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Microsoft Visual Studio

What is MS Visual Studio ?

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a feature-rich program that supports many aspects of software development. The Visual Studio IDE is a creative launching pad that you can use to edit, debug, and build code, and then publish an app. Over and above the standard editor and debugger that most IDEs provide, Visual Studio includes compilers, code completion tools, graphical designers, and many more features to enhance the software development process.

Screenshot showing the Visual Studio 2022 IDE, with callouts indicating the location of key features and functionality.

The preceding image shows Visual Studio with an open project that shows key windows and their functionality:

  • In Solution Explorer, at upper right, you can view, navigate, and manage your code files. Solution Explorer can help organize your code by grouping the files into solutions and projects.

  • The central editor window, where you'll probably spend most of your time, displays file contents. In the editor window, you can edit code or design a user interface such as a window with buttons and text boxes.

  • In Git Changes at lower right, you can track work items and share code with others by using version control technologies like Git and GitHub.

What's new for 2022 ?

For 2022, Visual Studio becomes faster than ever, is now natively 64bits and support the development of modern app. More details in the release notes here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/ide/whats-new-visual-studio-2022?view=vs-2022

What's new for 2019 ?

2019 edition put accent on IDE improvements with a faster and clever search function, improved communications features. More details in the release notes here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/ide/whats-new-visual-studio-2019?view=vs-2022

Features comparisons between editions

Visual Studio is available for Windows and Mac. Visual Studio for Mac has many of the same features as Visual Studio for Windows, and is optimized for developing cross-platform and mobile apps.

There are three editions of Visual Studio: Community, Professional, and Enterprise. At CERN Community and Professional version are available for CERN users

A comprehensive chart of version comparison is available here : https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/compare/

Can I use the free Community edition or should I request a Professional licence ?

According to Microsoft licence agreement CERN is not eligible to provide MS Visual Studio Community Edition except in the following cases, if you are developing for:

  • Open source software
  • Visual Studio extensions
  • Device drivers for the Windows operating system
  • SQL Server development
  • Education purposes

The full licence agreement for Community edition is available here: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/license-terms/mlt031819/

How to get access to MS Visual Studio Professional edition on Windows or Mac ?

MS Visual Studio Professional licences can be requested by following instructions given in this KB0008322

How to install MS Visual Studio ?

On Windows:

The package can be installed like any other CMF package, for which detailed instructions can be found here.

The packages names are:

  • MS Visual Studio 2022 Community
  • MS Visual Studio 2022 Professional

The Professional version is only available on request due to a limited number of licences, please check the licence agreement above and confirm with with the administrator of your computer if you think you should have access to it.

When you launch Visual Studio For Windows for the first time, you're prompted to sign in using a Microsoft account. Use your CERN credentials to enable your subscription to the MS Visual Studio Professional licence

If you do decide not to log in straight away, you'll be able to use an evaluation copy for 30 days. After 30 days, you must log in to continue using your copy of Visual Studio for Windows.

On Macs:

MS Visual Studio Community and Professional can both be downloaded directly from Microsoft website: https://aka.ms/vs/mac/download

Signing in to Visual Studio for Mac is how you activate your subscription. - When you download Visual Studio for Mac, you'll always get the Community edition by default. - If you have a Professional or Enterprise license, you should sign in on first run to unlock any additional features.

When you launch Visual Studio for Mac for the first time, you're prompted to sign in using a Microsoft account. Use your CERN credentials to enable your subscription to the MS Visual Studio Professional licence

If you do decide not to log in straight away, you'll be able to use an evaluation copy for 30 days. After 30 days, you must log in to continue using your copy of Visual Studio for Mac.

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