Features in the Visual Studio 2008 Shell (Integrated Mode)
The Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Shell (integrated mode) provides a version of Visual Studio that includes the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE) and debugger, and source control integration. No programming language is included. Although the integrated Shell does not include programming languages, it does provide a framework that lets you add programming languages.
Table of Features
The following table lists Visual Studio features that are supported in the integrated Shell.
Feature Area |
Feature |
Language Support |
|
IDE |
|
Project System and Project Types |
|
Build |
|
Editor |
|
Designer |
|
Data |
|
Debugger |
|
64-bit Support |
|
Source Code Control (SCC) |
|
Extensibility |
|
Notes
Note 1. Data Tools
The integrated Shell includes database development tools that are comparable to those that are available in the Standard version of Visual Studio. These tools include data extensibility support and the simplified Solution Explorer. However, SQL Server Express, SQL Reporting, and Crystal Reports are not included in the integrated Shell.
Note 2. Debugging Support
The integrated Shell includes the same debugging engine that is included in the Standard version of Visual Studio. The debugging engine includes the common debugger for managed code, and also related features, such as Run, Attach, Set Breakpoint, Edit and Continue, and others. However, the debugging engine does not support SQL Server database debugging.
Although support for native debugging is included in the basic debugger package, you cannot extend it to support additional languages.
Note 3. Source-Code Control Integration
The integrated Shell provides APIs for implementing source-code control (SCC) and for providing the MSSCCI-based common source control integration components.
Although SCC integration is not a regular feature of the Standard edition of Visual Studio, SCC integration is provided in the integrated Shell to enhance the extensibility of Visual Studio.
Note 4. Build Support
The integrated Shell includes MSBuild. Documentation in Visual Studio and Visual Studio Integration SDK provide Help for MSBuild. For reference documentation, see MSBuild Reference. For more information, see Supplementary Information Sources.
Features Not Included in the Visual Studio 2008 Shell (integrated mode)
The following is a list of features that are not included the integrated Shell:
Class Designer
Pre-Emptive DotFuscator
Language features
VSHost
No Visual Studio languages (Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual C+) or their associated project templates or project item templates, are included in the integrated Shell. No language-specific implementations of other features are included, for example, Visual Basic Code Snippets.