Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9022 in Software
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: G77-00406
• Released on: 2003-05-28
• Platform: No Operating System
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Visual Studio .Net is Microsoft's multi-faceted development tool, targeting both Windows and Web applications. This 2003 edition includes numerous small improvements as well as major new features such as the Compact Framework, for applications that run on Pocket PCs and other smart devices. It supports multiple languages, with the main ones being Visual Basic, C#, and C++. There is also a Java-like language called J#, although J# applications only work on Windows so this is not a true Java development tool. The Visual Studio .Net environment is truly integrated. It makes extensive use of docking and tabbed windows and there are plenty of project wizards along with huge amounts of online help. Auto-completion and pop-up help eases the business of editing code.

Microsoft's .Net tools are very different from their predecessors. Visual C++ can still compile standard Windows executables, but the other languages all target the .Net Framework, a runtime engine and class library that manages memory and enforces security. Framework applications perform well, since they are compiled to native code at runtime, but there is an overhead in terms of memory usage and the Framework runtime must be installed. In compensation, .Net brings many advantages. All the languages are fully object-oriented, the class library is rich, and XML support is fully integrated. ASP .Net is for Web applications and represents a large advance on the old ASP. Instead of script, ASP .Net supports any of the .Net languages, running on the server and just-in-time compiled to native code. There is a visual Web page designer and carefully designed applications support a wide range of browsers. New in this version of Visual Studio is Mobile Web Forms which use adaptive rendering to support the browsers in mobile phones and PDAs. The database technology in Visual Studio is called ADO .Net and uses a disconnected model ideal for laptops, smart devices and wide area networks.

Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect 2003 is the top of the range. It's the only version to include Visio, a drawing and modelling tool with integrated reverse-engineering and code-generation, though sadly not full round-tripping. There are also developer licenses for the key Microsoft server platforms, including Windows Server 2003, Exchange 2000 Server, Biztalk Server and SQL Server 2000. Another key component is the Visual SourceSafe code management system, which is especially important for team development, the Application Centre Test, for stress-testing Web applications, and Enterprise Templates which let architects design and deploy best practices for project development. For those wondering whether to make the jump to .Net, this release is probably the right moment to go ahead. The technology is maturing, and the inclusion of the Compact Framework makes the package more compelling. The deep XML support on offer is essential for many enterprise applications and enables integration with other platforms. It's still important to note the heavy system requirements, and that .Net applications do not run on Windows 95. In most cases, the higher productivity of .Net languages soon pays for any additional resources. --Tim Anderson

Manufacturer's Description
Visual Studio.NET 2003 provides developers with comprehensive tools for designing and building distributed applications for Microsoft Windows, the Web, and mobile devices. Visual Studio.NET 2003 Enterprise Architect (VSEA) builds on the power of Visual Studio.NET 2003 Enterprise Developer by including additional capabilities for designing, specifying, and communicating application architecture, development best practices, and application functionality.

Use a complete set of Microsoft Visio–based modeling capabilities to create and communicate application architecture, business requirements, database design, and business processes. Architects using Microsoft Visual C++ .NET, Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, or Microsoft Visual C# .NET can use Unified Modeling Language (UML) models to specify application architecture and functionality, reduce development time by directly generating classes, functions, and methods, and document existing application code by reverse-engineering projects. Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect enables developers to create architectural designs and models that they can share with the rest of their team. Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect provides end-to-end support for database modeling, including conceptual, logical, and physical views. Business analysts can easily enter business rules using the Fact Editor, which in turn generates an underlying database model that can be refined by a database analyst. Roundtrip engineering guarantees that changes made at any of the views will be reflected throughout, improving communication across the development team. Business processes can be defined and orchestrated using a full-featured version of Microsoft BizTalk server designed for developers. This makes it easier to compose applications from existing functionality—whether that functionality is internal or external to an organization.

Enterprise Templates and the Template Description Language can help developers meet the challenges of rapidly proliferating innovations and technologies, and increase collaboration across development teams. Architects can use Enterprise Template projects to create application starting points by specifying an initial application structure (including any reusable or standard components and technologies), as well as design documents and models. Architects using Template Description Language can specify the constraints for component usage throughout the application, such as by setting property values and ranges so that developers can easily make the right implementation choices. Architects can also create custom Help topics in HTML and integrate them into the Visual Studio .NET dynamic help system, giving developers access to the resources they need. Sophisticated reference applications included in Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect illustrate some recommended approaches to solving common problems. These reference applications show the use of .NET-connected technology to create sample distributed applications complete with reference architectures, application, data and business models as well as the underlying code.

Visual Studio .NET, the industry benchmark for developer productivity, leverages the power of the .NET Framework. The ultimate developer cockpit, it includes visual designers for Windows, the Web, data, and server components to accomplish tasks more efficiently than ever before. Visual Studio .NET 2003 enables seamless creation and usage of XML Web services for building the next-generation Internet. Visual Studio .NET 2003 provides an open and extensible architecture that enables third-party vendors to create languages, tools, and components that seamlessly integrate into the environment, providing developers with a broad range of choices for meeting development requirements.

Customer Reviews

Microsoft have finally got there.
The Visual range of products have always had a good IDE without being excellent. I've always found Borland (specifically Delphi) to be easier to use and more productive in the past. This has now changed, for three reasons;

The first is C#, as an Java/C++/Delphi programmer I'm used to using the language that fits the task - now C# seems to fit all tasks better than any of these "old" languages (note that the "Mono" project is soon to bring C# to Unix platforms).

The second is the IDE, lots of small changes and improvements have made it the best IDE out there; block cut and paste, outlining, macros etc.

The final reason is the CLR (common language runtime) a set of runtime libraries which is rich, consistent and easy to use.

There's many other plus points I could mention - but if your writing for a Windows platform this is the development tool of choice.