Infragistics, a maker of user interface development tools, announced that it is ready to support the Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Beta across its UI development toolsets.
With Visual Studio 11 Beta compatibility, Infragistics flagship product NetAdvantage Ultimate 2011 Volume 2 empowers users to develop and deliver compelling user experiences across all platforms, the company said.
As with other major platform updates, weve worked diligently to ensure that our UI toolsets take advantage of the capabilities in Visual Studio 11 Beta so that we can deliver to our customers the means to produce exciting, multiplatform end-user experiences, Dean Guida, CEO of Infragistics, said in a statement. With market insight driving our product innovations, our customers can turn application development opportunities into revenue-generating realities.
Infragistics is a strong Visual Studio Partner committed to delivering to customers experiences that take advantage of the latest Microsoft platforms, Tom Lindeman, director of Microsofts Visual Studio Industry Program, said in a statement. With Visual Studio 11 Beta compatibility, Infragistics helps developers embrace and enable next-generation application development.
Infragistics has shipped the first NetAdvantage Ultimate 2011 Volume 2 Service Release that includes Visual Studio 11 Beta-compatible bits. NetAdvantage Ultimate customers will continue to receive Service Releases as Visual Studio 11 moves out of Beta and through to general availability.
On March 8, Infragistics delivered a NetAdvantage Service Release for Visual Studio 11 Beta, which provided the latest patches and fixes for the toolset. In a blog post about that release, Jason Beres, Infragistics director of product management, said, We are working with Microsoft on multiple issues that we are both aware of with Visual Studio 11, we expect a more stable experience when the Visual Studio 11 RC ships.
Meanwhile, in an earlier post, Beres said he had been getting lots of questions about developing for Windows 8 using the WinRT controls. Beres said:
“This is a question I have gotten even more of in the last month since the buzz around Windows 8 Consumer Preview coming in late February has picked up. Similar to the Visual Studio 11 Beta story, we are working as closely as we can with Microsoft on our Windows 8 controls story. After the Consumer Preview ships, and Windows 8 moves into Release Candidate and GA, well keep you updated on the plans we have for controls that are designed specifically for Metro Style Apps in Windows 8. As you know, the current NetAdvantage Ultimate controls can be used to build Windows 8 Desktop Apps today, no problem. On the other hand, WOA (Windows on ARM) Apps, which are designed to only run on ARM-based tablets, are what is getting everyone excited. As Steven Sinofsky stated in this blog on building the WOA experience:Metro style apps in the Windows Store can support both WOA and Windows 8 on x86/64. Developers wishing to target WOA do so by writing applications for the WinRT (Windows APIs for building Metro style apps) using the new Visual Studio 11 tools in a variety of languages, including C#/VB/XAML and Jscript/ HTML5. Native code targeting WinRT is also supported using C and C++, which can be targeted across architectures and distributed through the Windows Store. WOA does not support running, emulating, or porting existing x86/64 desktop apps. Code that uses only system or OS services from WinRT can be used within an app and distributed through the Windows Store for both WOA and x86/64. Consumers obtain all software, including device drivers, through the Windows Store and Microsoft Update or Windows Update.“
Microsoft delivered the Visual Studio 11 beta Feb. 29. Discussing the Visual Studio 11 Beta, S. Soma Somasegar, corporate vice president of Microsofts Developer Division, said the new toolset focuses on three primary themes: modern consumer and business apps, simplified and productive development environment, and collaborative and agile software teams.
Moreover, Somasegar said, We will be in lock-step between the platform [Windows 8] and the tools. Microsoft released a preview of Visual Studio 11 in September 2011 along with a developer preview of Windows 8 at its BUILD conference.
Microsoft said Visual Studio 11 is an integrated solution that helps individuals and development teams of any size be productive and focused, collaborate seamlessly with colleagues, and turn their ideas into exceptional and compelling applications.
We undertook building Visual Studio 11 with a focus on offering todays software developer the very best environment for efficiently building applicationsfor both businesses and consumers, Somasegar said in a statement. In addition, our work has been highly influenced by the proliferation of devices and a passion for enabling developers to focus on building high-quality, modern applications with data that seamlessly flows from one device to another, easily incorporating intuitive interfaces such as touch and voice. We want developers to be productive in building such applications, whether theyre using C++, JavaScript, Visual Basic or C#.