How do I set up Visual Studio 2008 to program in Perl?

Question

My company gave me VS2008 for web development in C#/ASP.NET. I do a lot of Perl programming too and I'd like to start using VS for that so I can have a consistent work environment... but am having real trouble figuring out how to do so.

VS has a lot of nice features but seems pretty hostile towards languages it doesn't support out of the box. Is it really or do I just not "get" the VS way of doing things?

I usually write Perl scripts using TextPad and the features I'm used to having are pretty basic.

1. line numbering
   • soft line wrapping
   • syntax highlighting
   • auto-indenting in/out after open/close brace
   • auto-indenting to the same starting point as the previous line
   • brace matching
   • run scripts from within the editor
   • capture script output in an editor pane
   • dbl-click on error message jumps to the line where the error occurred

How do I at least get the above features in VS2008?

How can I get advanced features like:

• code folding
• intellisense
• code-completion
• integrated perldoc
• VS-style debugging and code tracing
• on-the-fly error detection
• etc

(I see one possibly relevant online discussion in an ASPN mod-perl mailing list , but don't understand what, if anything, it means to a guy like me.)

-- added --
I'm aware of other editors and IDEs out there: vi, perlmode-emacs, Komodo, E, TextMate, etc. This question is not about what other editor or IDE I should try.
While I appreciate your suggestions, I'd rather read them in a thread like "What editor should I use for Perl" and not "How do I set up VS to accomplish my goal"

-- added -- After doing some additional research I've concluded that you just can't get there from here. The only option would be to write my own language plugin. Considering the time commitment to make something usable I think I'm just better off using a different editor. Thanks anyway guys

Answer 1

Looks like you can do this via the Managed Package Framework if you are willing to put the time in.

You can decrease the amount of work required by just setting up syntax coloring

Answer 2

There was something called "Visual Perl" wich worked with Visual Studio.net 2002 and was needed Perl Dev kit tool, but I don't how comatible is with VS.net 2010.

Answer 3

I heard rumors of there being a .NET implementation of Perl, called IronPerl, but except for that, I don't think there is any sort of plugin for Visual Studio. I would suggest just using one of the many tools out there that are designed for Perl.

Answer 4

I agree, I really like Komodo as well for an IDE. Its solid and easy to use. I tend to use Vim a lot instead of an IDE, but that's just personal preference.

Check out Komodo though, its worth the look.

Regards,

Jeff

Answer 5

I use VS2008 for .NET stuff, but I'm completely sold on Komodo for Perl editing. The full Komodo IDE is worth the money if this is your job and like/need to use a debugger, but even the free Komodo Edit is a terrific Perl editor.