For Visual Basic programmers, the new version of Visual Studio includes some nice features such as implicit line continuation (no more underscore characters to continue lines), auto-implemented class properties, collection initializers and lambda expressions (essentially functions within functions). On the C# side of things, they’ve added support for late binding to dynamic types, and improved interoperability with COM objects. This is a real benefit to C# developers who need to make extensive use of the Office automation APIs, since these changes make it significantly easier to work with. For the most part, the language changes make it easier to do more with less code, and brings VB and C# into parity with one another in terms of language features and overall functionality. Microsoft decided to merge the VB and C# language teams together, ensuring that both languages are “first class citizens” in the .NET universe.

For those who are interested in working with Visual Studio 2010, here’s some useful links:

• Visual Studio 2010 Express Editions
• Visual Studio 2010 Professional
• .NET Framework 4 Installer
• Visual Studio 2010 Help Keyword Index
• Help Viewer Power Tool

Visual Studio 2010 Professional can be installed as a 30-day trial and you can get an additional 60-day extension, if necessary. The Express Editions are free, of course, but are more limited. New projects build with VS2010 will target the .NET 4 Framework, so your end-users would need to have that installed. You could either have them install it using the web installer I linked above, or you could have your own installation program pre-install the framework.

The link to the keyword index addon is something that addresses the one significant negative in VS2010, which is the new help system that they’re using. It lacks an index, and the searching functionality leaves a lot to be desired (for example, there’s no ability to filter search results). This addon adds a panel that provides an index that integrates directly into the IDE, and is really something that should have been included with the product. One caveat is that this addon won’t work with the Express editions because they don’t support tool extensions. The Help Viewer power tool allows you to configure the VIsual Studio 2010 help to use a standalone viewer, rather than your browser. Keep in mind that if you want to make full use of the Help Viewer power tool, make sure that you install all of the Visual Studio documentation locally.

For example, in Visual Basic the code could look like this:

  SecureShell.HostName = "remote.server.net"
  SecureShell.UserName = "username"
  SecureShell.Password = "password"

  Dim strResult = SecureShell.Execute("/bin/ps -ef")
  If strResult.Length = 0 And SecureShell.LastError > 0 Then
      MessageBox.Show(SecureShell.LastErrorString)
      Exit Sub
  End If

  TextBox1.Text = strResult

In this example, the typical property values are set for the SSH server domain name or IP address, the user name and password required to authenticate the session. The Execute method is then called, providing the command to execute as a parameter, and the output from the command will be returned to a string value. In this case, we’re connecting to a UNIX based system and listing all of the running processes using the /bin/ps command.

If an error occurs, then the return value will be an empty string and the LastError property will be set to a value which identifies the error condition. In this case, we simply display a message box that shows a human-readable description of the last error code and then exit the subroutine.

As with an interactive terminal session, the entire operation is encrypted over the network, including the command that is sent and the output that it returns. For this reason, using SSH is preferred over the old rexec protocol which would send both the user credentials and the command as plain text. If you’re currently using the Remote Command class in your applications, it’s recommended that you consider rewriting your code to use the SSH component as a secure alternative.

Likewise, we will continue to support the SocketTools ActiveX controls (as well as our other products) for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows 2000, Windows XP and Vista. Although Microsoft’s support for the classic Visual Basic development environment is coming to an end, it will not impact developers insofar as SocketTools is concerned. This is the same policy that we have followed when Microsoft ended support for Visual C++ 6.0 in September 2005 and we have continued to support our Library Edition with that version of the compiler. It is recommended that you download Service Pack 6 for Visual Studio 6.0, which you can obtain from the Microsoft Download Center.

We understand that many companies and end-users continue to depend on applications created using Visual Basic 6.0. We will continue updating and improving the ActiveX controls in our products, and will continue to support development tools using ActiveX/COM. Please note that if you are using an earlier version of SocketTools, we recommend that you upgrade to the current version and continue to receive technical support and updates for the product. This is particularly true for those developers who are using the MFC-based ActiveX controls in SocketTools 3.6 or earlier versions. The current version of the ATL-based ActiveX controls offer superior performance, stability and improved features that can extend the life of legacy applications written in Visual Basic 6.0, helping to ensure that your software will continue to work correctly on the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 platforms.

Visual Studio 2005
If you use Visual Studio 2005 and are interested in moving to Vista as your development platform, you’re in good shape. Microsoft supports Visual Studio 2005 on Vista, and Service Pack 1 was released on December 19th, 2006. If you previously installed the beta version of the service pack, make sure that you uninstall it first, before attempting to install the released version or you may encounter errors during the installation.

It’s also recommended that you download the .NET Framework 3.0 and Windows SDK for Vista, which is the latest version of the Platform SDK. One note of caution for developers who are also using older versions of Visual Studio: Do not replace your previous Platform SDK with the new Windows SDK, particularly if you’re still using Visual C++ 6.0. Also, if you use third-party plug-ins for Visual Studio, check with the vendor to make sure that they support Vista.

Visual Studio .NET 2003
If you are currently using Visual Studio .NET 2003, you can install it under Vista; however, it is not supported by Microsoft and they don’t recommend that you use Vista as your development platform. Under most circumstances, you will probably find that Visual Studio .NET 2003 will work correctly. We have it installed on Vista, primarily for testing purposes, and are able to edit, compile and debug programs locally. Where you can run into problems is with remote debugging and COM interop.

If you want to try using VS.NET 2003 with Vista, make sure that you download and install Service Pack 1 if you haven’t already. If you’re using third-party plug-ins, make sure that they’re still supported. Because Microsoft won’t support older versions of Visual Studio on Vista, some vendors may choose to only support Visual Studio 2005 on the platform.

Visual Studio 6.0
Although the number of developers using Visual Studio 6.0 has steadily declined over the past several years, there are still a fairly large number of companies that continue to use Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual C++ 6.0. As with Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual Studio 6.0 is not supported under Windows Vista and if you cannot upgrade to Visual Studio 2005, Microsoft recommends that you continue to use Windows XP as your development platform. There is some good news, and that is Microsoft will continue to provide support for the Visual Basic 6.0 runtime in Vista. This means that programs you develop using Visual Basic 6.0 will continue to run and be fully supported.

If you’re using Visual C++ 6.0, you’ll find that for the most part you’ll be able to use the IDE and compiler without a problem. However, remote debugging and using ActiveX controls can present problems. For example, adding components to your project (through the Project | Add to Project | Components and Controls menu option) may not work correctly.

Borland Developer Studio 2006
Borland has promised support for Vista and the .NET 2.0 Framework in 2007, however the current version of Borland Developer Studio is not supported under Vista and they recommend that you continue to use Windows XP as your development platform. Because Borland only supports version 1.1, developers won’t be able to take advantage of some of the new features included with Vista and the .NET 3.0 Framework until the new version of BDS is released.

Third-Party Languages
There are a large number of third-party languages available for Windows, and many of them will continue to work under Vista without a problem. The two key areas that are most likely to encounter problems are debugging and support for ActiveX controls or Automation. In some cases it may be required to run them with elevated privileges, either from the command line or from within their IDE. If you experience problems, select the shortcut to the program from the Start menu and right-click on it. Select Properties and the property sheet for the shortcut will be displayed. Next, click on the Compatibility tab and make one or more of the following changes:

1. Enable compatibility mode and select Windows XP (Service Pack 2). If the compiler is performing operating system version checks, it will continue to think that it’s running under XP. If this doesn’t work, try setting compatibility to Windows 2000.

2. Check the option to disable visual themes. This will disable theme support in the application, and is a good choice if you’re noticing problems with menus or buttons not being drawn correctly.

3. Check the option to disable desktop composition. This will disable the advanced features in the Aero Glass interface, such as transparency. This is a good choice if you notice problems with windows not being drawn correctly. For example, if the IDE includes visual tools to create and edit forms or dialogs, you may find that controls are drawn very slowly or aren’t redrawn in the correct position. Disabling this feature will often correct the problem, however it will force the entire desktop (not just the application) to disable the Aero UI until the program terminates.

4. Check the option to run the program as an administrator. This will allow the IDE or compiler to run with elevated privileges. If you are experiencing problems debugging your application or using third-party ActiveX controls, enabling this option may correct the problem. Note that if this option is enabled, you will be given a UAC prompt every time that you run it. You should only enable this option for programs that you trust because they will be given full, unrestricted access to the operating system.