Visual Studio 2015

Visual Studio 2015
Name	Visual Studio 2015
Developer	Microsoft
Released	2015
Latest release	2015 Update 3
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Genre	Integrated development environment
License	Proprietary commercial software

Visual Studio 2015 Visual Studio 2015 is an integrated development environment released by Microsoft in 2015, positioned in the lineage of Microsoft's development tools alongside predecessors from the Microsoft Visual Studio family, contemporaneous with products from JetBrains and rivals such as Eclipse (software), NetBeans, and offerings from Oracle Corporation. The product launch involved coordination with organizations including Intel Corporation, NVIDIA, Google, Apple Inc., and standards groups such as the ECMA International and the ISO/IEC JTC 1 committees.

History and development

Development of Visual Studio 2015 occurred within Microsoft after milestones like the release of Windows 8 and during the lifecycle of Windows 10, reflecting API changes from Win32 to newer frameworks influenced by work from Xamarin, Mono (software), and contributions from the broader open-source community including GitHub. Architectural decisions were informed by research from teams at Microsoft Research and market feedback from enterprise partners such as Accenture, Cisco Systems, and IBM. Major public previews and community technology previews were announced at events including Microsoft Build and TechEd, with engineering updates coordinated across groups including the .NET Foundation and collaborators like Apache Software Foundation contributors.

Editions and licensing

The product was distributed in multiple editions with licensing models intersecting commercial and free tiers, reflecting practices similar to those of Adobe Systems and Oracle Corporation for enterprise software. Editions included Professional, Enterprise, and a free Community edition intended for students and independent developers, aligning licensing terms with bodies such as Open Source Initiative when integrating open-source components from projects maintained by Google and Facebook. Volume licensing and Software Assurance arrangements paralleled offerings used by large organizations including Walmart, Bank of America, and General Electric.

New features and improvements

Key features introduced or enhanced drew from advances in compiler and runtime work influenced by standards bodies like ISO/IEC JTC 1 and implementation projects such as Clang. The IDE included improvements to C++11/C++14 support driven by collaborations with vendors such as Intel Corporation and projects like LLVM, productivity features inspired by tooling from JetBrains, and enhanced debugging and diagnostics capabilities comparable to efforts by Amazon (company) in tooling. Integration with source control systems included first-class support for Git workflows and coordination with Team Foundation Server and services operated by GitHub and Bitbucket (Atlassian). Mobile and cross-platform initiatives reflected partnerships with Xamarin, Apache Cordova, and alignment with mobile platforms from Google and Apple Inc..

Supported platforms and languages

The IDE ran on Microsoft Windows desktops and servers, integrating toolchains for languages and platforms such as C#, Visual Basic, C++, and web technologies linked to organizations like World Wide Web Consortium and projects including Node.js Foundation and Angular (web framework). Support extended to developing applications for Windows 10, Universal Windows Platform, cloud services like Microsoft Azure, and cross-platform targets via integrations with Xamarin and Apache Cordova. Interoperability considered standards promulgated by ECMA International and language specifications maintained by groups including ISO/IEC JTC 1.

Performance, compatibility, and updates

Performance tuning and compatibility testing involved collaboration with hardware partners such as Intel Corporation and AMD, and quality assurance coordination with enterprises such as Accenture and governmental IT departments. Post-release servicing included cumulative updates, service packs, and Update 3, delivered through channels akin to Microsoft Update and practices similar to maintenance for products by IBM and Oracle Corporation. Compatibility matrices addressed interactions with frameworks like .NET Framework and runtime environments influenced by projects hosted on GitHub.

Reception and legacy

Reception among developers and organizations referenced comparative analyses with tools from JetBrains and Eclipse (software), adoption in enterprises such as Microsoft partners and systems integrators, and academic uses in institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Its legacy includes contributions to subsequent Microsoft IDE releases, influence on tooling for .NET Foundation projects, and ongoing citations in community resources hosted on Stack Overflow and archived in repositories on GitHub.

Category:Microsoft software Category:Integrated development environments