Developer Tools Comparison Chart

Overview of Single Language Tools vs. Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional

Programming Language Support	Visual C# .NET 2003	Visual Basic .NET 2003	Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003
Visual Basic .NET Visual Basic .NET enables full object-oriented programming with implementation inheritance, structured exception handling and free-threading.		•	•
Visual Basic .NET Upgrade Wizard Seamlessly upgrade code and applications from Visual Basic 6.0 to Visual Basic .NET with tools and guidance.		•	•
Visual C# .NET Visual C# .NET 2003 is the modern, innovative programming language and tool for building .NET-connected software for Microsoft Windows, the web, and a wide range of devices. With syntax that resembles C++, a flexible integrated development environment (IDE), and the capability to build solutions across a variety of platforms and devices, Visual C# .NET 2003 significantly eases the development of .NET-connected software.	•		•
Visual C++ .NET Visual C++ .NET enables developers to build managed and unmanaged applications, using the .NET Framework, Active Template Library (ATL) Server and Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC). Visual C++ conforms to the standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) more than any previous version. It also contains new language support for features, including Koenig Lookup and Partial Template Specialization.			•
Security Reviewed Libraries for C++ Use the Standard Template Library (STL), Active Template Library (ATL), Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) and C Run-time Library (CRT), which have undergone reviews to identify and reduce potential security flaws			•
Visual J# .NET Visual J# .NET is a development tool for Java-language developers who want to build applications and services on the .NET Framework.			•

Significant Features	Visual C# .NET 2003	Visual Basic .NET 2003	Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003
Microsoft .NET Framework and the common language runtime Built for the desktop and web, the .NET Framework provides an agile, scalable environment for building, deploying and running distributed Web Services and applications as well as rich desktop applications.	•	•	•
Windows Forms Designer Use the drag-and-drop forms designer to create Windows Forms for the .NET Framework.	•	•	•
HTML Designer Develop HTML, ASP and Microsoft ASP.NET Web Forms graphically without having to write HTML or script.	•	•	•
Shared Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE) Leverage a tightly-integrated visual development environment for all languages that includes a single Toolbox, Task List and Debugger.	•	•	•
Dynamic help Instantly access help that is relevant to the current development task.	•	•	•
Task list Organise the development process by annotating code and by monitoring and quickly accessing errors and warnings.	•	•	•

Application/Component Types You Can Build With the Tools	Visual C# .NET 2003	Visual Basic .NET 2003	Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003
Build Windows Forms Applications New shared Microsoft® Windows Forms Designer, Form Inheritance, and control anchoring and docking enable you to build Windows-based applications quickly.	•	•	•
Build Web Applications using ASP.NET A shared web page editor enables developers to create Internet applications using the same 'drag-and-drop, double-click to write code' technique that made Visual Basic famous. Code can be written with any language, including Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET.	•	•	•
Build and Consume Web Services Web Services are the industry standards based way to build inter-operative solutions.	•	•	•
Build Console Applications Build text-based applications for Microsoft .NET that execute within the console window.	•	•	•
Build Applications for smart devices Using the Microsoft Windows Forms designer, Visual Basic and Visual C# developers can easily build, debug and deploy powerful applications for the Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition and other smart devices powered by the .NET Compact Framework. Integrated emulation enables developers to easily program and debug their applications without requiring a device.			•
Mobile Web Forms Create applications for mobile web browsers that render on any device.			•
Windows Control Libraries Construct custom user interface controls for Windows Forms using the Windows Control Library template			•
Class Libraries Create reusable class library components using the Class Library template.			•
Web Control Libraries Construct custom web server controls using the Web Control Library template.			•
Windows Services Build long-running executable applications that can be automatically started at boot-time and run in their own Windows sessions.			•

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Overview of Visual Studio .NET 2003, Professional, Enterprise Developer or Architect

Product Features	Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003	Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Developer	Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect
RAD for the server Access and integrate server administration tools, event logs, databases and XML web services. Server Explorer and tools incorporate server-side application components.	•	•	•
Crystal Reports Build rich interactive reports for Windows-based, Web-based, and mobile applications, as well as Web services.	•	•	•
C++ Updated compiler optimisations Build applications to run faster on modern Intel Pentium IV and AMD Athlon processors.	•	•	•
C++ Compiler diagnostics Get simplified and clear compiler diagnostics and warnings.	•	•	•
C++ Enhanced buffer security checks Use an improved compiler feature to catch and prevent common attacks against source code.	•	•	•
Remote debugging Extend your debugging capabilities by stepping seamlessly into remote processes, including Web Services.	•	•	•
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Use the complete database and analysis offering to rapidly deliver the next generation of scalable ecommerce, line-of-business and data warehousing solutions.		•	•
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000) Build applications that are fully compatible with SQL Server and migrate them directly to SQL Server without changing a single line of code.	•	•	•
Visual Database Tools Design stored procedures, indexes, tables, triggers, user-defined functions and other database elements visually. In Visual Studio .NET Professional, these design capabilities are limited to the SQL Server Desktop Engine.	•	•	•
Microsoft Visio®-based database modelling Capture and communicate business requirements clearly with conceptual, logical and physical database modelling tools			•
XML Designer Use drag-and-drop tools for working with XML and XML Schema Definition Language (XSD) files.	•	•	•
New managed data providers Use data providers to deliver data controls for easy connections to OLEDB and ODBC data sources, including SQL Server, Access, Jet, DB2 and Oracle.	•	•	•
Microsoft Visual SourceSafe® 6.0d Provide a collaborative, team development environment with version control for source code, components, applications and design documents.		•	•
Application Center Test Perform functional, performance and load testing of XML web services and applications. Easily automate tests to run regression tests.		•	•
Visio-based UML application modelling Model application architecture and functionality visually, and clearly communicate requirements with the development team.			•
Enterprise template project type Share best practices and provide architectural guidance across the development team with the new Enterprise template project type.			•
Enterprise templates and frameworks Take advantage of application templates to jump-start development and access best practices with the XML-based Template Description Language.		•	•
Microsoft .NET-connected reference applications Learn how to design and structure .NET-connected applications with end-to-end reference applications, including design documents, models and code.		•	•
Visual Studio Analyzer Locate performance bottlenecks visually in distributed COM applications.		•	•
Windows 2000 Standard Server, SQL Server 2000, Microsoft Commerce Server, Microsoft Host Integration Server, Microsoft Exchange Server		•	•
Microsoft BizTalk® Server Build distributed business processes that integrate applications and partners, as well as quickly establish reliable, secure trading relationships with customers and partners over the web.			•

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Developer MSDN Subscriptions Comparison Chart

MSDN offers developers a subscription to Microsoft's developer tools as well as other related technologies, information, applications and operating systems. If a developer subscription is right for you, use this chart to determine which version of MSDN subscription best meets your needs.

	Universal	Enterprise	Professional	Operating System	Library
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect 2003	•
Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer 2003		•
Visual Studio .NET Professional 2003			•
Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise	•	•
Visual Studio 6.0 Professional			•
Visual Studio Tools for Office	•	•	•
Visual FoxPro 8.0	•	•	•

Continuously Updated Resources	Universal	Enterprise	Professional	Operating System	Library
Online Access to the Latest Resources	•	•	•	•	•
Regular Updates on CD or DVD	•	•	•	•	•

Technical Resources	Universal	Enterprise	Professional	Operating System	Library
New Releases, Updates, and Service Packs	•	•	•	•	•
MSDN Library	•	•	•	•	•
Technical Support Incidents (1)	•	•	•	•
Managed Newsgroup Support (1)	•	•	•	•
Software Development Kits	•	•	•	•
Driver Development Kits	•	•	•	•
Software Betas (2)	•	•	•	•

Microsoft Operating Systems (3)	Universal	Enterprise	Professional	Operating System	Library
Windows 2000 Professional	•	•	•	•
Windows 2000 Server	•	•	•	•
Windows 2000 Advanced Server	•	•	•	•
Windows XP Home Edition	•	•	•	•
Windows XP Professional	•	•	•	•
Windows Server 2003	•	•	•	•

Microsoft Server Test Platforms (2)	Universal	Enterprise	Professional	Operating System	Library
SQL Server 2000	•	•
Exchange 2000 Server	•	•
Commerce Server 2002, Developer Edition	•	•
Host Integration Server 2000	•	•
BizTalk Server 2002	•
Application Center 2000	•
ISA Server 2000	•
SharePoint Portal Server 2001	•
Mobile Information 2001 Server	•
Content Management Server 2002, Developer Edition	•
Systems Management Server 2.0	•
Customer Relationship Management 1.0	•
Content Management Server 2001	•

Microsoft Productivity Applications	Universal	Enterprise	Professional	Operating System	Library
Visio Professional 2002	•
Office System 2003	•
Project 2002	•
MapPoint 2002	•

1.	Microsoft Certified Partners receive access to software provided in the MSDN Universal Subscription plus access to MSDN public newsgroups and additional technical support provided through Microsoft for Partners. Above incidents and newsgroup support are not included.
2.	Microsoft product support is not available for pre-release or beta software included in MSDN Subscriptions.
3.	Includes a limited license for development and testing only. Windows NT® Server licenses limited to ten (10) simultaneous connections. Older versions of operating systems are also available from MSDN Subscriber Downloads.

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Developer Tools Comparison Chart

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Overview of Single Language Tools vs. Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional

Overview of Visual Studio .NET 2003, Professional, Enterprise Developer or Architect

Developer MSDN Subscriptions Comparison Chart