Software Release: Visual Studio 2008

Yes! Finally, Visual Studio 2008 was released. I have to admit, that I downloaded Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions as soon as I found out about them. So from now on - it is the IDE of my choice.

I didn't have much time to test it yet, but I already noticed a significant performance increase. I'm not really sure if it is the performance increase. Visual Studio 2005, even with the performance fix wasn't performing that well. So, if you are still hesitating - don't! Get the new version and enjoy it!

There is one catch with the official Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition release, though. In the FAQ it says that there are no restrictions on the express editions - you can create commercial applications free of charge. However, the Windows SDK version express editions install on your system is 6.0A release. Now, this is very odd, because 6.0A is the pre-release version. As a general rule with all Microsoft products' pre-release versions - they are only meant for personal-use and testing purposes. So it is actually a mystery to me. I tried asking on Windows SDK forum about this, and I was advised to get the version of SDK that isn't marked as pre-release, so I'm passing this advice to everyone! You should really get the Windows SDK 6.0 release just to be on the safe path.

And now, let's return to our own business. I started a series of articles about making a wizard for the Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition. Now, I don't use that version anymore. However, from what I know already about the Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition I can say, that I will be making the same kind of wizard for the new release. Note, that both editions are very similar, and wizard developed for 2008 will probably work with 2005 release as well (you'll just have to change a few strings in a few files). So, if you were waiting for that series of articles to finish - don't worry! I'll finish it! ;)