Desktop Learn about desktop development, get the tools, and start coding right away.
Web Get the tools you need and start building your first web application in less than an hour.
Cloud Build your first Azure app, and then learn how to deploy it to the cloud.
Phone Get the tools you need, and then build your first apps with Silverlight or XNA for Windows Phone.
ASP.NET 4.5 Developer Preview is now available – see what is new!
ASP.NET 4.5 includes new core functionality like WebSockets, anti-XSS encoding, granular request validation. It also includes Web Forms improvements like model binding, support for HTML5 and unobtrusive JavaScript.
ASP.NET MVC 4 Developer Preview is now available - see what is new!
ASP.NET MVC 4 i includes built-in support for mobile sites, fresh and modern project templates, enhanced support for asynchronous methods, and custom code generation.
Download the Windows Developer Preview and developer tools to start building apps now.
Explore VBA code samples consisting of 5 to 50 lines of code that demonstrate a distinct feature or feature set in Visual Basic for Applications.
Read This Month's MSDN Magazine
Learn how to the latest version of SQL Server Developer Tools to perform database development in the same environment as your application development.
Grow engagement by up to 200% when your site is pinned.
Download the Visual Studio LightSwitch 2011 trial
Easily create business applications for the desktop and cloud with Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch 2011.
Desktop development is the process of writing software that will run on standard computers including your desktop, laptop, or general purpose computer. Desktop applications can take full advantage of a computer's power.
Web development is the process of writing a web page or site. Web pages are written with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These pages can be simple text and graphics that resemble a document, or can be interactive. Interactive server pages are a little more complex to write, but they enable richer web sites.
Cloud computing refers to computers and applications that run remotely and are accessed over the Internet. Aggregating the computing needs of many users achieves economies of scale that result in numerous benefits.
Phone development is similar to desktop development, but with a different device at its core. To simplify development, many developers initially run, debug, and test their applications in an emulator on their desktop.
Visual Studio is a suite of component-based development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications. Visual Studio comes in a free package to get started, a Professional package, and a package optimized for team-based development.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate is an integrated environment that simplifies the basic tasks of creating, debugging, and deploying applications. Visual Studio Ultimate is ideal for Application Lifecycle Development (ALM) in teams.
Microsoft Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010 is the collaboration platform at the core of the Microsoft Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) solution. It helps teams streamline interactions, and eliminate waste in the software delivery process.
Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch helps you solve business needs by enabling you to quickly create professional-quality business applications, regardless of your development skills. Visual Studio Lightswitch simplifies and shortens development of forms-over-data business applications.
WebMatrix is a free web development tool that includes everything you need for website development. Start from open source web applications, built-in web templates, or just start writing code yourself. It's all-inclusive, simple, and free.
Microsoft Expression Studio is a suite of tools used to design and create rich web and client applications. This powerful set of tools allows you to design the look and feel of a page without writing a single line of code.
Building apps that run on Windows, SQL Server or other Microsoft platforms? Then an MSDN Subscription is the best way to get exactly what you need for your next challenging project. Learn more
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