Microsoft releases Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2

By Jonathan Angel
2009-10-20

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Microsoft says the Beta 2 version of its Visual Studio 2010 will be downloadable tomorrow, including .NET Framework 4.0. This "major renovation" of the C++ IDE (integrated development environment) now adds support for parallel computing, cloud and web services, and a redesigned editor, the company says.

A key element of Visual Studio 2010 (VS 2010) is its support for .NET Framework 4.0, a major update to the previous .NET Framework 3.5 that includes an improved CLR (common language runtime). Among other enhancements, .NET Framework 4.0 provides core support for building parallel applications that utilize two, four, or more processor cores, and the PLINQ (parallel language integrated query) language, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft's Visual Studio 2010
(Click to enlarge)

Microsoft says VS 2010 -- first released in Beta 1 form in May -- also adds support for the company's cloud-based Azure platform, new web development tools that include an "IntelliSense" JavaScript engine, wizard-based support for ASP.NET websites, and tools to build content using Silverlight 2 multimedia technology. The company adds that VS 2010's editor has been rebuilt with a shell and user interface using WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) 4.0. Compatible with third-party add-ins, the editor is said to include new features such as the "Document Map Margin," providing a graphical view of source files that offers information such as layout, code coverage, symbol highlights, and comments.

Other new functionality in VS 2010 highlighted by Microsoft includes the following:

Tools for Windows 7 application development
Support for creating Microsoft Office client applications that span both 32- and 64-bit versions
Support for databases that include not only Microsoft's own SQL Server, but also Oracle and IBM DB2
Enhanced support for ALM (application lifecycle management) through Visual Studio Team System 2010
Enhanced development of Microsoft Sharepoint applications

In a blog entry announcing the download, S. "Soma" Somasegar, corporate VP of Microsoft's developer division, says, "Visual Studio 2010 has made significant enhancements since Beta 1. We've come a long way in performance and general stability, and while there is more work to do before we release Visual Studio 2010, we hope you'll like what you see."

According to Somasegar, Beta 2 now includes "integrated tooling for SharePoint, including project templates and debugging support, and runtime and tooling support for developing great Windows 7 applications." Other improvements since Beta 1 include a greatly reduced download size for .NET Framework 4.0, sharper text thanks to a better text rendering stack, new Azure tools, and enhanced support for Silverlight 3 databidings, he adds.

Availability

According to a story on our sister site eWEEK.com, Microsoft also announced a simplified Visual Studio 2010 product lineup, along with pricing that ranges from approximately $800 up to $11,924. For more details, see the article by Darryl Taft, here.

Further information on Microsoft's Visual Studio 2010, including how to download Beta 2, is available from the company's website, here.

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