what is VB.NET express edition 2008?

[CodedFire]

Hi guys,

Ive recently start learning VB.NET after trying it about a year ago and stopping because of a certain online game that got TOO addictive!

Anyway ive been flying along nicely with the express editions (2005) and have collect a wealth of books, videos, manuals, etc regarding vb.net 2005. Now ive been on the MSDN site and have seen a new 2008 suite!

Does this mean they are going to change the language again and all the info Ive built up (and paid for) will be useless? Or is this simply a new suite with improvements?

 

[JohnH]

It's the next version Visual Studio to be released end of this year or beginning of 2008. It will target .Net Framework 3.0 (3.5?) that adds development/presentation layers on top of .Net 2.0 as far as I know. It should be much like the change from VS2002-2003 (.Net 1.0/1.1) to VS2005 (.Net 2.0), most of the old library was still there but they added lots of improvements to both the library and the IDE, the language wasn't changed. I don't think anyone that learnt the first versions regarded that a waste of time after the upgrade, on the contrary. There is always evolvement, for example the AJAX framework was released this year for ASP.Net 2.0, maybe we could call it ASP.Net 2.5?

Edit: Some extra info, VS2008 targets .Net 3.5, but can also compile assemblies specifically for .Net 3.0 and .Net 2.0. .Net 3.0 is already released but doesn't have full support in current development tools, there are some extensions to add to VS2005 for it, .Net 3.5 adds even more features.

 

[Cheetah]

Is the Beta of Studios 2008 usable then, because I have just done a reinstall of windows and wondering whether i should install that instead of the 2005 pro i have.

 

[JohnH]

I haven't tried it, but you don't need to limit yourself, all VS versions are standalone and can be installed side-by-side.

 

[jmcilhinney]

You can get versions of VS 2008 as Virtual PC images, which I recommend. That way you don't have to uninstall the betas when the RTM arrives; you simply delete the VPC image.

 

[JohnH]

VS 2008 as Virtual PC images

Not for the home/hobby users in other words, you'll need XP Pro or Vista Business/Enterprise.
edit: I just noticed only Team System is available on VPC, so different target audience than Express/Standard.

 

[jmcilhinney]

Hmmm... only made a few dozen invalid assumptions there.