Is it worth switching from Visual Studio 2005 to Visual Studio 2008?

Question

As a team we are using Visual Studio 2005 with framework 3.0. I am thinking if it will be nice for us to switch to Visual Studio 2008 with framework 3.5 ? Is it worth it ?

Thanks.

Answer 1

yes it is. works faster and more reliable

Answer 2

The intellisense for C# is much improved

Answer 3

Even if you can't use .NET 3.5 yet, the C# 3.0 language features (especially if you use LINQBridge) are well worth it. It also has better support for WCF etc (since you mention 3.0 - this is a kludge in VS2005).

Add to that the IDE improvements, and it is a no-brainer IMO.

Answer 4

Multi-Targeting support (utilization of Dev Studio 2008 for all .Net project, without having to convert them)
Refactor (Productivity tools / Macro )
Unit Test (Pro only)
Better Web Designer with improve Editing and CSS Support
CSS Source View Intellisense
Transparent Intellisense (don’t hide code behind)
ASP.NET AJAX
JavaScript support with Intelissense
JavaScript Debugging
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Designer LINQ (Language INtegrated Query)
Object Relational Designer (O/R Designer)
Better debbuging capabilities (Multithread, script, LINQ, WPF)
Debug Remote process, SQL Debug, XSLT Debug (Professional version only)
New reporting tool (with PDF support)
Crystal report new feature (also ASP.NET) (Pro version only)
Community help (comment added by user in online help)
ClickOnce Deployment enhancement (setup)
Better Vista support
Office support (Pro version only)
Many tools for smart device (Pro version only)

With Dev Studio 2008 SP1

Support for Smart Device Occasionally connected Application
Power Packs Controls and components
Printer Compatiblity Library (use VB6 report without rewriting them)

Sources:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb386063.aspx#Original

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/products/cc149003.aspx

Answer 5

100% worth it, agreed.

Also switching to 3.5 with new projects (or easy to migrate ones) will help a lot with productivity. Even it you don't use features like LinQ.

Object Initializers and Automatic Properties will make your life much easier.

Also as said before, you can still develop 2.0 projects with VS 2008, so switching won't hurt at all. There have been some improvements in the Webdesigner space, especially with Javascript Syntaxhighlightning etc..

Answer 6

Yes, it is 100% worth it. Visual Studio 2008 supports 2005 code (.net 2.0) completely. There are also a lot of improvements that you'll enjoy as you use 2008.