stepped over, i.e., run one line (of source code) at a time.[30] It can either step into functions to debug inside it, or step over it, i.e., the execution of the function body isn't available for manual inspection.[30] The debugger supports Edit and Continue, i.e., it allows code to be edited as it is being debugged. When debugging, if the mouse pointer hovers over any variable, its current value is displayed in a tooltip ('data tooltips'), where it can also be modified if desired. During coding, the Visual Studio debugger lets certain functions be invoked manually from the Immediate tool window. The parameters to the method are supplied at the Immediate window.[31]
Designer[edit]
Visual Studio includes a host of visual designers to aid in the development of applications. These tools include:
Visual Studio 2008 introduced the Visual Studio Shell that allows for development of a customized version of the IDE. The Visual Studio Shell defines a set of VSPackages that provide the functionality required in any IDE. On top of that, other packages can be added to customize the installation. The Isolated mode of the shell creates a new AppId where the packages are installed. These are to be started with a different executable. It is aimed for development of custom development environments, either for a specific language or a specific scenario. The Integrated mode installs the packages into the AppId of the Professional/Standard/Team System editions, so that the tools integrate into these editions.[19] The Visual Studio Shell is available as a free download.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Download
After the release of Visual Studio 2008, Microsoft created the Visual Studio Gallery. It serves as the central location for posting information about extensions to Visual Studio. Community developers as well as commercial developers can upload information about their extensions to Visual Studio .NET 2002 through Visual Studio 2010. Users of the site can rate and review the extensions to help assess the quality of extensions being posted. An extension is stored in a VSIX file. Internally a VSIX file is a ZIP file that contains some XML files, and possibly one or more DLL's. One of the main advantages of these extensions is that they do not require Administrator rights to be installed. RSS feeds to notify users on updates to the site and tagging features are also planned.[40]
Supported products[edit]
- Microsoft Visual C++
- Microsoft Visual C++ is Microsoft's partial implementation of the C and full implementation C++compiler and associated languages-services and specific tools for integration with the Visual Studio IDE. It can compile either in C mode or C++ mode. For C++, as of version 15.7 it conforms to C++17.[41] The C implementation of Visual Studio 2015 still doesn't support the full standard; in particular, the complex number header complex.h introduced in C99 is unsupported.
- Visual C++ supports the C++/CLI specification to write managed code, as well as mixed-mode code (a mix of native and managed code). Microsoft positions Visual C++ for development in native code or in code that contains both native as well as managed components. Visual C++ supports COM as well as the MFC library. For MFC development, it provides a set of wizards for creating and customizing MFC boilerplate code, and creating GUI applications using MFC. Visual C++ can also use the Visual Studio forms designer to design UI graphically. Visual C++ can also be used with the Windows API. It also supports the use of intrinsic functions,[42] which are functions recognized by the compiler itself and not implemented as a library. Intrinsic functions are used to expose the SSE instruction set of modern CPUs. Visual C++ also includes the OpenMP (version 2.0) specification.[43]
- Microsoft Visual C#
- Microsoft Visual C#, Microsoft's implementation of the C# language, targets the .NET Framework, along with the language services that lets the Visual Studio IDE support C# projects. While the language services are a part of Visual Studio, the compiler is available separately as a part of the .NET Framework. The Visual C# 2008, 2010 and 2012 compilers support versions 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 of the C# language specifications, respectively. Visual C# supports the Visual Studio Class designer, Forms designer, and Data designer among others.[44]
- Microsoft Visual Basic
- Microsoft Visual Basic is Microsoft's implementation of the VB.NET language and associated tools and language services. It was introduced with Visual Studio .NET (2002). Microsoft has positioned Visual Basic for Rapid Application Development.[45][46] Visual Basic can be used to author both console applications as well as GUI applications. Like Visual C#, Visual Basic also supports the Visual Studio Class designer, Forms designer, and Data designer among others. Like C#, the VB.NET compiler is also available as a part of .NET Framework, but the language services that let VB.NET projects be developed with Visual Studio, are available as a part of the latter.
- Microsoft Visual Web Developer
- Microsoft Visual Web Developer is used to create web sites, web applications and web services using ASP.NET. Either C# or VB.NET languages can be used. Visual Web Developer can use the Visual Studio Web Designer to graphically design web page layouts.
- Team Foundation Server
- Team Foundation Server is intended for collaborative software development projects and provides version control, work planning and tracking, data collection, and reporting. It also includes the Team Explorer which is integrated inside Visual Studio. On 10 September 2018, Microsoft announced a rebranding of Team Foundation Server to 'Azure DevOps Server'.[47]
Previous products[edit]
numberLatest UpdateSupported .NET
Framework versionsSupported .NET
Core versionsRelease dateSupport EndsVisual Studio 2019[61]Dev1616.016.3.13.5 - 4.8[62]1.1, 2.1, 2.2[62], 3.0[63]2 April 2019[64]Current stable version:10 April 2029[65]Visual Studio 2017[66]Dev15
[citation needed]15.015.9.163.5 – 4.7.1[67]1.0-1.1,[68] 2.0[69]7 March 2017Older version, yet still supported: 13 April 2027[70]Visual Studio 2015Dev14
[citation needed]14.0Update 32.0 – 4.6.21.020 July 2015Older version, yet still supported: 14 October 2025[71]Visual Studio 2013Dev12
[citation needed]12.0Update 52.0 – 4.5.2N/A17 October 2013Older version, yet still supported: 9 April 2024[72]Visual Studio 2012Dev11
[citation needed]11.0Update 52.0 – 4.5.2N/A12 September 2012Older version, yet still supported: 10 January 2023[73]Visual Studio 2010Dev10,[74]Rosario[75]10.0Service Pack 12.0 – 4.0N/A12 April 2010Older version, yet still supported: 14 July 2020[76]Visual Studio 2008Orcas[77]9.0Service Pack 12.0, 3.0, 3.5N/A19 November 2007Old version, no longer supported: 10 April 2018[78]Visual Studio 2005Whidbey[79]8.0Service Pack 12.0, 3.0N/A7 November 2005Old version, no longer supported: 12 April 2016[80]Visual Studio .NET 2003Everett[81]7.1Service Pack 11.1N/A24 April 2003Old version, no longer supported: 14 October 2013[82]Visual Studio .NET (2002)Rainier[83]7.0Service Pack 11.0N/A13 February 2002Old version, no longer supported: 14 July 2009[84]Visual Studio 6.0Aspen[85]6.0Service Pack 6 [86]N/AN/AJune 1998Old version, no longer supported: 30 September 2005[87][88]Visual Studio 97Boston[89]5.0N/AN/AN/AFebruary 1997Old version, no longer supported: 30 June 2003[90]
97[edit]
Microsoft first released Visual Studio (codenamed Boston,[89] for the city of the same name, thus beginning the VS codenames related to places)[89] in 1997, bundling many of its programming tools together for the first time. Visual Studio 97 came in two editions: Visual Studio Professional and Visual Studio Enterprise, the professional edition has three CDs, and the enterprise on four CDs. It included Visual J++ 1.1 for Java programming and introduced Visual InterDev for creating dynamically generated web sites using Active Server Pages.[citation needed] There was a single companion CD that contained the Microsoft Developer Network library.
Visual Studio 97 was Microsoft's first attempt at using the same development environment for multiple languages. Visual J++, InterDev, and the MSDN Library had all been using the same 'environment', called Developer Studio.[92]
Visual Studio was also sold as a bundle with the separate IDEs used for Visual C++, Visual Basic and Visual FoxPro.[19]
6.0 (1998)[edit]
The next version, version 6.0 (codenamed Aspen, after the ski resort in Colorado),[citation needed] was released in June 1998 and is the last version to run on the Windows 9x platform.[93] Each version of each language in part also settled to v6.0, including Visual J++ which was prior v1.1, and Visual InterDev at the 1st release. The v6 edition of Microsoft was the core environment for the next four releases to provide programmers with an integrated look-alike platform. This led Microsoft to transition the development on the platform independent .NET Framework.
Visual Studio 6.0 was the last version to include Visual J++,[94][95] which Microsoft removed as part of a settlement with Sun Microsystems that required Microsoft Internet Explorer not to provide support for the Java virtual machine.
Visual Studio 6.0 came in two editions: Professional and Enterprise.[96] The Enterprise edition contained extra features not found in Professional edition, including:
- Application Performance Explorer
- Automation Manager
- Microsoft Visual Modeler
- RemAuto Connection Manager[citation needed]
- Visual Studio Analyzer
Visual Studio was also sold as a bundle with the separate IDEs used for Visual C++, Visual Basic and Visual FoxPro.[19]
.NET 2002[edit]
Microsoft released Visual Studio .NET (VS.NET), codenamed Rainier (for Washington'sMount Rainier),[citation needed] in February 2002 (the beta version was released via Microsoft Developer Network in 2001). The biggest change was the introduction of a managed code development environment using the .NET Framework. Programs developed using .NET are not compiled to machine language (like C++ is, for example) but instead to a format called Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) or Common Intermediate Language (CIL). When a CIL application executes, it is compiled while being executed into the appropriate machine language for the platform it is being executed on, thereby making code portable across several platforms. Programs compiled into CIL can be executed only on platforms which have an implementation of Common Language Infrastructure. It is possible to run CIL programs in Linux or Mac OS X using non-Microsoft .NET implementations like Mono and DotGNU.
This was the first version of Visual Studio to require an NT-based Windows platform.[97] The installer enforces this requirement.
Visual Studio .NET 2002 shipped in four editions: Academic, Professional, Enterprise Developer, and Enterprise Architect. Microsoft introduced C# (C-sharp), a new programming language, that targets .NET. It also introduced the successor to Visual J++ called Visual J#. Visual J# programs use Java's language-syntax. However, unlike Visual J++ programs, Visual J# programs can only target the .NET Framework, not the Java Virtual Machine that all other Java tools target.
Visual Basic changed drastically to fit the new framework, and the new version was called Visual Basic .NET. Microsoft also added extensions to C++, called Managed Extensions for C++, so .NET programs could be created in C++.
Visual Studio .NET can produce applications targeting Windows (using the Windows Forms part of the .NET Framework), the Web (using ASP.NET and Web Services) and, with an add-in, portable devices (using the .NET Compact Framework).
The Visual Studio .NET environment was rewritten to partially use .NET. All languages are versions of Visual Studio, it has a cleaner interface and greater cohesiveness.[citation needed] It is also more customizable with tool windows that automatically hide when not in use. While Visual FoxPro 7 started out as part of Visual Studio .NET 2002, and early VS betas allowed debugging inside VFP-based DLLs, it was removed before release to follow its own development track.[citation needed]
The internal version number of Visual Studio .NET 2002 is version 7.0. Microsoft released Service Pack 1 for Visual Studio .NET 2002 in March 2005.[98]
.NET 2003[edit]
In April 2003, Microsoft introduced a minor upgrade to Visual Studio .NET called Visual Studio .NET 2003, codenamed Everett (for the city of the same name).[citation needed] It includes an upgrade to the .NET Framework, version 1.1, and is the first release to support developing programs for mobile devices, using ASP.NET or the .NET Compact Framework. The Visual C++ compiler's standards-compliance improved, especially in the area of partial template specialization. Visual C++ Toolkit 2003 is a version of the same C++ compiler shipped with Visual Studio .NET 2003 without the IDE that Microsoft made freely available. As of 2010 it is no longer available and the Express Editions have superseded it. The internal version number of Visual Studio .NET 2003 is version 7.1 while the file format version is 8.0.[99]
Visual Studio .NET 2003 shipped in five editions: Academic, Standard, Professional, Enterprise Developer, and Enterprise Architect. The Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect edition includes an implementation of Microsoft Visio 2002's modeling technologies, including tools for creating Unified Modeling Language-based visual representations of an application's architecture, and an object-role modeling (ORM) and logical database-modeling solution. 'Enterprise Templates' were also introduced, to help larger development teams standardize coding styles and enforce policies around component usage and property settings.
Service Pack 1 was released 13 September 2006.[100]
2005[edit]
Visual Studio 2005, codenamed Whidbey (a reference to Whidbey Island in Puget Sound region),[citation needed] was released online in October 2005 and to retail stores a few weeks later. Microsoft removed the '.NET' moniker from Visual Studio 2005 (as well as every other product with .NET in its name), but it still primarily targets the .NET Framework, which was upgraded to version 2.0. It is the last version available for Windows 2000 and also the last version to be able to target Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows NT 4.0 for C++ applications.[101][102]
Visual Studio 2005's internal version number is 8.0 while the file format version is 9.0.[99] Microsoft released Service Pack 1 for Visual Studio 2005 on 14 December 2006.[103] An additional update for Service Pack 1 that offers Windows Vista compatibility was made available on 3 June 2007.[104]
Visual Studio 2005 was upgraded to support all the new features introduced in .NET Framework 2.0, including generics and ASP.NET 2.0. The IntelliSense feature in Visual Studio was upgraded for generics and new project types were added to support ASP.NET web services. Visual Studio 2005 additionally introduces support for a new task-based build platform called Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) which employs a new XML-based project file format.[105] Visual Studio 2005 also includes a local web server, separate from IIS, that can host ASP.NET applications during development and testing. It also supports all SQL Server 2005 databases. Database designers were upgraded to support the ADO.NET 2.0, which is included with .NET Framework 2.0. C++ also got a similar upgrade with the addition of C++/CLI which is slated to replace the use of Managed C++.[106] Other new features of Visual Studio 2005 include the 'Deployment Designer' which allows application designs to be validated before deployments, an improved environment for web publishing when combined with ASP.NET 2.0 and load testing to see application performance under various sorts of user loads. Starting with the 2005 edition, Visual Studio also added extensive 64-bit support. While the host development environment itself is only available as a 32-bit application, Visual C++ 2005 supports compiling for x86-64 (AMD64 and Intel 64) as well as IA-64 (Itanium).[107] The Platform SDK included 64-bit compilers and 64-bit versions of the libraries.
Microsoft also announced Visual Studio Tools for Applications as the successor to Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and VSA (Visual Studio for Applications). VSTA 1.0 was released to manufacturing along with Office 2007. It is included with Office 2007 and is also part of the Visual Studio 2005 SDK. VSTA consists of a customized IDE, based on the Visual Studio 2005 IDE, and a runtime that can be embedded in applications to expose its features via the .NET object model. Office 2007 applications continue to integrate with VBA, except for InfoPath 2007 which integrates with VSTA. Version 2.0 of VSTA (based on Visual Studio 2008) was released in April 2008.[108] It is significantly different from the first version, including features such as dynamic programming and support for WPF, WCF, WF, LINQ, and .NET 3.5 Framework.
2008[edit]
Visual Studio 2008,[109] and Visual Studio Team System 2008[110][111] codenamed Orcas (a reference to Orcas Island, also an island in Puget Sound region, like Whidbey for the previous 2005 release), were released to MSDN subscribers on 19 November 2007 alongside .NET Framework 3.5. The source code for the Visual Studio 2008 IDE is available under a shared source license to some of Microsoft's partners and ISVs.[77] Microsoft released Service Pack 1 for Visual Studio 2008 on 11 August 2008.[112] The internal version number of Visual Studio 2008 is version 9.0 while the file format version is 10.0. Visual Studio 2008 is the last version to support targeting Windows 2000 for C++ applications.[113]
Visual Studio 2008 is focused on development of Windows Vista, 2007 Office system, and Web applications. For visual design, a new Windows Presentation Foundation visual designer and a new HTML/CSS editor influenced by Microsoft Expression Web are included. J# is not included. Visual Studio 2008 requires .NET 3.5 Framework and by default configures compiled assemblies to run on .NET Framework 3.5, but it also supports multi-targeting which lets the developers choose which version of the .NET Framework (out of 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, Silverlight CoreCLR or .NET Compact Framework) the assembly runs on. Visual Studio 2008 also includes new code analysis tools, including the new Code Metrics tool (only in Team Edition and Team Suite Edition).[114] For Visual C++, Visual Studio adds a new version of Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC 9.0) that adds support for the visual styles and UI controls introduced with Windows Vista.[115] For native and managed code interoperability, Visual C++ introduces the STL/CLR, which is a port of the C++Standard Template Library (STL) containers and algorithms to managed code. STL/CLR defines STL-like containers, iterators and algorithms that work on C++/CLImanaged objects.[116][117]
Visual Studio 2008 features include an XAML-based designer (codenamed Cider), workflow designer, LINQ to SQL designer (for defining the type mappings and object encapsulation for SQL Server data), XSLT debugger, JavaScriptIntellisense support, JavaScript Debugging support, support for UACmanifests, a concurrent build system, among others.[118] It ships with an enhanced set of UI widgets, both for Windows Forms and WPF. It also includes a multithreaded build engine (MSBuild) to compile multiple source files (and build the executable file) in a project across multiple threads simultaneously. It also includes support for compiling iconresources in PNG format, introduced in Windows Vista. An updated XML Schema designer was released separately some time after the release of Visual Studio 2008.[119]
Visual Studio Debugger includes features targeting easier debugging of multi-threaded applications. In debugging mode, in the Threads window, which lists all the threads, hovering over a thread displays the stack trace of that thread in tooltips.[120] The threads can directly be named and flagged for easier identification from that window itself.[121] In addition, in the code window, along with indicating the location of the currently executing instruction in the current thread, the currently executing instructions in other threads are also pointed out.[121][122] The Visual Studio debugger supports integrated debugging of the .NET 3.5 Framework Base Class Library (BCL) which can dynamically download the BCL source code and debug symbols and allow stepping into the BCL source during debugging.[123] As of 2010 a limited subset of the BCL source is available, with more library support planned for later.
2010[edit]
On 12 April 2010, Microsoft released Visual Studio 2010, codenamed Dev10,[74] and .NET Framework 4.[124][125]
The Visual Studio 2010 IDE was redesigned which, according to Microsoft, clears the UI organization and 'reduces clutter and complexity.'[126] The new IDE better supports multiple document windows and floating tool windows,[126] while offering better multi-monitor support. The IDE shell has been rewritten using the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), whereas the internals have been redesigned using Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF) that offers more extensibility points than previous versions of the IDE that enabled add-ins to modify the behavior of the IDE.[127]
The new multi-paradigmML-variant F# forms part of Visual Studio 2010.[128]
Visual Studio 2010 comes with .NET Framework 4 and supports developing applications targeting Windows 7.[126] It supports IBM DB2 and Oracle databases, in addition to Microsoft SQL Server.[126] It has integrated support for developing Microsoft Silverlight applications, including an interactive designer.[126] Visual Studio 2010 offers several tools to make parallel programming simpler: in addition to the Parallel Extensions for the .NET Framework and the Parallel Patterns Library for native code, Visual Studio 2010 includes tools for debugging parallel applications. The new tools allow the visualization of parallel Tasks and their runtime stacks.[129] Tools for profiling parallel applications can be used for visualization of thread wait-times and thread migrations across processor cores.[130] Intel and Microsoft have jointly pledged support for a new Concurrency Runtime in Visual Studio 2010[131]and Intel has launched parallelism support in Parallel Studio as an add-on for Visual Studio.[132]
The Visual Studio 2010 code editor now highlights references; whenever a symbol is selected, all other usages of the symbol are highlighted.[133] It also offers a Quick Search feature to incrementally search across all symbols in C++, C# and VB.NET projects. Quick Search supports substring matches and camelCase searches.[133] The Call Hierarchy feature allows the developer to see all the methods that are called from a current method as well as the methods that call the current one.[133]IntelliSense in Visual Studio supports a consume-first mode which developers can opt into. In this mode, IntelliSense does not auto-complete identifiers; this allows the developer to use undefined identifiers (like variable or method names) and define those later. Visual Studio 2010 can also help in this by automatically defining them, if it can infer their types from usage.[133] Current versions of Visual Studio have a known bug which makes IntelliSense unusable for projects using pure C (not C++).[134]
Visual Studio 2010 features a new Help System replacing the MSDN Library viewer. The Help System is no longer based on Microsoft Help 2 and does not use Microsoft Document Explorer. Dynamic help containing links to related help topics based on where the developer was in the IDE has been removed in the shipping product,[135] but can be added back using a download from Microsoft.[136]
Visual Studio 2010 no longer supports development for Windows Mobile prior to Windows Phone 7. Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1 was released in March 2011.[137]
Ultimate 2010[edit]
Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 replaces Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite.[138] It includes new modeling tools,[139] such as the Architecture Explorer, which graphically displays projects and classes and the relationships between them.[75][140]It supports UML activity diagram, component diagram, (logical) class diagram, sequence diagram, and use case diagram.[140] Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 also includes Test Impact Analysis which provides hints on which test cases are impacted by modifications to the source code, without actually running the test cases.[141] This speeds up testing by avoiding running unnecessary test cases.
Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 also includes a historical debugger for managed code called IntelliTrace. Unlike a traditional debugger that records only the currently active stack, IntelliTrace records all events, such as prior function calls, method parameters, events and exceptions. This allows the code execution to be rewound in case a breakpoint was not set where the error occurred.[142] Debugging with IntelliTrace causes the application to run more slowly than debugging without it, and uses more memory as additional data needs to be recorded. Microsoft allows configuration of how much data should be recorded, in effect, allowing developers to balance the speed of execution and resource usage. The Lab Management component of Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 uses virtualization to create a similar execution environment for testers and developers. The virtual machines are tagged with checkpoints which can later be investigated for issues, as well as to reproduce the issue.[143] Visual Studio Ultimate 2010 also includes the capability to record test runs that capture the specific state of the operating environment as well as the precise steps used to run the test. These steps can then be played back to reproduce issues.[144]
2012[edit]
The final build of Visual Studio 2012 was announced on 1 August 2012 and the official launch event was held on 12 September 2012.[145]
Unlike prior versions, Visual Studio 2012 cannot record and play macros and the macro editor has been removed.[146]
New features include support for WinRT and C++/CX (Component Extensions) and C++ AMP (GPGPU programming) Semantic Colorization.[147]
On 16 September 2011, a complete 'Developer Preview' of Visual Studio 11 was published on Microsoft's website. Visual Studio 11 Developer Preview requires Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, or later operating systems.[148] Versions of Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC) and C runtime (CRT) included with this release cannot produce software that is compatible with Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 except by using native multi-targeting and foregoing the newest libraries, compilers, and headers.[149] However, on 15 June 2012, a blog post on the VC++ Team blog announced that based on customer feedback, Microsoft would re-introduce native support for Windows XP targets (though not for XP as a development platform) in a version of Visual C++ to be released later in the fall of 2012.[150] 'Visual Studio 2012 Update 1' (Visual Studio 2012.1) was released in November 2012. This update added support for Windows XP targets and also added other new tools and features (e.g. improved diagnostics and testing support for Windows Store apps).[151]
On 24 August 2011, a blog post by Sumit Kumar, a Program Manager on the Visual C++ team, listed some of the features of the upcoming version of the Visual Studio C++ IDE:[152]
- Semantic colorization: Improved syntax coloring, various user-defined or default colors for C++ syntax such as macros, enumerations, typenames and functions.[152]
- Reference highlighting: Selection of a symbol highlights all of the references to that symbol within scope.[152]
- New Solution Explorer: The new Solution Explorer allows for visualization of class and file hierarchies within a solution/project. It can search for calls to functions and uses of classes.[152]
- Automatic display of IntelliSense list: IntelliSense is automatically displayed whilst typing code, as opposed to previous versions where it had to be explicitly invoked through use of certain operators (i.e. the scope operator (::)) or shortcut keys (Ctrl-Space or Ctrl-J).[152]
- Member list filtering: IntelliSense uses fuzzy logic to determine which functions/variables/types to display in the list.[152]
- Code snippets: Code snippets are included in IntelliSense to automatically generate relevant code based on the user's parameters, custom code snippets can be created.[152]
The source code of Visual Studio 2012 consists of approximately 50 million lines of code.[153]
Interface backlash[edit]
During Visual Studio 11 beta, Microsoft eliminated the use of color within tools except in cases where color is used for notification or status change purposes. However, the use of color was returned after feedback demanding more contrast, differentiation, clarity and 'energy' in the user interface.[154][155]
In Visual Studio 2012 RC, a major change to the interface is the use of all-caps menu bar, as part of the campaign to keep Visual Studio consistent with the direction of other Microsoft user interfaces, and to provide added structure to the top menu bar area.[156] The redesign was criticized for being hard to read, and going against the trends started by developers to use CamelCase to make words stand out better.[157] Some speculated that the root cause of the redesign was to incorporate the simplistic look and feel of Metro programs.[158] However, there exists a Windows Registry option to allow users to disable the all-caps interface.[159]
2013[edit]
The preview for Visual Studio 2013 was announced at the Build 2013 conference and made available on 26 June 2013.[160] The Visual Studio 2013 RC (Release Candidate) was made available to developers on MSDN on 9 September 2013.[161]
The final release of Visual Studio 2013 became available for download on 17 October 2013 along with .NET 4.5.1.[162] Visual Studio 2013 officially launched on 13 November 2013 at a virtual launch event keynoted by S. Somasegar and hosted on events.visualstudio.com.[163] 'Visual Studio 2013 Update 1' (Visual Studio 2013.1) was released on 20 January 2014.[164]Visual Studio 2013.1 is a targeted update that addresses some key areas of customer feedback.[165]'Visual Studio 2013 Update 2' (Visual Studio 2013.2) was released on 12 May 2014.[166]Visual Studio 2013 Update 3 was released on 4 August 2014. With this update, Visual Studio provides an option to disable the all-caps menus, which was introduced in VS2012.[167]'Visual Studio 2013 Update 4' (Visual Studio 2013.4) was released on 12 November 2014.[168]'Visual Studio 2013 Update 5' (Visual Studio 2013.5) was released on 20 July 2015.[169]
2015[edit]
Initially referred to as Visual Studio '14', the first Community Technology Preview (CTP) was released on 3 June 2014[170] and the Release Candidate was released on 29 April 2015; Visual Studio 2015 was officially announced as the final name on 12 November 2014.[171]
Visual Studio 2015 RTM was released on 20 July 2015.[169] Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 was released on 30 November 2015.[169] Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 was released on 30 March 2016.[169] Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 was released on 27 June 2016.[169]
2017[edit]
Initially referred to as Visual Studio '15', it was released on 7 March 2017.[172] The first Preview was released on 30 March 2016.[173] Visual Studio '15' Preview 2 was released 10 May 2016.[174][175] Visual Studio '15' Preview 3 was released on 7 July 2016.[176][177] Visual Studio '15' Preview 4 was released on 22 August 2016.[178][179] Visual Studio '15' Preview 5 was released on 5 October 2016.[180]
As of April 2016, Visual Studio is making the EthereumSolidity language available to developers.[181]
On 14 November 2016, for a brief period of time, Microsoft released a blog post revealing Visual Studio 2017 product name version alongside upcoming features.[66]
On 16 November 2016, 'Visual Studio 2017' was announced as the final name,[182] and Visual Studio 2017 RC was released.[183]
On 7 March 2017, Visual Studio 2017 was released for general availability.[183]
On 14 March 2017, first fix was released for Visual Studio 2017 due to failures during installation or opening solutions in the first release.[183]
On 5 April 2017, Visual Studio 2017 15.1 was released and added support for targeting the .NET Framework 4.7.
On 10 May 2017, Visual Studio 2017 15.2 was released and added a new workload, 'Data Science and Analytical Applications Workload'. An update to fix the dark color theme was released on 12 May 2017.
On 14 August 2017, Visual Studio 2017 15.3 was released and added support for targeting .NET Core 2.0. An update (15.3.1) was released four days later to address a Git vulnerability with submodules (CVE 2017-1000117).
On 10 October 2017, Visual Studio 15.4 was released.[184]
On 4 December 2017, Visual Studio 15.5 was released. This update contained major performance improvements, new features, as well as bug fixes.[185]
On 6 March 2018, Visual Studio 15.6 was released. It includes updates to unit testing and performance.[186]
On 7 May 2018, Visual Studio 15.7 was released. It included updates across the board including, the installer, editor, debugger among others. Almost all point releases, the latest of which is 15.7.6 released 2 August 2018, include security updates. With the release of Visual Studio 2017 15.7, Visual C++ now conforms to the C++17 standard.[41]
On 20 September 2018, Visual Studio 15.8.5 was released. Tools for Xamarin now supports Xcode 10.[187]
Visual Studio 2017 offers new features like support for EditorConfig (a coding style enforcement framework), NGen support, .NET Core and Docker toolset (Preview), and Xamarin 4.3 (Preview).[183] It also has a XAML Editor, improved IntelliSense, live unit testing, debugging enhancement and better IDE experience and productivity.[188]
2019[edit]
On 6 June 2018 Microsoft announced Visual Studio 2019 (version 16).[61]
On 4 December 2018 Visual Studio 2019 Preview 1 was released.[189] On 24 January 2019 Visual Studio 2019 Preview 2 was released.[190] On 13 February 2019 Visual Studio 2019 Preview 3 was released.[191]
On 27 February 2019 Visual Studio 2019 RC was released.[192]
It is generally available (GA) since 2 April 2019 and available for download.[193]
Related products[edit]
Azure DevOps Services[edit]
On 13 November 2013, Microsoft announced the release of a software as a service offering of Visual Studio on Microsoft Azure platform; at the time, Microsoft called it Visual Studio Online. Previously announced as Team Foundation Services, it expands over the on-premises Team Foundation Server by making it available on the Internet and implementing a rolling release model.[194][195] Customers could use Azure portal to subscribe to Visual Studio Online. Subscribers receive a hosted Git-compatible version control system, a load-testing service, a telemetry service and an in-browser code editor codenamed 'Monaco'.[196] During the Connect(); 2015 developer event on 18 November 2015, Microsoft announced that the service was rebranded as 'Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS)'.[197] On 10 September 2018, Microsoft announced another rebranding of the service, this time to 'Azure DevOps Services'.[47]
Microsoft offers Stakeholder, Basic, and Visual Studio subscriber access levels for Azure DevOps Services. The Basic plan is free of charge for up to five users. Users with a Visual Studio subscription can be added to a plan with no additional charge.[198]
Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management[edit]
Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a collection of integrated software development tools developed by Microsoft. These tools currently consist of the IDE (Visual Studio 2015 Community and greater editions), server (Team Foundation Server), and cloud services (Visual Studio Team Services).[199] Visual Studio ALM supports team-based development and collaboration, Agile project management, DevOps, source control, packaging, continuous development, automated testing, release management, continuous delivery, and reporting tools for apps and services.[200]
In Visual Studio 2005 and Visual Studio 2008, the brand was known as Microsoft Visual Studio Team System (VSTS). In October 2009, the Team System brand was renamed[139][201] Visual Studio ALM with the Visual Studio 2010 (codenamed 'Rosario') release.[202]
Visual Studio Team Services debuted as Visual Studio Online in 2013 and was renamed in 2015.[203]
Visual Studio Lab Management[edit]
Visual Studio Lab Management is a software development tool developed by Microsoft for software testers to create and manage virtual environments. Lab Management extends the existing Visual Studio Application Lifecycle Management platform to enable an integrated Hyper-V based test lab. Since Visual Studio 2012, it is already shipped as a part of it; and, can be set up after Team Foundation Server and SCVMM are integrated.[204]
Visual Studio LightSwitch[edit]
Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch is an extension and framework specifically tailored for creating line-of-business applications built on existing .NET technologies and Microsoft platforms. The applications produced are architecturally 3-tier: the user interface runs on either Microsoft Silverlight or HTML 5 client,[205] or as a SharePoint 2013 app;[206] the logic and. docs.microsoft.com. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)|title= (help)This behavior is by design in MFC and CRT for Visual Studio vNext. The minimum supported operating systems are Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista.
Microsoft Visual Studio Ultimate 2012
External links[edit]
| Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Visual Studio |
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Installer Projects Download
- Official website
Welcome to Visual Studio 2019! In this version, it's easy to choose and install just the features you need. And because of its reduced minimum footprint, it installs quickly and with less system impact.
Welcome to a new way to install Visual Studio! In this version, we've made it easier for you to choose and install just the features you need. We've also reduced the minimum footprint of Visual Studio so that it installs more quickly and with less system impact than ever before.
Note
This topic applies to Visual Studio on Windows. For Visual Studio for Mac, see Install Visual Studio for Mac.
Want to know more about what else is new in this version? See our release notes.
Want to know more about what else is new in this version? See our release notes.
Ready to install? We'll walk you through it, step-by-step.
Step 1 - Make sure your computer is ready for Visual Studio
Before you begin installing Visual Studio:
Check the system requirements. These requirements help you know whether your computer supports Visual Studio 2017.
Apply the latest Windows updates. These updates ensure that your computer has both the latest security updates and the required system components for Visual Studio.
Reboot. The reboot ensures that any pending installs or updates don't hinder the Visual Studio install.
Free up space. Remove unneeded files and applications from your %SystemDrive% by, for example, running the Disk Cleanup app.
Check the system requirements. These requirements help you know whether your computer supports Visual Studio 2019.
Apply the latest Windows updates. These updates ensure that your computer has both the latest security updates and the required system components for Visual Studio.
Reboot. The reboot ensures that any pending installs or updates don't hinder the Visual Studio install.
Free up space. Remove unneeded files and applications from your %SystemDrive% by, for example, running the Disk Cleanup app.
For questions about running previous versions of Visual Studio side by side with Visual Studio 2017, see the Visual Studio compatibility details.
For questions about running previous versions of Visual Studio side by side with Visual Studio 2019, see the Visual Studio 2019 Platform Targeting and Compatibility page.
Step 2 - Download Visual Studio
Next, download the Visual Studio bootstrapper file. To do so, choose the following button, choose the edition of Visual Studio that you want, choose Save, and then choose Open folder.
Step 3 - Install the Visual Studio installer
Run the bootstrapper file to install the Visual Studio Installer. This new lightweight installer includes everything you need to both install and customize Visual Studio.
From your Downloads folder, double-click the bootstrapper that matches or is similar to one of the following files:
- vs_community.exe for Visual Studio Community
- vs_professional.exe for Visual Studio Professional
- vs_enterprise.exe for Visual Studio Enterprise
If you receive a User Account Control notice, choose Yes.
We'll ask you to acknowledge the Microsoft License Terms and the Microsoft Privacy Statement. Choose Continue.
Step 4 - Choose workloads
After the installer is installed, you can use it to customize your installation by selecting the feature sets—or workloads—that you want. Here's how.
Find the workload you want in the Installing Visual Studio screen.
For example, choose the '.NET desktop development' workload. It comes with the default core editor, which includes basic code editing support for over 20 languages, the ability to open and edit code from any folder without requiring a project, and integrated source code control.
After you choose the workload(s) you want, choose Install.
Next, status screens appear that show the progress of your Visual Studio installation.
After the new workloads and components are installed, choose Launch.
For example, choose the 'ASP.NET and web development' workload. It comes with the default core editor, which includes basic code editing support for over 20 languages, the ability to open and edit code from any folder without requiring a project, and integrated source code control.
After you choose the workload(s) you want, choose Install.
Next, status screens appear that show the progress of your Visual Studio installation.
Tip
At any time after installation, you can install workloads or components that you didn't install initially. If you have Visual Studio open, go to Tools > Get Tools and Features... which opens the Visual Studio Installer. Or, open Visual Studio Installer from the Start menu. From there, you can choose the workloads or components that you wish to install. Then, choose Modify.
Step 5 - Choose individual components (Optional)
If you don't want to use the Workloads feature to customize your Visual Studio installation, or you want to add more components than a workload installs, you can do so by installing or adding individual components from the Individual components tab. Choose what you want, and then follow the prompts.
Step 6 - Install language packs (Optional)
By default, the installer program tries to match the language of the operating system when it runs for the first time. To install Visual Studio in a language of your choosing, choose the Language packs tab from the Visual Studio Installer, and then follow the prompts.
Change the installer language from the command line
Another way that you can change the default language is by running the installer from the command line. For example, you can force the installer to run in English by using the following command: vs_installer.exe --locale en-US. The installer will remember this setting when it is run the next time. The installer supports the following language tokens: zh-cn, zh-tw, cs-cz, en-us, es-es, fr-fr, de-de, it-it, ja-jp, ko-kr, pl-pl, pt-br, ru-ru, and tr-tr.
Step 7 - Select the installation location (Optional)
New in 15.7: You can now reduce the installation footprint of Visual Studio on your system drive. You can choose to move the download cache, shared components, SDKs, and tools to different drives, and keep Visual Studio on the drive that runs it the fastest.
You can reduce the installation footprint of Visual Studio on your system drive. You can choose to move the download cache, shared components, SDKs, and tools to different drives, and keep Visual Studio on the drive that runs it the fastest.
Important
You can select a different drive only when you first install Visual Studio. If you've already installed it and want to change drives, you must uninstall Visual Studio and then reinstall it.
For more information, see the Select installation locations page.
Step 8 - Start developing
After Visual Studio installation is complete, choose the Launch button to get started developing with Visual Studio.
Choose File, and then choose New Project.
Select a project type.
For example, to build a C++ app, choose Installed, expand Visual C++, and then choose the C++ project type that you want to build.
To build a C# app, choose Installed, expand Visual C#, and then choose the C# project type that you want to build.
After Visual Studio installation is complete, choose the Launch button to get started developing with Visual Studio.
On the start window, choose Create a new project.
In the search box, enter the type of app you want to create to see a list of available templates. The list of templates depends on the workload(s) that you chose during installation. To see different templates, choose different workloads.
You can also filter your search for a specific programming language by using the Language drop-down list. You can filter by using the Platform list and the Project type list, too.
Visual Studio opens your new project, and you're ready to code!
Get support
Sometimes, things can go wrong. If your Visual Studio installation fails, see Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues for step-by-step guidance.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Update 5
We also offer a live chat (English only) support option for installation-related issues.
Here are a few more support options:
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Ultimate Download
- Report product issues to us via the Report a Problem tool that appears both in the Visual Studio Installer and in the Visual Studio IDE.
- Suggest a feature, track product issues, and find answers in the Visual Studio Developer Community.
- Use your GitHub account to talk to us and other Visual Studio developers in the Visual Studio conversation in the Gitter community.