REDMOND, Washington, April 12, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Kicking off a global launch consisting of more than 150 developer-focused events, Microsoft Corp. announced the general availability of Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4. The company also announced that Silverlight 4 will release to Web (RTW) later in the week. Together, these technologies simplify the entire development process, enabling developers to target new platforms and build high-quality applications. Developers will be able to download Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 in conjunction with the Microsoft Visual Studio Conference Expo launch event in Las Vegas.

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We're excited to celebrate the launch of Visual Studio 2010 with developers around the world today, said Bob Muglia, president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. Customer and partner feedback was instrumental in shaping this release. The functionality of Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4 and Silverlight 4 creates a powerful and unique combination, opening up new opportunities for developers to build applications that take advantage of new and existing devices, as well as emerging platforms like cloud services.

In addition, approximately 50 partners, including Micro Focus, Quest Software Inc., Telerik and Developer Express Inc., announced availability of products and solutions built on this latest wave of technologies. With the 2010 release of Visual Studio, developers will have access to popular partner extensions earlier than ever.

Our customers rely on us to solve for the unique needs of their businesses, and in order to do that, we need tools and technologies that enable maximum efficiency, reliability, integration and creativity, said Peter Duffell, vice president of Strategic Partners at Micro Focus. Our next-generation developer tools build on the already-proven capabilities of Visual Studio, .NET Framework and Silverlight and expand the value to our customers even further.

Enhancements for Everyone

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 have something for every developer. The new editor, now using Windows Presentation Foundation, delivers a more flexible, feature-rich environment that supports concepts such as the use of multiple monitors. This enables a developer to have one monitor with code, another with the user interface designer, and yet another with database structure.

With support for the latest Microsoft releases, developers can use their existing skills to create more types of applications than ever. Built-in support for Windows 7 multitouch and ribbon interfaces delivers stunning applications to end users. For the first time, developers have integrated access to SharePoint functionality into the Visual Studio integrated development environment. Windows Azure tools make it easy to quickly develop, debug, test and deploy cloud applications from within the familiar Visual Studio environment. Built-in support for ASP.NET Model-View-Controller gives developers the flexibility to separately update the appearance and core business logic of Web applications. Windows(R) Phone 7 developers will be able to build amazing mobile applications using Visual Studio with integrated phone design surfaces. Silverlight 4 creates a whole new way to deliver compelling applications that run inside and outside the browser.

To address the growing complexity of software development, Visual Studio 2010 provides powerful tools for the entire team. IntelliTrace, a time machine for developers and testers, makes nonreproducible bugs virtually a thing of the past by recording the application's execution history and providing reproduction of the reported bug, enabling the tester to help squash the bug once and for all. This is just one of the many new features that have been added to help with Application Lifecycle Management, representing a quantum leap for anyone using the Visual Studio Team System products from 2005 or 2008.

The enhanced testing features in Visual Studio 2010 automate the majority of common tasks and streamline the flow of information across our team, said Steve Schlonski, vice president, Xerox Global Services, Global Technology and Offering Development. This has led to a significant productivity increase; when you combine this with the ability to have a single unified view of project status, it dramatically drives down project risk.

.NET Framework 4 adds additional support for industry standards, more language choice, new support for high-performance middle-tier applications including parallel programming, and side-by-side installation with .NET Framework 3.5. With the .NET Framework 4 Client Profile, the size of the runtime has been decreased by over 80 percent, making it easier for developers to get applications, and therefore users, up and running faster.

Silverlight 4, which will RTW later this week, offers powerful media and business application capabilities that enable developers to deliver compelling application experiences on or off the Web. New features in Silverlight 4 include extended out-of-browser capabilities, enhancements for enterprise application developers, and more than 60 customizable pre-written controls to quickly build rich, interactive applications.

Product Information and Availability

- To download, purchase or get more information on Visual Studio 2010: http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio - To download or get more information on the .NET Framework: http://www.microsoft.com/net - To download or get more information on Silverlight 4: http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

SOURCE: Microsoft Corp.

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