Visual Studio 2012 Modernizes Development

Visual Studio (VS) 2012, now generally available, brings significant feature updates and enhancements to Microsoft’s integrated development environment (IDE). The additions should help developers write code that meets the demands of the latest applications, such as touch-based user interfaces and Web-centric implementations, while saving developers time with better performing, streamlined tools. The IDE receives a new user interface aimed at reducing visual distraction, but it may take some time for developers to adjust to the revised look. The range of editions available is mostly unchanged from VS 2010, including a set of free downloadable Express editions.

Visual Studio Is the Developer Hub

VS is the delivery vehicle for tools and code libraries to implement applications for all Microsoft platforms (such as Windows 8, Windows Phone, Windows Azure, and Xbox) using the managed environment of the .NET Framework or other programming languages such as C++ and JavaScript. VS can be used to develop for some non-Microsoft platforms, although developers using the popular Java language most often use IDEs based on the Eclipse open source development tools, rather than VS.