Visual Studio 2008 Development System > Products > Product Comparison

Visual Studio 2008 Product Comparison

April 2008, Version 1.08

The following product comparison is for illustrative purposes only.

For more information, see What's New in Visual Studio 2008.

General
Basic Tools
Data-Related Tools
Platform Tools
Advanced Tools
Item Templates

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General

Languages

Visual Studio provides several programming languages for software development

Project System

Use the Project System to manage items required by your development effort, such as references, data connections, folders, and files

Extensibility

Visual Studio is a highly-extensible and automatable integrated development environment

External Tools

Visual Studio includes a number of core external tools to aid in developing and debugging your applications

Environment Options

The many settings available enable you customize Visual Studio to better match your development style

Setup Experience

Visual Studio Setup provides a consolidated setup experience

Help System

Visual Studio uses MSDN Library for integrated and comprehensive documentation

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Basic Tools

Code Editing Tools

The ability to write and modify text and code is a core function of Visual Studio 2008

Feature Area
Auto Using to detect when your code is missing a using statement to qualify a data type	♦		♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Bookmark window to display and navigate to bookmarks in your code	♦			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Bookmarks enable you to mark lines of code and navigate to them	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Class Designer provides a visual design surface called a class diagram that you can use to work with classes and other types in a project					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Class View displays the symbols defined, referenced, or called in the application you are developing	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Code Colorization colorizes code tokens and constructs so they are easier to scan and read	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Code Definition window is a read-only editor view that displays the definition of a symbol in a code file stored in, or referenced by, the active project				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Code Snippets Manager to add folders to the folder list that the Code Snippet Picker scans for XML .snippet files	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Code Snippets provide a way for you to insert ready-made snippets of code into your projects	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Document Outline window provides an outline view of elements and scripts in the current document	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Find All References enables you to find every line of code that references a particular class or member	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Generate Method Stub is an IntelliSense Automatic Code Generation feature that provides an easy way to create a new method declaration when writing a method call	♦		♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
IntelliSense accelerated development by making language references easy to access and use	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Metadata as Source enables you to view metadata that appears as C# source code in a read-only buffer	♦		♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Object Browser enables you to explore available objects and their members	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Organize Usings enables you to sort using statements and remove unused usings	♦		♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Properties window enables you to view and change the design-time properties and events of selected objects that are located in editors, designers, and other tools windows	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Property Manager enables you to modify project settings that are defined in property sheets				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Resource Editors are specialized environments for creating, modifying, and previewing resources included in a Visual Studio project				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Source Code and Markup Formatting enables the text editor to format source code and markup on a per language basis	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Surround-With Code Snippets enable you to wrap selected lines of code a code snippet	♦		♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Tag Navigator represents the element that is currently selected in the document and the hierarchy of parent tags to which it belongs	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Task List window helps you create and manage a list of programming tasks	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Toolbox displays icons for items that you can add to the various design surfaces in Visual Studio	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

Refactoring Tools

Refactoring tools help you improve your code after it has been written by changing the internal structure of your code without changing its external behavior

Debugging Tools

Debugging tools in Visual Studio 2008 enable you to observe the run-time behavior of your program and locate logic errors (What's New in the Visual Studio Debugger)

Feature Area
Attach to Local Process enables you to attach the debugger to any process on the local computer				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Attach to Remote Process enables you to attach the debugger to processes on remote computers that have been set up for remote debugging						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Autos window displays variables used in the current statement and the previous statement				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Breakpoints enable you to tell the debugger that an application should break, pause execution, at a certain point	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Breakpoints window lists all breakpoints currently set in your program and displays their properties				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Call Browser window enables you to search for function calls, and then browse the search results and easily navigate to the function references in your source code files				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Call Stack window displays a list of all active procedures or stack frames for the current thread of execution	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Debugger Visualizers create a dialog box or other interface to displays a variable or object in a meaningful way that is appropriate to its data type (Visual Studio includes four: text, HTML, XML, and dataset)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Disassembly window shows assembly code corresponding to the instructions created by the compiler				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Dumps enable you to save program information for debugging at a later time					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Edit and Continue is a time-saving feature that enables you to make changes to your code during a debugging session, instead of having to stop, recompile your entire program, and restart the debugging session (32-bit development only)		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Error List window displays the Errors, Warnings, and Messages produced as you edit and compile code	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Exception Assistant is a debugging tool that provides details about exceptions when they occur, including the exception message, troubleshooting tips, and a task-oriented list of corrective actions to take	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Find Symbol Results window lists search results for the Find Symbol tab of the Find and Replace window, the Find All References shortcut menu command in the Object Browser, Class View, or the Code Editor	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Immediate window enables you to enter expressions to be evaluated or executed by a development language	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Just-In-Time Debugging launches the Visual Studio debugger automatically when a program, running outside Visual Studio, encounters a fatal error					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Locals window displays the local variables and their values in the current stack frame	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Managed Debugging enables you to debug managed applications, or applications written in languages that target the common language runtime, such as Visual Basic, C#, and Managed Extensions for C++	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Memory window displays large buffers, strings, and other data that do not display well in the Watch or Variables window				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Mixed-Mode Debugging enables you to debug a mixed-mode application, which is any application that combines native code with managed code (32-bit development only)				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Mini-dumps contain pertinent data during a crash that show the call stack and symbols, just as if the crash had occurred on the developer's machine while debugging within Visual Studio					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Modules and Symbols window enables you to load and unload the symbols for a module				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
MPI Cluster System Debugging enables you to debug parallel programs that run on a cluster of computers communicating through the Message Passing Interface (MPI)						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Multithreaded/Multiprocess Debugging is easier with an improved Threads window and other user interface improvements to make multithreaded debugging easier					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Native Debugging enables you to debug native applications, which are applications written in C/C++				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
NTSD Command Support enables you to use the Immediate window for NT Symbolic Debugger (NTSD) commands, which can help with debugging user-mode applications					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Object Test Bench enables you to create instances of your project's objects for simple object-level testing						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Output window displays status messages at run time	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Processes window shows all processes that you have attached to or launched from Visual Studio				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Registers window enables you to see register values change as your code executes with recently changed values appearing in red				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Remote Debugging enables debugging of a computer or device from another computer						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Script Debugging enables you to find and correct errors in scripts written in VBScript or JScript/JavaScript, including supports for debugging of client-side scripts in ASP.NET pages	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
SQL-CLR Debugging enables you to debug various kinds of CLR database objects, including stored procedures, triggers, user-defined scalar functions, user-defined table-valued functions, user-defined aggregates, and user-defined types						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Step-Into Web Services enables you to attach to a Web service to debug a Web service call					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Symbols Server Support enables you to automatically download the proper symbols for various Microsoft operating systems, as well as MDAC, IIS, ISA, and the .NET Framework		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Threads window lists all of the threads for the current process and information about them				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Tracepoints enable you to create breakpoints with a custom action associated with it				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
T-SQL Debugging enables you to debug various kinds of T-SQL database objects, including stored procedures, triggers, user-defined functions, and extended stored procedures						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Watch window displays the values of selected variables or watch expressions and only updates when execution is stopped at a breakpoint or exception	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
XSLT Debugger enables you to debug a style sheet, to debug an XSLT transformation invoked from another application, and to view XSLT output						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

Build and Deployment Tools

The tools provided with Visual Studio 2008 enable you to control builds and deploy applications & components (What's New in Deployment)

Feature Area
CAB Project project template for creating a CAB project to which files can be added					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ClickOnce deployment enables you to publish Windows-based applications to a Web server or network file share for simplified installation	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ClickOnce Security Setting enables you to specify the code access security permissions that your ClickOnce application requires to run		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Compiler Support for Any CPU enables you to compile your managed application to run on any CPU		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Copy Web Site tool enables you to copy files between the current Web site and another site	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Database Publishing Wizard (Publish to provider) enables you to generate scripts for databases and objects inside of databases	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Merge Module Project project template for creating a Windows Installer Merge Module project to which files can be added					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Pre/Post Build Event Commands enable you to run scripts, macros, or other actions before or after the compilation process				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Publish Web Site utility precompiles the pages and code that are in the Web site and writes the compiler output to a folder that you specify					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Setup Project project template for creating a Windows Installer project to which files can be added					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Setup Wizard project template for creating a Windows Installer project with the aid of a wizard					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Smart Device CAB Project project template for creating a CAB project to deploy Pocket PC, Smartphone and other Windows CE-based applications					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Strong Name Signing enables you to strong-name sign your application, deployment manifests and the assembly, which gives your software components globally unique identities that cannot be spoofed		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Web Setup Project project template for creating a Windows Installer web project to which files can be added					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Installer deployment enables you to create installer packages to be distributed to users, who run the setup file and step through a wizard to install the application					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

64-Bit Development

Visual Studio enables you to create applications that take advantage of 64-bit capabilities and run specifically on Windows 64-bit computers

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Data-Related Tools

Data Tools

Data tools help you build applications that access data, including LINQ, which brings new query capabilities to C# and Visual Basic

XML Tools

Visual Studio 2008 includes a number of tools to help you work with XML documents, schema, and data

Reporting Tools

Visual Studio 2008 includes tools to help you create reports in your applications

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Platform Tools

Office Development

The Visual Studio Tools for Office enable you to write applications that take advantage of functionality in the Microsoft Office system (What's New in Visual Studio Tools for Office)

Feature Area
Excel 2003 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Excel 2003		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Excel 2003 Template project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Excel 2007 template		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Excel 2003 Workbook project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Excel 2007 workbook		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Excel 2007 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Excel 2007		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Excel 2007 Template project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Excel 2007 template		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Excel 2007 Workbook project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Excel 2007 workbook		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
InfoPath 2007 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for InfoPath2007		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
InfoPath 2007 Form Template project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing InfoPath form template		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Microsoft Office System 2003 Primary Interop Assemblies contain type definitions (not implementation) of types defined by Microsoft Office System 2003		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Microsoft Office System Runtime includes managed assemblies that provide the communication layer between your solution and the Microsoft Office application		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Outlook 2003 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Outlook 2003		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Outlook 2007 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Outlook 2007		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
PowerPoint 2003 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for PowerPoint 2003		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
PowerPoint 2007 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for PowerPoint 2007		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Project 2003 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Project 2003		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Project 2007 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Project 2007		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Shared Add-in project template for creating an Add-in loadable into multiple Microsoft Office applications	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
SharePoint 2007 Sequential Workflow project template for creating a SharePoint sequential workflow		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
SharePoint 2007 State Machine Workflow project template for creating a SharePoint state machine workflow		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Visio 2003 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Visio 2003		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Visio 2007 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Visio 2007		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office system help you extend applications in Microsoft Office 2003 and the 2007 Microsoft Office system using Visual Basic and Visual C#		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Word 2003 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Word 2003		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Word 2003 Document project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Word 2003 document		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Word 2003 Template project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Word 2003 template		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Word 2007 Add-in project template for creating a managed code add-in for Word 2007		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Word 2007 Document project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Word 2007 document		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Word 2007 Template project template for creating managed code extensions behind a new or existing Word 2007 template		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
SharePoint 2007 Sequential Workflow project template for creating a SharePoint sequential workflow		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
SharePoint 2007 State Machine Console Application project template for creating a state machine workflow console application		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
SharePoint 2007 State Machine Workflow project template for creating a SharePoint state machine workflow		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

Smart Device Development

Tools and frameworks that help you develop applications for Pocket PC, Smartphone, and other Windows CE .NET-based platforms (What's New in Smart Device Projects)

Feature Area
ATL Smart Device Project project template for creating Windows Mobile and other Windows CE-based devices that uses the Active Template Library	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Device Emulator is a desktop application that emulates the behavior of a Windows CE- or Windows Mobile-based hardware platform	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
MFC Smart Device ActiveX Control project template for creating an ActiveX control for Windows Mobile and other Windows CE-based devices that uses the Microsoft Foundation Class Library	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
MFC Smart Device Application project template for creating an application for Windows Mobile and other Windows CE-based devices that uses the Microsoft Foundation Class Library	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
MFC Smart Device DLL project template for creating a dynamic-link library for Windows Mobile and other Windows CE-based devices that uses the Microsoft Foundation Class library	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Smart Device Project project template for creating Smart Device applications	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Win32 Smart Device Project project template for creating a Win32 or Console project for Windows Mobile and other Windows CE-based devices	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows CE Remote File Viewer displays a hierarchical view of the file system on a target device	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows CE Remote Heap Walker displays information about heap identifiers and flags for each process that is running on a target device and about system memory that a process uses	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows CE Remote Process Walker displays information associated with each process that is running on a target device	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Windows CE Remote Registry Editor displays the registry for a target device and lets you add, delete, and modify registry keys and registry entries	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows CE Remote Spy displays messages received by windows associated with applications that are running on a target device	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows CE Remote Zoom-in displays a screen image from a target device	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Mobile 5.0 SDKs for Pocket PC and Smatphone are required to develop applications for Windows Mobile 5.0 based devices, which are based on Windows CE and .NET Compact Framework	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Mobile 6 Professional and Standard SDKs include additional emulators and tools that take advantage of features in Windows Mobile 6 (available separately)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

Web & WCF Development

Visual Studio 2008 includes enhancements and new features for improved Web development and Windows Communication Foundation development (What's New in ASP.NET and Web Development)

Feature Area
Apply Styles window enables you to create, modify, and apply CSS styles	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET AJAX Server Control Extender project template for building an ASP.NET AJAX server control extender		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET AJAX Server Control project template for building an ASP.NET AJAX server control		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET AJAX Support enables you to quickly create Web pages that include a rich user experience with responsive and familiar user interface (UI) elements	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET Crystal Reports Web Site project template for creating an ASP.NET Web Site with a sample Crystal Report			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET Reports Web Site project template for creating an ASP.NET Web site with a report		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET Server Control project template for creating controls to use in Web applications		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET Web Application project template for creating an application with a Web user interface		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET Web Service Application project template for creating Web services	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET Web Site project template for creating a blank ASP.NET Web site	♦
Feature Area
ASP.NET Web Site Administration Tool provides a Web interface for managing the configuration settings of an individual Web site	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Configure Service Reference dialog box enables you to configure the behavior of WCF services	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
CSS Properties window shows you the styles that are used by the current selection in a Web page, the order of precedence for the styles, and enables you to add, modify, and create new inline styles	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Direct Style Application toolbar enables you to apply or remove class-based or ID-based styles, and to create and apply new styles	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Empty Web Site project template for creating an empty Web site	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Generate Local Resources creates a local resource files (.resx) for all localizable properties in an ASP.NET Web page and its controls		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Manage Styles window enables you to move styles from an inline style sheet to an external style sheet, or vice versa	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Markup Validation works like a spell checker to examine the markup and adds wavy red lines under the elements or attributes that are not valid based on schemas for commonly used browsers and standards	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Table Designer provides a table editor that allows you to edit HTML tables visually	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WCF Test Client enables you to input test parameters, submit that input to a WCF service, and view the response that the service sends back	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
WCF Service project template for creating WCF services	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WCF Service Host automatically starts to host WCF services locally for debugging without writing extra code or committing to a specific host during development		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WCF Service Library project template for creating a WCF service class library DLL		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Web Content Accessibility Checker provides an accessibility validation tool to check HTML markup for conformance to accessibility guidelines	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

Windows Development

Visual Studio 2008 offers several ways to develop Windows-based applications that run locally on users' computers (Overview of Windows-based Applications)

Feature Area
Activity Designer enables you to create your own custom workflow activities				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ATL Project project template for creating a project that uses the Active Template Library			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Class Library project template for creating a class library DLL	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Console Application project template for creating a command-line application	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Custom Wizard project template for creating a custom application wizard				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Empty Project project template for an empty project for creating a local application		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Empty Workflow Project project template for creating an empty project for creating a workflow				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Makefile Project project template for using an external build system			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
MFC ActiveX Control project template for creating an ActiveX control that uses the Microsoft Foundation Class Library				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
MFC Application project template for creating an application that uses the Microsoft Foundation Class Library				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
MFC DLL project template for creating a dynamic-link library that uses the Microsoft Foundation Class library				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Sequential Workflow Console Application project template for creating a sequential workflow console application				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Sequential Workflow Library project template for creating a sequential workflow library				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Sequential Workflow Service Library project template for creating a sequential workflow exposed as a WCF service				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
State Machine Workflow Library project template for creating a state machine workflow library				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
State Machine Workflow Designer is a visual designer that you can use to create a state machine workflow				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
State Machine Workflow Service Library project template for creating a state machine workflow exposed as a WCF service				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Syndication Service Library project template for creating a syndication service exposed as a WCF service				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Visual Studio Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation Designer is a visual designer that you can use to create a workflow				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Win32 Console Application project template for creating a Win32 console application			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Win32 Project project template for creating a Win32 application, console application, DLL, or static library			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Forms Application project template for creating an application with a Windows user interface	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Forms Control Library project template for creating controls to use in Windows Forms applications				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Designer provides a visual design experience for creating WPF controls and applications with split view designer	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Service project template for creating Windows services				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Workflow Activity Library project template for creating a library of activities which can later be reused as building blocks in workflows				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Application project template for creating a Windows Presentation Foundation client application	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Browser Application project template for creating a Windows Presentation Foundation browser application	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Custom Control Library project template for creating a Windows Presentation Foundation custom control library				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF User Control Library project template for creating a Windows Presentation Foundation user control library				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

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Advanced Tools

Distributed System Design Tools

Use the Distributed System Design tools to design, evaluate, and implement application systems

Feature Area
Application Design project template to define and connect underlying applications for designing systems	♦	♦
Application Designer to visually define service-oriented applications and generate code	♦	♦
Bind Application to identify that an application will be deployed on a particular server in the logical datacenter diagram	♦	♦
Configure Connections to External Databases on the application diagram to visualize, document, connect them to applications that reference them, and include them as part of an application system design	♦	♦
Conform .NET Web Service Endpoints to WSDL Files to conform operation signatures to those described in the WSDL file	♦	♦
Custom Prototypes enable you to create custom prototypes from applications, logical servers, zones, and endpoints already defined on their respective diagrams or install those created by other users	♦	♦
Define Deployment dialog box to create a deployment diagram using an application diagram, or system diagram	♦	♦
Deployment Designer to validate application designs against a target datacenter and identify issues before deployment begins	♦	♦
Generate Deployment Report to to assist you in creating an installation script from structured XML information in the report	♦	♦
Implement Application from application diagrams to create the appropriate project for that application and can include code or class files, configuration files, and any other needed resources	♦	♦
Feature Area
Logical Datacenter Design project template to design a logical datacenter for validating system deployment	♦	♦
Logical Datacenter Designer to visualize the logical structure of datacenters, specify operational policies and validate applications before deployment	♦	♦
Reverse Engineer Projects in Existing Solutions enable you to reverse-engineer projects whose application types can be visualized on an application diagram	♦	♦
Settings and Constraints Editor to specify requirements on the hosting environment in the Application Designer, or to specify constraints of the hosting environment in the Logical Datacenter Designer	♦	♦
Synchronize with Datacenter to synchronize deployment diagrams with logical datacenter diagrams	♦	♦
System Designer to compose applications into systems or reusable subsystems and validate the resulting configurations	♦	♦
System Design project template to define the current system by adding and connecting systems or applications, which enables a top-down design approach	♦	♦
Validate Diagram validates the deployment diagram to find constraint violations between the applications and logical servers	♦	♦
Version to assign major and minor versions to diagrams for informational purposes	♦	♦
Web Service Details window to review, define, and edit operations and their parameters for Web service provider endpoints on ASP.NET applications	♦	♦

Database Development Tools

Use the Database Development tools to create and maintain databases and manage data-driven applications

Feature Area
Add Database Reference to refer to an object in another database from a database project	♦	♦
Custom Data Generators to extend the data generation capabilities of the standard data generators	♦	♦
Data Compare to compare the data between two databases that have the same schema	♦	♦
Data Generation to fill a test database with test data that is appropriate for the schema of the database but unrelated to the production data	♦	♦
Database Refactoring to automatically update references to renamed database schema objects	♦	♦
Database Schema Build & Deployment Tools to deploy a new database, or changes to an existing database, from your database project to a database server	♦	♦
Database Unit Testing to establish a baseline state for your database and then to verify any subsequent changes you make to database objects	♦	♦
Offline Database Schema to make database schema changes in an isolated development environment	♦	♦
Project Version to change the database project between SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005	♦	♦
Schema Compare to compare the schemas of two databases and then decide whether to apply some or all schema objects from the source to the target	♦	♦
Feature Area
SQL Server 2000 project template to create a project that represents a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database schema	♦	♦
SQL Server 2000 Wizard project template to automate creating a SQL Server 2000 database project, optionally importing a schema from a database, and configuring your build settings	♦	♦
SQL Server 2005 project template to create a project that represents a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database schema	♦	♦
SQL Server 2005 Wizard project template to automate creating a SQL Server 2005 database project, optionally importing a schema from a database, and configuring your build settings	♦	♦
T-SQL Editor to modify definitions of database objects such as tables, views, indexes, stored procedures, etc	♦	♦

Code Analysis Tools

Use the Code Analysis tools to analyze your source code for potential issues arising from common coding errors

Code Profiling Tools

Use the Code Profiling tools to identify performance bottlenecks in your applications

Feature Area
Application Verifier to quickly find subtle programming errors in C++ applications that can be extremely difficult to identify with normal application testing, such as errors caused by heap corruption, incorrect handle and critical section usage	♦	♦
Compare Reports enables you to compare a report either by using the Performance Explorer or the /diff on options from the VSPerfReport command	♦	♦
Compressed Report Files to generate small compressed report files that open up quickly	♦	♦
Copy Report View Data to HTML enables you to copy and paste rich data (tables with headers and values) from the performance reports	♦	♦
Filtered Analysis to filter performance reports on timestamp, process, thread, and marks	♦	♦
Hot Path to automatically expand the most expensive code path in the call tree and allocation view of the performance report	♦	♦
Line-Level Sampling to determine where in the code of a processor-intensive function the processor has to spend most of its time	♦	♦
Load and Web Test Integration enable you to create performance sessions for Web and Load tests from Test View and Test Results (requires Development and Test Edition, or Team Suite)		♦
Portable CPU Counters decouples some of the performance counters and abstracts common performance counter data	♦	♦
Feature Area
Profiler Runtime Control to pause and resume performance data logging to focus data collection on times of interest	♦	♦
Profiling Tools to detect application performance bottlenecks using lower-overhead sampling for relative performance data, or higher-overhead instrumentation for more exact measurement	♦	♦
Profiling Tools Report to view and analyze application performance problems	♦	♦
Report Noise Reduction limits the amount of data in performance reports to help make performance problems more prominent	♦	♦
Runtime Profiling Control window displays a list of marks available to add to the performance report	♦	♦
Stand-Alone Profiler to analyze application performance in the absence of the Visual Studio development environment	♦	♦
Windows Communications Foundation Profiler Support enables profiling of Windows Communications Foundation (WCF) code	♦	♦
Windows Counter Support enables the profiler to collect Windows counters during performance sessions	♦	♦

Code Quality Tools

Use the Code Quality tools to create and work with test that can help assess the quality of your applications

Feature Area
Add a Test Result to a Work Item to add test results to a work item (This features requires Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Associate a Work Item to a Test to establish a trackable relationship between tests and work items (This features requires Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Call a Web Test from a Web Test enables you to modularize Web tests to compose complex Web tests					♦	♦
Code Coverage to measure the effectiveness of tests on a line-by-line or even a block-by-block basis				♦	♦	♦
Code Coverage Results window to view statistics about the elements tested in a test run				♦	♦	♦
Create a Work Item from a Test Result to create a work item directly from a test result, using the Test Results window (This features requires Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Create Private Accessor to regenerate a unit test's private accessors if you modified a private method in the tested code	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Create Unit Tests dialog box to select which items to create unit tests for from a list of namespaces and their contents (methods, properties, etc.)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Custom Host Adapters enable you to run tests in an environment other than the default test environment					♦	♦
Easier Load Test Analysis enables you to quickly understand load test results					♦	♦
Feature Area
Generic Tests to wrap external programs and tests that were not originally developed for use in the Team System testing tools					♦	♦
Load Modeling enable you to control the load modeling in load tests that you run					♦	♦
Load Test Results Repository Management to more easily access the repository for load test results					♦	♦
Load Tests to run a series of Web tests or unit tests, which operate under multiple simulated users over a period of time, for both performance and stress tests (for increased-capacity load testing, see Visual Studio Team System 2008 Test Load Agent)					♦	♦
Manual Tests to create tests that are difficult or impossible to automate, such as when the connection between the computer and its power supply is interrupted, or when you want to test for user interface details or behavior, or to refine or examine your test environment at a specific point in the testing process					♦	♦
Ordered Tests to execute a series of tests in a particular order and manage that series as a single test	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Publish Test Results to share results with other team members (This features requires Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Smart Device Unit Testing enables you to run unit tests on devices	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Test Class Inheritance to support an inheritance hierarchy for test classes	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Test Generation Settings dialog box to change configuration settings for the current test generation	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Test List Editor to logically group tests and then work with those tests as groups instead of individually for improved test case management	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Test Project project template for creating a project that contains tests	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Test Results window to view the results of test runs, and to pause, continue, stop, and re-run test runs	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Test Run Configuration Editor dialog box to specify global settings that affect details of how tests are run	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Test Runs window to view the status of active, queued, and completed test runs on the local computer or on a set of remote computers	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Test View window to run and edit tests	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Testing Check-In Policy to require that check-in tests (defined with a test list) are run prior to check-in (This features requires Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server)	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Unit Test Data Binding enables you to bind a unit test to a data source, including CSV files and XML files, using a wizard	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Unit Testing to exercise source code by directly calling the methods of a class, passing appropriate parameters, and test the values that are produced against expected values	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
View Test Results Details to view details of the run of an individual test, including error messages	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Web Test Data Binding enables you to use data binding in Web tests					♦	♦
Web Test Validation Rules enable you to use Web test results to control Web test program flow					♦	♦
Web Tests to test the functionality of Web applications using a series of HTTP requests					♦	♦
XML File Converter Utility to convert Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Testers test results files Visual Studio Team System 2008 Test Edition					♦	♦

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Item Templates

Item templates can range in complexity from a single empty file to a multi-file item containing source code files with stub code and more

Feature Area
About Box creates an About Box form for Windows Forms applications		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Action Pane Control creates a class for creating an actions pane control using the visual designer						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
AJAX Client Behavior creates an AJAX client behavior for use in AJAX enabled Web applications	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
AJAX Client Control creates an AJAX client control for use in AJAX enabled Web applications	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
AJAX Client Library creates a file for creating an AJAX client library for use in AJAX enabled Web applications	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
AJAX Master Page creates an AJAX enabled Master Page for Web Applications	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
AJAX Web Form creates an AJAX enabled form for Web Applications	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
AJAX-enabled WCF Service creates a service for providing data to an AJAX page	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Application Configuration File creates a file for storing application configuration and settings values			♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Application Diagram creates a diagram for defining and visualizing applications in the solution							♦				♦
Feature Area
Application Manifest File creates a collection of settings including User Account Control for Windows applications			♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
ASP.NET Server Control creates a class for creating an ASP.NET server control					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Assembly Information File creates a file containing general assembly information			♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Bitmap File creates an empty bitmap file				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Blank Performance Session creates a blank performance session									♦		♦
Browser File creates a file for defining browser definitions	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
C++ File creates a file containing C++ source code				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Class creates an empty class definition	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Class Diagram creates a blank class diagram					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Code File a blank C# or Visual Basic code file			♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
COM Class creates a class that can be exposed to COM					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Component Class creates a CLR component class				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Configuration file creates an empty configuration file					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Crystal Report creates a Crystal Report file that publishes data to a Windows or Web form						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Cursor File creates an empty cursor file				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Custom Control creates a class for creating a user-drawn Windows Forms control		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Database Unit Test creates a database unit test to exercise database objects								♦			♦
DataSet creates a DataSet for using data in your application	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Debugger Visualizer creates a simple debugger visualizer			♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Dialog creates a dialog for Windows Forms applications		♦			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Explorer Form creates a skeleton explorer form with a tree view and navigation controls		♦			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Frameset creates an HTML file that hosts multiple HTML pages					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Generic Handler creates a page for implementing a generic handler	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Generic Test is an existing program wrapped to function as a test in Visual Studio										♦	♦
Global Application Class creates a class for handling Web Application events	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Header File creates a C++ header file				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
HTML Page creates a blank HTML file	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Icon File creates an empty icon file					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Inherited Form creates a new form based on an existing Windows Form		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Inherited User Control creates a new control based on an existing Windows Form control		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Interface creates an empty interface definition					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Installer Class creates a CLR installer class					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
JScript File creates a script file containing JScript code	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
LINQ to SQL Classes creates LINQ to SQL classes mapped to relational objects	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Load Test creates a load test file										♦	♦
Local Database creates an empty SQL Server Compact Edition database for local data		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Local Database Cache creates a settings file, local database, and dataset for client-server data synchronization					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Logical Datacenter Diagram creates an empty diagram for defining a logical datacenter							♦				♦
Login Form creates a login form for collecting a username and password		♦			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Manual Test creates a Word or text document for capturing manual test instructions										♦	♦
Feature Area
Master Page creates a Master Page for Web Applications	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
MDI Parent Form creates a skeleton form for a Windows Forms Multiple Document Interface application		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Midl File creates an Interface Definition Language file				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Module creates a file for storing groups of functions		♦			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Module-Definition File creates a DLL export definition file					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Nested Master Page creates a Master Page which inherits from another Master Page					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Ordered Test creates a test to execute a set of existing tests in an order you specify										♦	♦
Outlook Form Region creates a class for creating an Outlook form region						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Performance Wizard creates a performance session using the wizard									♦		♦
Property Sheet creates a Visual C++ project property sheet file				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Registration Script creates an Active Template Library registration script file					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Report creates an empty Report file for creating a report using Microsoft reporting technology					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Report Wizard creates a new report using Report Wizard					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Resources File creates a file for storing managed resources					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Resource File creates a file containing Win32 resources					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Resource Template File creates a file that contains Win32 resource templates				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Ribbon (Visual Designer) creates a control that provides a visual designer for basic Ribbon customization tasks						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Ribbon (XML) creates a class for creating basic and advanced Ribbon customizations by using XML						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Service-based Database creates an empty SQL Server database for service-based data access	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Site Map creates a file used to create a site map	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Skin File creates a file used to define an ASP.NET theme	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Splash Screen creates a form preconfigured for use as a splash screen		♦			♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
SQL Server Database creates an empty SQL Server database	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Static Discovery File creates a Web Service static discovery file					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Style Sheet creates a cascading style sheet used for rich HTML style definitions	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
System Diagram creates an empty diagram for designing a system containing applications and other systems in the solution							♦				♦
Test Run Configuration creates a configuration file with settings about how test runs shall be processed						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Text File creates a plain text file	♦	♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Transactional Component creates a class for creating transactional logic					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Unit Test creates an empty unit test class declaration						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Unit Test Wizard uses a code generation wizard to create a unit test						♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
User Control creates a reusable Windows Forms control		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WCF Service creates a class for creating a WCF service	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Web Configuration File creates a file used to configure Web Application settings	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Web Content Form creates a form for Web Applications that is built from a Master Page					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Web Form creates a form for Web Applications	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Web Service creates a visually designed class for creating a Web Service	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Web Test opens Internet Explorer to record a Web test										♦	♦
Web User Control creates an ASP.NET server control created using the visual designer	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Form creates a blank Windows Form		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
Windows Script Host creates a file containing script that is run as a Windows program					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Windows Services creates a class for creating Windows services					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Custom Control creates a WPF customer control		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Flow Document creates a dynamically formatted XAML document		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Page creates a blank WPF page		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Page Function creates a WPF page function		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Resource Dictionary creates a XAML resource dictionary		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF User Control creates a WPF user control		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
WPF Window creates a WPF window		♦	♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
XML File creates a blank XML document	♦		♦		♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
Feature Area
XML Schema creates a file used to define a schema for XML documents					♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦
XSLT File creates a file used to transform XML documents	♦				♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦	♦

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Visual Studio 2008

For Developers

For Development Teams

Extensibility & Partners

cover image: Visual Studio 2008 Product Comparison

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