Visual Studio 2012 arrives in MSDN downloads Hot on the heels of the release of the Windows 8 RTM bits, Microsoft has made the final versions of Visual Studio 2012 and .NET 4.5 available for download for developers who can't wait to get started with the new OS. According to a blog post from S. Somasegar, corporate VP of Redmond's developer division, MSDN members can …
"Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Desktop, a version that allows you to build applications using the more traditional Windows UI, will be released "later in the fall," Somasegar says, along with Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone."
Very surprising if you ask me since former statements seemed to indicate that desktop development wouldn't be freely available at all, only in the full versions of VS 2012. I applaud the development, don't get me wrong, but to me it would have made more sense to me if both environments (desktop and the Windows 8 user interface) were bundled in one program.
I'm currently using VS 2010 C# and VB Express (and I'm honestly quite happy and impressed with them) and I have several available 'target' projects: console applications, WPF and Windows Form applications, Class libraries (/very/ usable for PowerShell extensions), game applications (aimed at XBox for example) and so on...
The reason I mention this: The difference between a console application and a, say, WPF application seems to be the references ("libraries") it uses. Surely these references are already available considering that the full version of VS 2012 is said to support all targets from the getgo ?
For an outsider like me (I'm not a professional developer) it makes the whole Express 2012 setup look like a crude hack.
I'm not just saying that to badmouth the product, I really looked into this. See for example the Product page for VS 2012 Express (MSDN link). I quote: "Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8 unlocks the power to develop Metro style applications that deliver these experiences.".
Uhm, wasn't the name 'Metro' officially cast aside and weren't all references supposedly removed ?
> Very surprising if you ask me since former statements seemed to indicate that desktop development wouldn't be freely available at all, only in the full versions of VS 2012
That was changed several months ago due to the outcry the limitation it generated. Announced on one of MS DevDiv's blogs a few months ago.
In addition, on http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/apps - the banner ad says "Develop great Metro style apps for Windows 8" broad as brass..
Sounds like they need a bit more work on their Search and Replace skills, perhaps they couldn't find it on the new ribbon.
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