Overview of Windows-based Applications
Microsoft Visual Studio offers several ways to develop Windows-based applications that run locally on users' computers. With Visual Studio, you can create Windows-based applications and user interfaces (UI) by using Windows Forms. You can also create Windows service applications or Windows Win32-based applications. Starting with Visual Studio 2008, you can create Windows-based applications by using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).
Visual Studio Windows-based Applications
A Visual Studio Windows-based application is built around the .NET Framework, a rich set of classes that you can use to develop sophisticated applications. You can create Windows-based applications by using any programming language that works with the .NET Framework (Visual Basic, C#, C++, and many others) and .NET Framework debugging tools.
Windows-based applications created by using .NET Framework classes offer other benefits. You can access operating-system services and take advantage of other benefits provided by your user's computing environment. You can access data by using ADO.NET. For more information, see Creating Data Applications with Visual Studio. GDI+ enables you to do advanced drawing and painting in your windows forms applications. For more information, see Graphics and Drawing in Windows Forms. Your Windows-based applications can make calls to methods exposed through XML Web services, so you can take advantage of information and computing resources from a variety of sources and partners. For more information, see Introduction to Programming Web Services in Managed Code.
Visual Studio Tools for Windows-based Application Development
Just as with any other .NET Framework application, you can create Windows-based applications in a text editor, make calls to .NET Framework methods and classes, compile your application at the command line, and distribute the resulting executable application.
Alternatively, you can use Visual Studio. When you use Visual Studio to create Windows-based applications, you are creating essentially the same application that you could create by manually writing code. The advantage of using Visual Studio is that it provides tools that can make application development faster, easier, and more reliable. The following list shows some of the more important Windows-based application development tools:
Visual designers for Windows Forms with drag-and-drop controls. For more information, see Windows Forms Designer.
Visual designers for Windows Presentation Foundation. For more information see, Windows Presentation Foundation in Visual Studio.
Code-aware editors that include statement completion, syntax checking, and other IntelliSense features.
Integrated compilation and debugging.
Project management tools for creating and managing application files, including deployment locally, over an intranet or over the Internet.
If you have used Visual Studio before, these features will seem familiar; they are similar to features available in earlier versions of Visual Basic and Visual C++. Visual Studio 2005 expands on these features to provide a rich collection of tools for developing Windows-based applications.
Kinds of Windows-based Applications
With Visual Studio you can develop several different kinds of Windows-based applications. You can create Windows Forms and Windows service applications that leverage the power of the .NET Framework, or you can use Visual C++ to create Windows Win32-based applications.
Windows Forms
For more information about Windows Forms and how to work with them in Visual Studio, see the following topics.
Topic |
Description |
|---|---|
Provides information about how to create and develop Windows Forms. |
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Lists topics that provide you with step-by-step instructions about how to develop commonly created applications that are based on Windows Forms. |
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Provides a collection of topics detailing the specific characteristics and usage of the Windows Forms controls. |
Windows Presentation Foundation Applications
For more information about Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and how to create WPF applications by using Visual Studio, see the following topics.
Topic |
Description |
|---|---|
Provides introductory information about all aspects of developing applications by using WPF. |
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Lists topics that provide you with instructions about how to develop WPF applications by using the WPF Designer. |
Windows Service Applications
Using Visual Studio, you can create services by creating an application that is installed as a service. This type of application is called a Windows service. By using .NET Framework features, you can create services, install them, and start, stop, and otherwise control their behavior.
For more information, see Windows Service Applications.
Win32 Projects
You can use the Project Wizard to create Win32 project types, including console applications, executable Windows-based applications, dynamic-link libraries (DLLs), and static libraries.
For more information, see Creating a Win32 Windows Application.