Microsoft Visual Studio

What is Microsoft Visual Studio?

Microsoft Visual Studio is an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) which is mainly used by programmers and is a 64-bit application. It is used to develop applications, websites, games and web services. Multiple Microsoft software development platforms are integrated in Visual Studio. For example, Windows API, Windows Forms, Microsoft Silverlight, Windows Store and Windows Presentation Foundation. Microsoft Visual Studio is a perpetual license, meaning it can be used forever. As it is a perpetual license, it is a one-time purchase. The user can choose between 13 languages, when first launching the Visual Studio software. The two most recent released editions are Visual Studio 2019 and 2022, which were released respectively in April 2019 and November 2021. The first Visual Studio edition was released back in March 1997. Since then, 12 new editions have been released, up until Visual Studio 2022, with each new edition having improvement and additions over the previous edition.

What is Visual Studio used for?

Visual Studio offers many possibilities related to software development. The options within the software are developing, testing, debugging, expanding and collaborating. Within developing there are options to write, navigate and quickly fix code. Visual Studio has easy and useful tools for testing, and it is possible to write high quality code. Debugging is also possible, aswell as profiling and making diagnoses. Applying thousands of extensions, in order to expand the license and configure the IDE properly is also possible. Lastly, Microsoft Visual Studio lets the user collaborate and various applications can be monitored.

Visual Studio: Codes

Visual Studio includes these following technologies:

1. Javascript – it is possible to work with Visual Studio with Javascript.
2. Node.js – with Node.js, the user can work fast, cross-platform and scalable in Javascript.
3. C++ – this is an object-oriented programming language which performs well, is fast and is compatible with many other devices.
4. Python – Visual Studio provides a Python editor, which can be used for scriptwriting, IoT, data tasks and more.
5. .NET – on any OS (operating system) and device the user can use this to create services and applications.

Visual Studio 2019 vs 2022: the differences

One of the most important improvements in the 2022 edition, is the memory, as it has considerably more, and there is no longer the 4 GB limitation, which was in the 2019 edition. The program has also become lighter, which makes it faster than before. Visual Studio 2022 supports the latest version of C++, which is C++ 20. Furthermore, the accessibility has been improved, and the programming interface has been modified, as it now gives the user more options to visually adjust and personalize the interface. Lastly, the ability to modify or add to code has been improved. This only used to work with C#, but Microsoft has now made that possible for multiple languages.

Visual Studio Community vs Professional vs Enterprise

Visual Studio Community is the only free version out of these three. This free-to-download version is mainly used by students. Up to 5 users are able to use Community in a non-enterprise organisation. Professional is a more advanced version of Community and comes with more functions and possibilities. If needed, the user can use a free trial to test the software out. After the trial has ended, the user will need to buy the license. Visual Studio Professional is mainly used by individual developers or smaller teams. Out of these three (Community/Professional/Enterprise) versions, Enterprise is the most advanced version. It comes with the most functions and possibilities. Just like Professional, Enterprise has a free trail to test out the software. The biggest difference between Professional and Enterprise, is that Enterprise has a lot better testing tools, in the form of manual tests and automated tests. Next to that, the debugging diagnostics and IDE are also better in Enterprise.

Visual Studio for Mac and Windows: the differences

Visual Studio is available for both MacOS and Windows. However, there are a few differences:

1. Menu: the menus in MacOS and Windows are arranged differently. Sometimes, the buttons have a different name or different order.
2. Keyboard shortcuts: the biggest difference here is that on MacOS it uses “command” and on Windows it uses “CTRL” on shortcut. There are also some differences in combinations of keys to arrive at a shortcut.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 and 2022: support end dates

Visual Studio comes with two types of support: standard support (updates) and extended support (security). 

Support end dates for Visual Studio 2019:

Standard support: 09-04-2024

Extended support: 10-04-2029

Support end dates for Visual Studio 2022:

Standard support: 12-01-2027

Extended support: 10-04-2029