Last week, Microsoft held an impressive launch event for three new software suites in Hanoi. These three products include: Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005, and BizTalk Server 2006. So, are these new software suites as attractive, powerful, and reliable as Microsoft claims?
Here are the standout features of these software suites:
Visual Studio 2005
If you are in IT, the name Visual Studio (VS) is certainly familiar to you. Like previous versions of Visual Studio .Net, Visual Studio 2005 supports new object-oriented programming languages such as: C#, VB.Net, J#, and the “super powerful” C++.Net, all of which come with significant improvements. Visual Studio 2005 is a robust integrated development environment (IDE) with attractive features:
User Interface Design and Code Assistance
If you’ve ever used Visual Studio .Net, you likely appreciated the IntelliSense code assistance feature. IntelliSense not only speeds up and corrects coding but also helps new programmers get accustomed to .Net more quickly. Notably, VS 2005 allows you to reuse sample code snippets. Additionally, VS 2005 enables the creation of applications with a user interface similar to the appealing Outlook interface.
Building Web Applications Faster
VS 2005 introduces a new web development tool called Visual Web Developer. This tool allows the creation of web applications written in ASP.NET 2.0. With Visual Web Developer, around 50 new web controls are integrated, making web application development faster and simpler. A major improvement in ASP.NET 2.0 is the support for creating Master Pages, allowing other pages to inherit from them. Another significant advantage of Visual Web Developer is the ease of creating a web project. Previously, when creating a web project, you had to define a virtual directory on the IIS (Internet Information Services) web server, which could be cumbersome when copying the project to another machine. However, with VS 2005, creating a web application is as simple as creating a regular Windows application.
Support for Mobile Application Development
Programming for mobile devices is becoming a trend. It is not just about developing applications for these devices but also about creating games, which is booming. Developing applications, especially for mobile phones, is increasingly attractive, yielding higher and quicker revenues. In this area, Microsoft has been slower compared to Sun. Most applications on mobile devices are written in J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition), allowing apps to run on devices with small screens, limited colors, and restricted memory. However, Microsoft quickly recognized this field as a “lucrative” market with great potential. Hence, this software giant has developed a .Net Compact Framework that is compact like J2ME yet simple and user-friendly like .Net. This development environment can operate on mobile phones and devices using Windows CE, Windows Mobile, etc.
Application Packaging and Deployment
Visual Studio 2005 simplifies the packaging and deployment of applications. Thanks to the new ClickOnce application deployment technology, deploying applications on web servers or file-sharing networks is much easier.
64-bit Application Support
The trend of 64-bit processors and multi-core processors is rapidly growing, presenting challenges for software developers. The .Net Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005 provide excellent support and optimization for 64-bit computing.
Diverse Product Offerings
Visual Studio 2005 is released in several editions: Standard, Professional, Premium, and more, unlike previous versions. Microsoft has released many categories and diverse products catering to different user needs. Notably, there are two editions: Visual Studio Express and Visual Studio Team System.
Visual Studio Express is a free version with a one-year usage limit. Since it is a free version, some attractive features are not included, such as ClickOnce application deployment, mobile device programming support, Office development support, and limited documentation. However, Visual Studio Express remains an excellent choice for students, amateur programmers, or anyone passionate about technology who wants to explore. You can download Visual Studio Express at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express
Visual Studio Team System is the most powerful development toolset in the Visual Studio product line. Visual Studio Team System is suitable for enterprises, especially software development companies. Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server is the server system that manages all projects and assigns tasks to each development unit. The client workstation system consists of product sets tailored to the needs of different development teams, such as Software Architects, Developers, and Software Testers. Companies wanting a complete client version for all these departments can use Visual Studio Team Suite.
For detailed information on Visual Studio product sets, visit: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/products
SQL Server 2005
Currently, Oracle remains the leading database management system worldwide. Although Microsoft has added many new services and released patches for SQL Server 2000 in recent years, this database management system still has not surpassed Oracle.
SQL Server 2005 is Microsoft’s deeply invested database solution. The new version enhances performance, reliability, and programming simplicity over SQL Server 2000. SQL Server 2005 focuses on large-scale online transactional processing (OLTP), e-commerce applications, and data warehousing. Additionally, important improvements in SQL Server 2005 include new services such as Reporting Services, Service Broker, and significant changes to the Database Engine.
Notably, this version includes SQL Server 2005 Express, which is offered for free and has no time limitations. You can download and use this version here. Visual Studio 2005 will fully unleash its potential as it provides excellent support for programming, especially in the .Net environment.
BizTalk Server 2006 
BizTalk Server is a software suite that helps build, manage, and automate business processes in a distributed manner. Like BizTalk Server 2004, the new version allows users to manage all business processes within the company and facilitates the creation of simple business rules.
BizTalk Server 2006 is built on the architecture of BizTalk Server 2004, ensuring a smooth upgrade from the old version to the new one. In addition to more powerful new features, BizTalk Server 2006 is well integrated and works seamlessly with Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005. For more information about BizTalk Server 2006, visit: www.microsoft.com/biztalk
In summary, the Visual Studio 2005 development toolset offers attractive features that are significantly more powerful than previous versions. If you love programming and want to get familiar with Visual Studio and .Net, download and use the free Visual Studio Express toolset. For developing database applications in the Windows environment combined with the .Net framework, SQL Server 2005 Express is also a wise choice. If you need more powerful features, consider SQL Server 2005 with its stronger versions. BizTalk Server 2006 is an excellent upgrade for businesses in managing business processes, especially for those already using BizTalk 2004, making BizTalk 2006 a good choice. For upgrades or pricing information on all three products, visit: www.microsoft.com/vietnam/licensing/pricing for more details.
Minh Phuc (compiled)
