VC++ Blog Tour Stop: Content Part 1: Introduction
Sometimes to talk about where you are today, you have to think about where you have been before.
One thing that we know is that a large part of the Visual C++ developer population is using Visual C++ 6.0. But when you think about how different things were then, back in 1998, you start to wonder if it isn't time to visit your friendly software dealer and take the latest versions for a ride, or maybe even download the Beta 2 for Whidbey.
Back in 1998, Windows developers were targeting Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. What was the high end CPU speed, like 266Mhz? A BIG hard drive was like 4Gig? Win32, COM, ATL and MFC were the hot technologies and knowing these backwards and forwards made you king. The first appearance of Intellisense, an exiting IDE productivity feature, was in the 6.0 release. Now here we are, almost seven years since the RTM of the 6.0 product, and there are still many, many fans. VC/VS 6.0 was a great product, it's clear from the connection C++ developers have with it, and at that time it was clearly a huge leap forward in software development. It won several awards and became the big hit customers would love and use as the VS team back at Microsoft worked on a long, long product cycle for 7.0 (Visual Studio 2002). If you are still using 6.0 in a production environment, it is worth noting that support ended last year, and extended support will be expiring soon, in September of this year!
For Visual C++, it is no secret that 2002 was not an exciting release in many ways. It did give developers tools to support the new Windows XP release, and yes, we added support for web services and added some cool features to our libraries. But this v 1.0 attempt at adding language support, through extensions, for the .NET Framework was not very successful. The syntax was awkward and left developers without some of the facilities they had grown accustomed to. If you are keeping track, support for this product will last through June of 2009 (extended support).
Visual C++/Visual Studio 2003 made up a lot of ground, with amazing improvements in conformance support and cool designers for targeting the .NET Framework. We enabled developers to target the Windows Server releases. The Visual C++ team really delivered a lot of bang in a short release cycle - this one coming to customers only one year after the 2002 product. This release has extended supported through 2013.
And this brings us to Visual Studio 2005, a yet to be pulished release that is going to be out later this year. We've seen Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 Sp1 come out. We see machines coming out with dual core processors running at 3+ Ghz and 4Gig of memory. I have to say that one of the cool things about going on tour was talking about all that we HAVE been able to accomplish, rather than focus on bugs and things that aren't quite working right, back in Redmond. This is a truly amazing release. The language team has pulled out the stops and delivered a C++/CLI implementation. The code generation team added two big new optimization features and beefed up buffer overrun protection. The libraries team added a ton of support for managed code. A new libraries runtime redistribution model that offers true servicability is ready for you. The project, debugger and IDE teams have been working hard to improve stabililty, reliability and have added back an amazing number of loved features from 6.0 and added some very cool new productivity features like STL visualizations, and cool features for working with large projects. We added support for OpenMP. We made it easier for you to write more secure applications. While the product team did all of this, the setup teams packaged up the product in brand new ways - from the Visual C++ Express product up to the cool new Team System products. The tools that will be shipping in the team line are going to really move software development forward in some great ways. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention - we do 64-bit, too. Which platform do you want to target? Do you want to build that 64-bit binary on - your x86 box or on your 64-bit box? Lest I forget the smart devices team's updated support for C++ all while shipping in the Visual Studio box.
What I can also tell you, though, is that with amazing progress sometimes comes pain. There are a few breaking changes, and we know those are concerns for you. We also know that you want to know how to take all of your investments and start to leverage the .NET Framework. Ah, the joy of what is to come in this Blog Tour Stop!
Well, there you have it, the introduction to the guidance we are delivering around the world. What are your thoughts?
-April
