Thread: Visual Studio 2012, 3 months later...

  1. #1
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Visual Studio 2012, 3 months later...

    I'd like to have an idea what you guys think of Visual Studio 2012 and whether you ended up choosing it for your development needs (naturally if you don't use the Visual Studio line, don't bother with this thread).

    It's been 3 months and the changes to VS interface really had an impact on me. So much that despite my MSDN account giving me free access to the Ultimate edition, I refused to us it. I'm still using -- and probably will be for a long while -- Visual Studio 2010.


    • C++ introduced C++ amp. This is good, but not for me. Access to CPU accelerators isn't in my line of work.
    • Better compliance to C++11. But not too much, really. Instead they decided to focus on scary iterators. I'd rather see Microsoft concentrate on standards compliance than yet another compiler extension. *bored*
    • Vector loops and Auto-Parallelization. Unless there's some problems with this I'm not aware of, this is indeed a great addition to the compiler optimization routines. (BTW, have there been any benchmarks on this?)
    • The changes to .Net 4.5 were frankly disappointing. Nothing really interesting for me there.
    • C# had also got a lukewarm upgrade. The async and await keywords are the best (and only) of the bunch. But frankly don't get me to move to VS2012 when I don't mind the code they save me from typing in comparison to having to deal with VS2012 interface.
    • I suppose an interesting feature is the (finally!) out of the box support for 0-configuration database through SQL Server Express LocalDB.


    When Looking at a new VS edition I always focus on (other than language enhancements):


    • improvement to debugging features
    • improvements to static analysis


    Those are my main key areas. VS2012 does offer a bit to both. But that interface really got in the way. I tested it in April and May, IIRC. For a whole month, more or less. And frankly I found it hard on my eyes. The monochrome style has also been a problem to me on Microsoft Blender for instance. I get tired quickly when using this type of interface.

    But what about any of you? Has then been a release you jumped into without any second thoughts? Or, just like me you couldn't stand the look of it?
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  2. #2
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    VS2012 is a complete non-starter at my company until the XP support upgrade is released. And probably not even then, until the additional C++11 support upgrade is released. Once that has happened, we can talk ...
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  3. #3
    the hat of redundancy hat nvoigt's Avatar
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    We'll probably adopt it ASAtba (as soon as the Bureaucracy allows), for C# it's cool. Not any great must-have feature, but a lot of small improvements. I'm working with the beta at home for about half a year and although it's... grey... it grows on you
    hth
    -nv

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  4. #4
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Well, since it has better C++11 support (and even more with the new CTP), I've switched over. The additional IntelliSense upgrades are nice, too.
    Not using much else ATM, so nothing else is a factor for me, but the parallell work and GPU work might be something I'll take advantage of some day.

    I did refuse to use 2012 when it came out until I found out that the UI can be repaired. See this: Your Colorful Visual Studio 2012 with the Color Theme Editor (VS2010 colors, too) - Scott Hanselman
    Now it's not too horrible anymore since 3rd parties have "fixed" what Microsoft broke. Well, it's not perfect, but it's good enough, at least.
    I hope that makes your day as it made mine.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  5. #5
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Oh my! That completely changes things. Need to try this out!

    Thanks
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  6. #6
    Sweet
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    I have been using it now for a couple of projects. The color theme changer is a MUST. Also the registry change to make the toolbar commands not be all caps is also good.

    One improvement that has been good for me is the JavaScript intellisense upgrades. Its still not as good as it could be but its better than 2010.
    Woop?

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    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mario F. View Post
    Oh my! That completely changes things. Need to try this out!

    Thanks
    You are most welcome.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  8. #8
    The superhaterodyne twomers's Avatar
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    It isn't much of an exaggeration to say I only moved from '03 about two years ago! Since then I have used '05 and am quite happy with '10. I might check back on this thread in three years or there abouts!

  9. #9
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Unless there is areason you cannot upgrade, you shouldn't stick with legacy tools.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  10. #10
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 isn't a legacy product. By far. It's still supported by Microsoft. Well into 2016.

    Microsoft Product Lifecycle Search
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  11. #11
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    By legacy product, I mean any version that is not the newest.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  12. #12
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elysia View Post
    By legacy product, I mean any version that is not the newest.
    In that case, your advise is wrong at best, dangerous at worst.

    As far as software development tools are concerned, don't ever upgrade unless you need to.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  13. #13
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mario F. View Post
    As far as software development tools are concerned, don't ever upgrade unless you need to.
    That's called a reason to not upgrade.
    Still, depending on what you mean, I agree.
    If you mean it in a context where the software is used to maintain business applications, then absolutely I agree.
    If you mean it in a private context where the software is used to maintain non-business applications, probably more like hobby, then depending on how critical it is that the software work and other factors, I may disagree.
    Besides, twomers mentioned "I," not "we," and "happy," leaving me to interpret it as it's more of a hobby nature than some critical business nature.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  14. #14
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elysia View Post
    If you mean it in a private context where the software is used to maintain non-business applications, probably more like hobby, then depending on how critical it is that the software work and other factors, I may disagree.
    I can concede here.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

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    away from coding itself, I like the User interface because it matches with the windows 7 desktop...
    others have old looking interfaces which kinda annoys me... and tools are more easier to find for a beginner like me.

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