Should I upgrade from VS2005 - and to which version?
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I have been using VS2005 for a while now (well since 2006...). I run my machines on XP and was wondering if it is worth upgrading VS to 2008, or 2010 or should I stick with VS2005? I do like VS2005 except it has the annoying habit of frequently redrawing forms when I jump from code to form design - which can cause a pause of a few seconds. The worst part of this is the forms are not always redrawn correctly and I have to close the form design tabs and re-open them to redraw them correctly - not a huge deal really but just a rather frequent annoyance. I respect people's opinions here so while I can and have googled - the messages I have read seem to think that there is not a really compelling reason to upgrade - I would like to know what the CP community think of upgrading or sticking with VS2005. Thanks in advance
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.(Winston Churchill)
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I have been using VS2005 for a while now (well since 2006...). I run my machines on XP and was wondering if it is worth upgrading VS to 2008, or 2010 or should I stick with VS2005? I do like VS2005 except it has the annoying habit of frequently redrawing forms when I jump from code to form design - which can cause a pause of a few seconds. The worst part of this is the forms are not always redrawn correctly and I have to close the form design tabs and re-open them to redraw them correctly - not a huge deal really but just a rather frequent annoyance. I respect people's opinions here so while I can and have googled - the messages I have read seem to think that there is not a really compelling reason to upgrade - I would like to know what the CP community think of upgrading or sticking with VS2005. Thanks in advance
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.(Winston Churchill)
My Suggestion... At least upgrade to VS 2008. :))
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I have been using VS2005 for a while now (well since 2006...). I run my machines on XP and was wondering if it is worth upgrading VS to 2008, or 2010 or should I stick with VS2005? I do like VS2005 except it has the annoying habit of frequently redrawing forms when I jump from code to form design - which can cause a pause of a few seconds. The worst part of this is the forms are not always redrawn correctly and I have to close the form design tabs and re-open them to redraw them correctly - not a huge deal really but just a rather frequent annoyance. I respect people's opinions here so while I can and have googled - the messages I have read seem to think that there is not a really compelling reason to upgrade - I would like to know what the CP community think of upgrading or sticking with VS2005. Thanks in advance
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.(Winston Churchill)
Download one of the Visual Studio 2010 Express editions and see what you think. If that works for what you're doing, I'd use it instead of 2005. Just be aware that once your projects have been converted, you can't go back, easily. If you are thinking of paying for a new version, I would be asking myself what the benefit is. If 2005 is doing the job, then you may want to stick with 2005. The only caveat is that there are great new features, keywords and frameworks in 2008/10 that will make a huge difference to the way you approach development. Some are small things like keywords var and yield. Others like LINQ and Entity Framework are real head turners and will dramatically improve your productivity. So if you enjoy learning and being on the cutting edge, moving to 2010 is the obvious choice.
"You get that on the big jobs."
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Download one of the Visual Studio 2010 Express editions and see what you think. If that works for what you're doing, I'd use it instead of 2005. Just be aware that once your projects have been converted, you can't go back, easily. If you are thinking of paying for a new version, I would be asking myself what the benefit is. If 2005 is doing the job, then you may want to stick with 2005. The only caveat is that there are great new features, keywords and frameworks in 2008/10 that will make a huge difference to the way you approach development. Some are small things like keywords var and yield. Others like LINQ and Entity Framework are real head turners and will dramatically improve your productivity. So if you enjoy learning and being on the cutting edge, moving to 2010 is the obvious choice.
"You get that on the big jobs."
Thanks Rob - tryig the express edition sounds like a good idea.
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.(Winston Churchill)
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Thanks Rob - tryig the express edition sounds like a good idea.
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.(Winston Churchill)
The extent of your work matters a bit. IMO, I'll suggest VS2008 SP1
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I have been using VS2005 for a while now (well since 2006...). I run my machines on XP and was wondering if it is worth upgrading VS to 2008, or 2010 or should I stick with VS2005? I do like VS2005 except it has the annoying habit of frequently redrawing forms when I jump from code to form design - which can cause a pause of a few seconds. The worst part of this is the forms are not always redrawn correctly and I have to close the form design tabs and re-open them to redraw them correctly - not a huge deal really but just a rather frequent annoyance. I respect people's opinions here so while I can and have googled - the messages I have read seem to think that there is not a really compelling reason to upgrade - I would like to know what the CP community think of upgrading or sticking with VS2005. Thanks in advance
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.(Winston Churchill)
I've been really happy with VS2008 SP1. I bought VS2008 Standard then added SQL Server 2008R2 (Express) and bought a copy of Active Reports 6. (Adding the Reports Generator, in-effect, converts my VS to a "Pro" version). All set up for under a thousand bucks. I used to use VS2005 which was fine. I have all 3 (2005, 2008 and 2010) on my system at the office. I still like 2008 the best. It seems to have the best balance of power, stability and speed. VS2010 ... nice enough but it doesn't upgrade enough of what I use to make it worth it and it's much slower. FWIW ... -Max