Resource File

MSDN Online Developer Centers

When you're looking for information about a specific technology, don't you wish you could rely on one site to point you to the most pertinent content? Now you can. Based on feedback from software developers, MSDN Online has centralized all developer information on specific technologies so you don't have to hunt in several locations. The goals of these new sites are:

• Improved navigation to make content easier to find
• Resources and information to increase productivity when using Visual Studio tools
• MSDN content filtered through a specific product or technology-focused view
• A rating feature that lets readers rate articles, ask questions, and talk to other users and to MSDN

MSDN has accomplished this by merging its data sources and created multiple views of it. In dev-speak, they're merging resources into one DLL and creating multiple UI elements that instantiate that same interface. The result is five new developer centers: Visual Studio, Visual Basic, Visual C#, Visual C++, and the .NET Framework, all created based on the successful .NET Architecture and Web Services Developer Centers.

The new developer centers share a common structure. In the Using section you'll find information previously found across a wide variety of resources, including the MSDN Library. The Getting Started section offers guidance to users just beginning to explore the possibilities in Visual Studio, while the Migrating section helps users who are moving to the latest and greatest tool set. For those who prefer to start with an overview of new products and technologies, there's the Understanding section. The Understanding section in the Visual Studio Developer Center, for example, includes an article on using Visual Studio .NET 2003 and Visual SourceSafe 6.0 in a team environment. The Building section delivers the information required to build any type of Windows-based application—components, Web apps, mobile apps, and client apps. The Additional Resources sections list books, documentation, and training and events.

Each developer center features a Deploying and Distributing section covering critical deployment issues, such as side-by-side execution of the .NET Framework—an important advancement. Also covered is no-touch deployment, a feature which allows system administrators to deploy both applications and updates to applications through a remote Web server.

Here are some of the highlights to look for on each site. The Visual Basic Developer Center will provide new content that will help you write mobile applications using Visual Basic .NET 2003. The Visual C++ site will include information on managed C++ libraries and guidance on taking advantage of this new set of features. You'll also learn how to utilize the new forms engine if you're using Visual C++ in Visual Studio 2003. The Visual C# site will contain information on how to use the Microsoft Java Language Conversion Assistant, a wizard that converts Java-language source code to code based on Visual C# .NET. The .NET Framework Developer Center has all new content for the .NET Framework 1.1, including coverage of the common language infrastructure (CLI), common language runtime (CLR), and .NET Remoting. You'll also find more cross-community resources on each of the developer centers, including columns, newsgroups, user groups, chats, and third-party communities.

MSDN has plans to offer more developer centers in the near future. The ASP.NET Developer Center will go live soon, covering all aspects of hosting the next generation of Windows-based applications. The developer center for Mobility, also scheduled to go live soon, will cover everything from the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework to the Smartphone SDK. As security has become an integral part of all development projects, there will also soon be a Security and Trustworthy Computing Developer Center.

MSDN would certainly like to hear what you think. What information do you want to see covered in these developer centers? Please contact Shawn Morrissey at shawnmor@microsoft.com with your suggestions.

The new developer centers can be found at:

• https://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio
• https://msdn.microsoft.com/vbasic
• https://msdn.microsoft.com/vcsharp
• https://msdn.microsoft.com/visualc
• https://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework