VS 2010 RC: Gains Speed, Loses Silverlight 4 Support
The release candidate (RC) of Visual Studio 2010 goes to general availability today, probably around 3pm Eastern Standard Time, according to a
blog post by Jason Zander. The RC code gives developers a chance to kick the tires on the next version of Microsoft's flagship integrated development environment (IDE). The RTM of Visual Studio 2010 is due to roll out on April 12.
Once the bits go live, you can download the RC here.
Key Microsoft developer execs like Zander and Soma Somasegar have blogged about the VS2010 RC. Based on what they're saying, the ongoing complaints about performance in the beta versions of Visual Studio have gotten plenty of attention. The very early returns are encouraging.
Keith Patrick, responding on Jason Zander's blog, wrote: "Wow! I was disappointed (very) in the Beta 2 performance (5 second lag between me typing and the letters appearing on screen), but the RC is blazing. Ridiculously so."
Visual Studio Magazine contributor Dan Wahlin had this to say in a tweet: "The performance improvements with VS 2010 RC compared to previous builds are huge. Really happy with what I'm seeing so far."
Some developers are disappointed, however, with the lack of Silverlight 4 support in the Visual Studio 2010 RC. VS 2010 Beta 2 currently supports Silverlight 4 development, but Scott Guthrie, blogging on the RC drop, wrote that the RC only supports Silverlight 3 projects. He urged developers working with Silverlight 4 to stick with VS 2010 Beta 2.
"Silverlight 3 projects are supported with today's VS 2010 RC build -- however Silverlight 4 projects are not yet supported," Guthrie wrote. "We will be adding VS 2010 RC support for SL4 with the next public Silverlight 4 drop. If you are doing active Silverlight 4 development today we recommend staying with the VS10 Beta 2 build for now."
Posted by Michael Desmond on 02/10/2010