Should I upgrade to VS 2008?

[Michael A. Covington]

I am happily developing software with C# using Visual Studio 2005. Should I
upgrade to Visual Studio 2008? If I do, will I be able to work on the same
project alternately with the two different Visual Studio versions?

 

[Roger Frost]

I am happily developing software with C# using Visual Studio 2005. Should
I upgrade to Visual Studio 2008? If I do, will I be able to work on the
same project alternately with the two different Visual Studio versions?

My opinion is:

If your thinking of buying Visual Studio 2008, try the Express Edition out
first before you make the commitment. I seriously doubt you will be and
less happy with 2k8.

Of course, _eventually_, depending on the product life, you will need to
upgrade it, and there is no better time than the present.

I wouldn't advise working on the same project with two different versions of
Visual Studio at the _same_ time, during your Express trial just make a copy
of your project for VS 2k8 to see how you like it. I'm trying to remember
if VS 2008 automatically optimized my code when I first opened it....I
believe so, but don't hold me to it, maybe it was just the Solution and
Project structure that got optimized.

Personally, I recommend that everyone download the 2008 Express Edition
(unless they already have the full version of course).

 

[Michael A. Covington]

I am happily developing software with C# using Visual Studio 2005. Should
I upgrade to Visual Studio 2008? If I do, will I be able to work on the
same project alternately with the two different Visual Studio versions?

I should add that I'll be getting academic pricing, so there's not a lot of
money at stake.

 

[Marc Scheuner]

Hi Michael,

I am happily developing software with C# using Visual Studio 2005. Should I
upgrade to Visual Studio 2008?

If you have the chance to do so - yes, I would. Especially in the web
(ASP.NET) environment, lots of nice little addons and productivity
boosters have been added.

Plus the whole LINQ story has come around - very interesting and
potentially a lot more productive way to write all those grungy
queries against your database.

If I do, will I be able to work on the same project alternately with the two different Visual Studio versions?

Yes and no - VS2008 does *not* alter the source and/or project
(*.csroj) files, or at least the VS2005 environment doesn't complain
about it - but the solution files (*.sln) get a new version header
which VS2005 will cough on (easily fixed by manually editing the file,
or having two copies of the solution file, one for vS2005 and one for
VS2008).

All in all: if you have the choice, I'd go for VS2008.

Marc

 

[Morten Wennevik [C# MVP]]

I am happily developing software with C# using Visual Studio 2005. Should I
upgrade to Visual Studio 2008? If I do, will I be able to work on the same
project alternately with the two different Visual Studio versions?

No. VS2008 will upgrade the solution files so you can't work on the same
solution using VS2005, but using VS2008 you can compile to .Net 2.0 or 3.0 in
addition to 3.5 if you want.