Microsoft Unveils Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise Edition At TechEd Developer Conference
NEW ORLEANS, June 3, 1998 — In today’s keynote speech at Microsoft® TechEd, Microsoft Vice President for Developer Tools Paul Gross announced Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise Edition, the complete suite for rapidly building scalable enterprise solutions. The Visual Studio 6.0 development system extends the new versions of award-winning Microsoft Visual Tools with features for component-based development, enterprise data access and development life-cycle support. Integration of these tools with middle-tier application services based on the Windows NT® operating system enables the fundamental flexibility and scalability of Microsoft’s Windows® Distributed interNet Architecture (Windows DNA).
“In order for organizations to achieve a competitive advantage from their technology infrastructure, they need the ability to build solutions that can easily integrate disparate systems,” said Paul Maritz, group vice president of applications and platforms at Microsoft Corp. “Developers can use Microsoft’s comprehensive development suite, Visual Studio 6.0, with the enabling foundation of Windows DNA to make this a reality.”
Component-Based Web Development
Developers using Visual Studio 6.0 can create, consume and reuse components based on Microsoft’s Component Object Model (COM). This enables multitier Web applications to be easily assembled from existing, third-party or custom-developed components. Developers can leverage any language, such as C++, Visual Basic® and Java, to build the business logic components and easily integrate them into solutions accessed from either a Web client running on any platform or a Windows-based client.
“Enterprise developers face a significant challenge in building distributed, Web-based solutions that provide integration with their existing systems,” Gross said. “Visual Studio 6.0 brings us closer to our vision of integrating the RAD concepts of our Visual Tools with the life-cycle and interoperability requirements of the enterprise.”
Open Interoperability
Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise Edition provides open interoperability with existing systems such as UNIX and SNA hosts, with the inclusion of technologies such as ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO), Microsoft SNA Server 4.0 and the COM/CICS Transaction Integrator (COM TI). Microsoft is providing new OLE DB and ODBC drivers to all Microsoft databases, as well as Oracle databases, and VSAM and DB/2 databases running on IBM AS400s and IBM mainframes. Connectivity to most other major database systems is available through third-party ODBC and OLE DB drivers.
Visual Database Tools
Visual Studio 6.0 extends Microsoft’s Visual Database Tools with new support for visual database construction of Microsoft SQL Server
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and Oracle databases. The Visual Database Tools also provide the following:
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Database Designer for point-and-click creation and modification of Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle schemas including tables, relationships and indexes.
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Data View for connecting to and exploring objects in any OLE/DB or ODBC-based database
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Query Designer for rich, drag-and-drop creation and testing of sophisticated SQL statements
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Stored Procedure Editor for easily creating and testing stored procedure and functions on Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle databases
“At CNNSI.com, (http://cnnsi.com) , we pride ourselves on presenting the most compelling statistics possible,” said Kurt Hoyt, lead developer for CNN/SI Interactive. “We plan to continue doing so by using the powerful enterprise technology found in Microsoft Visual Studio. Our site contains a tremendous amount of dynamic sports information stored in an Oracle database. The new Visual Database Tools found in Visual Studio 6.0 will allow us to get to the Oracle data directly, as well as let our developers directly design Oracle schemas with easy to use graphical tools.”
Development Life-Cycle and Team Support
Enterprise projects are by definition developed by teams of developers, and Visual Studio 6.0 has enhanced its support for teams building distributed solutions. In addition, Visual Studio offers new features for component-based application design, as well as performance profiling of multitier, distributed applications:
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Component management. New versions of Microsoft Repository, Visual Component Manager and the Microsoft Visual SourceSafe
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version control system provide code and component sharing and interoperability between team members, third-party tools and projects. -
Design. The new version of Visual Modeler 2.0 provides UML-based modeling tools for designing component-based applications. Models can be used to drive code generation of projects based on the Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual C++® 6.0 development systems.
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Development. New versions of Microsoft Visual Tools provide integrated development environments with shared features for RAD development.
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Analysis. New Visual Studio Analyzer provides analysis and performance profiling information for distributed applications to locate and correct performance bottlenecks more easily.
Windows DNA Support
To build Windows NT-based solutions that can be accessed from Windows-based or Web-based clients and integrated in enterprise environments, Visual Studio 6.0 includes selected server technologies from the Microsoft BackOffice® family and offers integrated application services that are easily accessible through COM interfaces. These middle-tier services, including transactions, message queuing, messaging and collaboration, security, Web services, host connectivity, and integration with packaged commercial applications, enable organizations to address a broad spectrum of application types.
Features and Availability
Visual Studio 6.0 is available in professional and enterprise editions. The professional edition includes the following:
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Visual Basic 6.0
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Visual C++ 6.0
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The Visual J++
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6.0 development system for Java -
The Visual InterDev
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6.0 Web development system -
The Visual FoxPro® 6.0 database development system
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Windows NT Option Pack with Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0, Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0, and Microsoft Message Queue Server 1.0
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Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN
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) Library CD-ROM, special edition
The enterprise edition also includes the following:
Enterprise Visual Database Tool s
Development Life-Cycle Tools
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Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 6.0
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Microsoft Repository 2.0
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Microsoft Visual Component Manager
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Visual Modeler 2.0
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Visual Studio Analyzer
BackOffice Server 4.5 Developer Edition
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Development license for Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5, including Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SNA Server, Microsoft Site Server, Microsoft Systems Management Server and Windows NT Server. This version of BackOffice will be sent to customers upon availability.
Visual Studio 6.0 is scheduled to be available in late summer through software resellers and academic resellers and by calling Microsoft at (800) 426-9400. Pricing and upgrade policies will be announced at that time. For more information, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/vstudio/ .
Developer Days to Be Official Launch Event for Visual Studio 6.0
Visual Studio 6.0 will officially launch on Sept. 2, 1998, at Developer Days 98. “DevDays” 98 will be hosted at over 120 national and international locations from 9 a.m. to
5 p.m. local time. DevDays 98 will feature a satellite broadcast from Bill Gates in Redmond, Wash., and local presentations on all the new tools and new functionality, providing developers with their first opportunity to see the entire Visual Studio 6.0 suite. For more information on DevDays 98, visit the Developer Days Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/devdays/. The cost to attend DevDays 98 is $99.
Following DevDays 98, Microsoft will sponsor a three-day training course, Mastering Distributed Application Design Using Microsoft Visual Studio. Offered through Microsoft Authorized Technical Education Centers (ATECs), the class is taught by certified experts and provides developers in-depth information on distributed development. The training will be offered worldwide during the month of October and will cost $995. For more information on training, please visit the Developer Days Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/devdays/.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Visual Studio, Windows NT, Windows, Visual Basic, ActiveX, Visual SourceSafe, Visual C++, BackOffice, Visual J++, Visual InterDev, Visual FoxPro and MSDN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
A Few Words About Visual Studio 6.0
Boeing Aerospace Inc.
“Visual Studio 6.0 takes the next step to integrating Web application development into a traditional application development environment. Developers can work on database-stored procedures, Web server components, Active Server Pages and client applets, all from a common environment that is integrated and consistent. All the resources that a traditional developer expects to have available – like configuration control, integrated debugging, statement completion and automated deployment – are there for every area of Visual Studio. You can now even tie your SQL Server database to Visual SourceSafe and use it to manage the configuration of your databases. That’s huge!”
-Boyd Nolan
Lead Engineer
Aerospace Operations
Boeing Aerospace Inc.
Coopers & Lybrand Consulting
“Visual Studio 6.0, including Visual InterDev 6.0 and support for SQL Server 7.0, combined with Windows NT and Internet Information Server 4.0, are going to expand the possibilities for Coopers & Lybrand Consulting to deliver leading-edge strategic applications for our clients in all areas of Web technology. This includes business-to-consumer and business-to-business electronic commerce. These technologies can assist our clients in leveraging the Web for maximum business advantage.”
– Nicholas D. Evans
Technical Director
National Internet Practice
Coopers & Lybrand Consulting
Computer Literacy
“We built the computerliteracy.com electronic commerce system with Visual Studio tools. We are very excited about the new debugging, design, performance analysis and code reuse capabilities in Visual Studio 6.0. These new tools let us do more for our customers in less time, even as we scale to handle our rapid growth in sales of technical books and training materials online.”
– Kim Orumchian
Co-Founder and VP of Engineering
Computer Literacy
32X Tech Corp.
“Our best developers are proficient in several languages. Visual Studio 6.0 provides the long-desired ability to easily switch between languages during development – using the most appropriate language for the job – and then to debug the application as easily as if it had been written in a single language.”
– Ken Miller
Chief Technology Officer
32X Tech Corp.
SAP America Inc.
“Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 provides a great way to extend SAP applications. Direct integration of the BAPI standard with Visual Studio makes it easy to build Windows DNA applications that provide customized capabilities using SAP software as the business backbone.”
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Dr. Peter Graf
Manager, Technology Marketing
SAP America Inc.
Training Store
“Microsoft Visual Studio tools provide strong integration between database technology and Internet presentation capabilities. That integration was fundamental to our goals. To build a large, scalable business on the Internet, you need to implement tools that create a really productive environment, not only for development but also for production. By implementing the Training Store site in a good, solid database with well-established tool technology around it, we can maintain our database – the core of our business – with staff members who don’t have to be HTML experts. Microsoft Visual Studio tools were better integrated and easier to use to get results. Without Microsoft technology, it would have taken us a year.”
– John Dolejsi
President
Training Store
G. A. Sullivan
“Visual Studio has allowed our developers to greatly increase their productivity in building scalable distributed applications for the enterprise. Being experienced Internet and client/server developers, we need the power and flexibility offered in the complete set of Visual Studio development tools. This integrated product suite offers more than any other set of tools on the market today. The add-ins and wizards allow us to build prototypes and functional demos in record time. We will wholeheartedly adopt and recommend Visual Studio 6.0 to anyone considering enterprise application development.”
– Greg Sullivan
CEO
G. A. Sullivan
BSI Consulting
“Successful organizations of the future will build applications that are manageable and scalable and that incorporate the use of component-based architectures. With Visual Studio, I can build a dynamic, database-driven Web or client/server application that incorporates the use of components for my middle-tier business logic. Visual Studio allows to me to focus on the task or tasks that I want to accomplish without having to focus on using a specific tool. In other words, my development efforts are focused on the task rather than the tool set. To build a Web-based application, I can use Visual InterDev for HTML, script and some database logic, and a combination of Visual J++ and Visual Basic for my components.
“Visual Studio has brought forth the true convergence of client/server applications and the Web. Using Visual Studio, you can truly leverage the new legacy of client/server technology to create scalable, enterprisewide applications.”
– Mike Van Hoozer
Director
BSI Consulting
University of South Florida
“We have been using Visual Studio extensively at USF to create applications with a Web interface. Among these are our SUNLink student information system, the STARS travel requisition and reimbursement system, the PRS purchasing requisition system, our online certificate system and several Exchange server interfaces, including our exchange directory search, online USF events calendars, USF News announcements list and Web-based e-mail interface. In addition to using Visual InterDev for creating Web and database projects and applications, we use Visual C++ and Visual Basic to create ActiveX controls for our applications as well as several behind-the-scenes maintenance routines for things such as our Exchange directory.”
– Terry Beavers
Technology Assessment Specialist
Information Technologies
University of South Florida
CSC Consulting
“Visual Studio allowed us to make significant improvements in developer productivity by enabling our developers to work more efficiently. It’s a great tool when executing group development because Visual SourceSafe is built into all of the technologies. We primarily utilized Visual InterDev and Visual Basic for our development efforts and, because we run on the Windows operating system using COM, Visual Studio actually enabled seamless integration of all technologies in our developmental environment. In addition, the MSDN library CD-ROMs answered 90 percent of our questions. Everything you ever wanted to know is right there. Looking forward, we are very excited about the new features of Visual Studio 6.0. We plan to
continue using Visual Studio 6.0 in developing our Lynx framework and to develop application systems that use it.”
– David Whitehorn-Umphres
Principal
CSC Consulting
The Baan Co.
“Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 provides one of the easiest ways to extend Baan applications. Using Visual Studio with Microsoft COM provides a great, scalable, well-architected approach to customization that is consistent with the Baan architecture.”
Jan Hasselman
Chief Applications Architect
The Baan Co.
Clarity Consulting Inc.
“With Visual Studio, Microsoft has assembled the only one-stop-shopping source for building corporate component-based applications. The typical complexity and time-to-market of such solutions is significantly lessened because Visual Studio provides a similar look IDE across all languages (e.g., C, Basic, Java and Scripting), provides development versions of the application’s infrastructure in the box (e.g., transaction services, Internet services, database services, messaging services, security services), and provides common features that span all tools (e.g., component management, source control, data access, component design). With the new release, Visual Studio takes a major evolutionary step by maturing Internet development to the same standards as other, more seasoned development environments.”
– Craig Goren
President
Clarity Consulting Inc.
Tektronix Inc.
“With the constant changes in tools and technologies provided by Microsoft, Visual Studio 6.0 shortens the learning curve for novices and experts alike. The improved Visual InterDev database support, combined with the improved development environment, has enabled our team to utilize new components within our company’s intranet and still meet deadlines.”
– Mark Wignall
Application Developer/Analyst
Tektronix Inc.
