Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Visual Studio will continue to be a industry standard IDE for Windows for the foreseeable future.
Pros and Cons
- "The Visual Studio IDE is excellent in design and function."
- ".NET apps are only compatible with Windows Phone 8 and Windows platforms."
What is most valuable?
The Visual Studio IDE is excellent in design and function. It allows you to code for a wide variety of software, including web and platform software. It supports quite a few different programming languages. It also has a GUI based visual interface editor built in, which is easy to use and allows for quick turn around in prototyping software designs.There is a free "Express" version of the IDE software available as well.
What needs improvement?
.NET apps are only compatible with Windows Phone 8 and Windows platforms. Visual Basic.NET is the primary language that Visual Studio is targeted for. Also, the price for the IDE can be expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Personally, I prefer using Visual Studio as it has the code auto-complete feature, which is really awesome if you've forgotten the name of the function or API that you are calling.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Developer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Visual Studio.NET is a state of the art, Integrated Development Environment (IDE) from Microsoft Corporation.
Pros and Cons
- "Offers an excellent platform to develop Desktop, Web, and Mobile Applications."
- "Code editor is expensive."
Valuable Features:
Offers an excellent platform to develop Desktop, Web, and Mobile Applications.Supports various programming languages.Includes various features for rapid application development (Like Drag & Drop, IntelliSense).
Room for Improvement:
As .NET Framework bundles more and more components, utilities, and API's, the size of the downloadable is large..NET desktop applications can run only on a windows platform.Code editor is expensive.
Other Advice:
Even though Visual Studio.NET offers great features and functions, the cross-platform issues cannot be overlooked.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Great article by author Engineer359, certainly the Visual Studio.NET is a state of the art, Integrated Development Environment available in the market. Even there are some advantages and disadvantages of the framework which i would like to add:
Advantages:
1) Easy to learn
2) Can be used for creating Desktop, Web and Mobile Applications
Disadvantages:
1) As said by the author .NET Framework bundles more and more components, utilities, and API's so the learning curve is big.
2) Desktop Applications cab be created for windows platform only.
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Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Developing and debugging complex backend services has become faster and more reliable
Pros and Cons
- "If you are looking for a very complete IDE for developers that can support their job with a lot of functionalities and plugins, choose Microsoft Visual Studio."
- "Microsoft Visual Studio can be improved by integrating an agent that can support developers in the development process."
What is our primary use case?
I use Microsoft Visual Studio for developing .NET applications. I developed the backend of web applications, microservices, and APIs deployed on Kubernetes using Microsoft Visual Studio.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Visual Studio is an IDE that supports developers during development, which I find very valuable and helpful. Microsoft Visual Studio simplifies developer work, and for example, code autocompletion speeds up development. The integrated test and debug functionalities help developers accomplish their tasks more effectively.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Visual Studio can be improved by integrating an agent that can support developers in the development process. I did not give Microsoft Visual Studio a 10 because I believe it can still be improved, even though it is a very good IDE.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Microsoft Visual Studio for several years and continue to use it currently.
What other advice do I have?
If you are looking for a very complete IDE for developers that can support their job with a lot of functionalities and plugins, choose Microsoft Visual Studio. I rate this product highly based on its comprehensive features and reliability.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Updated: September 2026
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Code auto completion facility is also available in other IDEs' like Eclipse. So, if this facility is the only reason for preferring Visual Studio, than why you dont prefer Eclipse?