Visual Studio is Microsoft’s IDE (Integrated Development Environment). It is used to develop software to run on Microsoft Windows and web sites, applications and services. It harnesses the various Microsoft software development platforms including:
- Windows API
- Windows Forms
- Windows Presentation Foundation
- Windows Store
- Silverlight
Visual Studio presents a number of tools to support the software development process including:
- Integrated Debugger
- Code Editor (supporting code refactoring)
- Form Designer
- Web Designer
- Class Designer
- Database Scheme Designer
Visual Studio also provides tools to support the configuration management process in software development, namely Team Foundation Server and its client – Team Explorer.
Visual Studio is a flexible IDE which can support virtually any programming language (as long as a service exists for that language). It also supports XML. XSLT, HTML, XHTML, Javascript and CSS. Native languages supported include:
- C
- C++
- VB.NET
- C#
- F#
In addition, these languages leverage the functionality of the Microsoft .NET Framework, which provides access to key technologies that simplify the development of ASP Web applications and XML Web services.