What's New

The VisualáStudio 6.0 suite contains many new features to help organizations build enterprise solutions.

New Versions of the Microsoft Visual Tools

VisualáStudio 6.0 includes new versions of the award-winning Microsoft Visual Tools, enabling developers to build component-based solutions. These tools provide comprehensive support for building all aspects of a multitier solution based on the Microsoft Windows« Distributed interNet Applications (Windows DNA) architecture. This includes building cross-platform Web applications, as well as client/server Windows operating system based applications. In this release, the tools offer a higher degree of integration and many more shared features than before. The new tools in the VisualáStudio 6.0 suite include:

VisualáBasic 6.0 development system, for rapid development of Windows-based client/server applications, as well as Web applications and middle-tier business components.
VisualáC++ 6.0 development system, for building the highest performance applications and components.
VisualáJ++ 6.0 development system, Microsoft's new development tool for building applets, Windows-based applications, and components using the Java language.
VisualáInterDev 6.0 Web development system, an integrated, team-based development tool for building data-driven Web applications based on HTML, Script, and components written in any language.
VisualáFoxPro 6.0 database development system, for building database applications and developing components using the FoxPro language.

Application Design and Performance Analysis Tools

VisualáStudio 6.0 offers new productivity features throughout the application development life cycle.

Visual Modeler 2.0 enables developers to design multitier applications, automatically generating component definitions from UML-based models.
VisualáStudio Analyzer enables developers to analyze all aspects of a distributed application for effective performance tuning. VisualáStudio Analyzer displays the component flow of a distributed application, graphically monitoring component processing and providing drill down information into the run-time events of each component.

Enterprise Data Access and Design Tools

VisualáStudio 6.0 offers a new generation of database programming and design tools based on Microsoft's Universal Data Access technology.

ActiveX« Data Object 2.0 (ADO). ADO is now integrated throughout all of the tools in VisualáStudio, providing a consistent database programming model. ADO can be used to access any ODBC or OLE DB compliant database. ADO supports a high degree of scalability through connection pooling, sophisticated data manipulation capabilities, disconnected record sets, and synchronized remote record sets delivered over HTTP.
Oracle and SQLáServer Database Designer. VisualáStudio 6.0 now offers integrated database design tools for Oracle (7.3.3 and higher) and Microsoft SQLáServerÖ (6.5 and higher) databases. Developers can visually design and modify database tables and relationships, and create stored procedures and database functions directly within the development environment. Remote stored procedure debugging is provided on SQLáServer databases.
New Visual Database Tools. The new Visual Database Tools also offer improved support for rapidly creating complex SQL statements and database views against any ODBC-based database. Through direct integration with source control, VisualáStudio database projects can now be used to manage and version all database scripts from a central location. VisualáStudio 6.0 includes new pervasive integration of these tools across the suite.

Enhanced Support for Teams

VisualáStudio 6.0 offers new team-based development features including a distributed Web project model, the Visual SourceSafeÖ 6.0 version control system, Microsoft Repository 2.0, and the Visual Component Manager.

Distributed Web Project Model. VisualáStudio supports distributed, team-based development of Web solutions. New features include a developer isolation mode and offline working mode. All authoring operations are HTTP-based, enabling geographically distributed teams to work together. The project model is shared by the Microsoft FrontPage« Web site creation and management tool, so that non-programmers can work hand in hand with developers using VisualáStudio.
Visual SourceSafe 6.0. Visual SourceSafe secures source code on team projects and provides file-locking features for networked, team-based development from any tool in the suite.
Microsoft Repository 2.0. An open repository for storing project elements created by Microsoft tools and by third-party tools. The Repository is integrated with all tools in the suite through the Visual Component Manager.
Visual Component Manager 2.0. Developers can easily find, track, catalog, and reuse components and other project elements while working in teams with the Visual Component Manager. The Visual Component Manager makes it easy to publish to and from the Microsoft Repository, and includes new support for cataloging components, such as ActiveX controls, COM components, Visual Models, Java applets, HTML and Active Server Pages, source code, and project specifications.

Integrated Application Services with Microsoft BackOffice

VisualáStudio provides a rich set of application services for enterprise development. This includes developer editions of Microsoft BackOffice family of application servers, including Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Internet Information Server, Microsoft Transaction Server, Microsoft Message Queue Server, Microsoft SNA Server, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Systems Management Server, and Microsoft Site Server.