Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition: Top Reasons to Upgrade
Developer Productivity Improvements
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Revolutionary Data Access Model
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What is it?
- LINQ provides developers with a declarative programming technology to access data sources
- Support of SQL databases, XML files, or native object collection in VB and C# projects
- New Dataset Designer supporting hierarchical data sets
- LINQ code IntelliSense
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Why should I care?
- LINQ reduces complexity for developers and help boost their productivity
- Developers don't need to learn specialized query languages to access data
- Developers can tell the compiler ‘what’ they want instead of spending time on ‘how’ to get it
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Business Logic Development
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- Built in programming model, engine and tools for developing business logic using WF
- Workflow designer, project templates and a workflow debugger
- You can model both machine and human processes
- You can expose and consume WCF web services from inside your workflow
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- You can model real-world business process in your software
- You don’t need to write your own, custom workflow engines
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Multi-Targeting
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- Developers can select .NET 2.0, 3.0 or 3.5 at any time during the development process
- Visual Studio adjusts project templates, available DLLs, and IntelliSense to match the version of the framework you choose to target
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- You can gradually adopt the latest platform without forcing your users to upgrade
- You can use one tool to work on applications that run on different .NET Framework versions
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Test Driven Development Tools
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- Write unit tests to ensure the validity of your code
- Bind data to your unit tests, including CSV and XML file
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- You can apply Test Driven Development methodologies to deliver high quality applications and reduce time-to-market
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<h3>Windows, Office, and Mobile Development Tools</h3>
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<strong>Build Stunning Applications</strong>
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<strong>What is it?</strong>
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<li>WPF makes it much easier to build content-driven and media-rich applications</li>
<li>You can incorporate WPF into existing Windows Forms applications</li>
<li>ClickOnce enables you to deploy your WPF applications over the Web</li>
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<strong>Why should I care?</strong>
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<li>You can incorporate media and vector graphics to enable stunning new user experiences</li>
<li>Developers can readily leverage secure, reliable deployment options</li>
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<strong>Build Office-Based Applications</strong>
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<li>Visual Designers for Ribbon, custom task panes, outlook form region, and new wizards.</li>
<li>Workflow & Microsoft SharePoint support</li>
<li>ClickOnce enables you to deploy your VSTO applications over the Web</li>
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<li>You can more easily create Office-based applications</li>
<li>You can speed up Outlook form region design and configuration process</li>
<li>You can leverage SharePoint workflows and gain access to enterprise third-party back-end data repositories such as SAP and Siebel</li>
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<strong>Mobile Applications</strong>
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<li>Visual Studio Tools for devices now incorporates unit testing, and Device Emulator 3.0</li>
<li>Mobile project support LINQ, WCF, CLR Profiler / Performance Monitor, and BCL enhancements</li>
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<li>Developers can focus on the mobile application functionality and not worry about the different identities, connection methods, or storage models required</li>
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<h3>Web Applications and Service</h3>
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<strong>Employ the Latest Web User Interface Techniques</strong>
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<strong>What is it?</strong>
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<li>Integrated Silverlight support</li>
<li>Improved JavaScript and ASP.NET AJAX support (Intellisense and debugging)</li>
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<strong>Why should I care?</strong>
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<li>Build richer, more interactive, more personalized web experiences.</li>
<li>Increase your productivity by learning fewer concepts, and writing fewer lines of code</li>
<li>Spend less time authoring, debuging, and maintaining</li>
<li>Design and development can be conducted collaboratively</li>
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<strong>Design Web Applications</strong>
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<li>VS 2008 now uses the same Web Designer that ships with the new Expression Web product</li>
<li>Split view editing, to see both the HTML source and the Design View at the same-time</li>
<li>Nested master pages to enable design layout inheritance between your Web pages</li>
<li>(Cascading Style Sheets) CSS Style manager to select a CSS style sheets</li>
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<li>Use an intuitive Web Designer to build Web interfaces more easily</li>
<li>Change the layout of an entire website with minimal code changes</li>
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<strong>Build Connected Applications</strong>
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<li>Built in tools for implementing communications software with WCF</li>
<li>Support for a wide array of transports and protocols including SOAP</li>
<li>Improved support for standards including REST and JSON </li>
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<li>WCF is easier to use and better integrates with Web services</li>
<li>When building a service, you don’t need to write hosting code or deploy to IIS</li>
<li>You don’t need to develop a client to test your service code – WCF</li>
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<h3>Collaboration</h3>
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<strong>Improve Team Collaboration</strong>
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<strong>What is it?</strong>
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<ul>
<li>Connect to Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server using Team Explorer*</li>
<li>Collaborate with users of the Visual Studio 2008 products</li>
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<strong>Why should I care?</strong>
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<li>Your team can work more effectively and manage change</li>
<li>Team members using Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition can collaborate more easily with team members using Visual Studio Team System 2008 products</li>
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<strong>Improve Collaboration with the Web Designer</strong>
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<li>XAML is automatically generated by the design tool the designer uses; XAML is then consumed by the developer</li>
<li>Since VS 2008, the workflow is two-way, the developer being able to start the process</li>
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<li>Designers and developers can work iteratively and simultaneously rather than sequentially</li>
<li>Designers and developers can be more productive and work in a more agile way</li>
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