Quick Facts about Visual Studio 2005 - Did you know?

January 20, 2006 · 2 min read

Visual Studio 2005 ! - Wait !! this might definitely be the tenth time you read this term across today !!!. It, no doubt, has created a wave. A Technology wave which defines new standards for creating applications using the .NET Framework 2.0.

Visual Studio 2005 has improved a lot over its predeccessor Visual Studio .NET 2003. There are some quick facts which are handy for new developers

Visual Studio 2005 (no more ".NET" in the name of the IDE) targets .NET Framework 2.0 for developing Windows, Web Applications, Smart Client Applications etc.,

Visual Studio 2005 doesnt require a recompilation (rebuilding) for changes in the code behind. We can just press CTRL+S (Save) and Voila, you can see the changes.

Visual Studio 2005 treats Windows Applications and Web Applications differently. For a Windows Application, you need to go to File - New Project, whereas for Web Applications, you go File - New Website. The same holds for Open also.

Visual Studio 2005 intelligently asks you for refactoring certain mundane lines of code into reusable methods.

Visual Studio 2005 introduces intellisense everywhere - Now you get the Intellisense popup whether you are in the Source(HTML) Mode or Code-Behind.

You can now drag and drop controls from the Toolbox either in the Design Mode or in the Source(HTML) Mode.

The Web.Config file is not added by default when you create a new Website (Web Application).

The first time you RUN the application, it would popup asking you whether to add a Web.Config and enable the Debug Mode (By Default it is set to false).

The Web.Config file can be hand edited as well as its settings managed using the WebSite Administration Page which ships built-in. You can manage as many things as Authentication, Roles, Users, SessionState etc., from this Tool without manually changing the Web.Config.

Visual Studio 2005 can be used to create complex Class Diagrams and generate code from them. The Diagrams can also be exported for Documentation.

The above is just a sneak peek of the exhaustive list of features.

Visual Studio 2005 comes in different editions such as Standard, Professional, Team System and Express Editions.

To View the features and comparison of the editions, check
Microsoft Visual Studio Developer Center

Cheers and Happy Visual Studio Development !!!

This article is part of the GWB Archives. Original Author: Harish Ranganathan

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