WinInsider

Aiming to give developers a better view into what to expect from the future of its development tools, Microsoft Tuesday used the VSLive! Conference here to lay out the road map for future versions of Visual Studio .NET (codename: Whidbey) and the Microsoft .NET Framework.

Key new features slated for Whidbey include:

• Improvements to ASP.NET that include new controls for data access and visual appearance intended to reduce code in common scenarios by up to 70 percent; Microsoft claimed this will 'significantly' improve Web site performance while also providing for more robust and secure Web services

• Enhanced Windows client application development capabilities that give developers new data and user interface controls and take advantage of deployment enhancements to make installation and versioning of applications simpler
• Enhanced debugging, no-touch deployment, and the return of the 'Edit and Continue' feature, all geared to enhancing developer productivity
• Improvements to the .NET Framework that will allow existing .NET Framework 1.1 customers to take advantage of support for 64-bit CPUs, advances in security and administration, and improvements in performance and scalability, without source code changes
• Extension of mobile application development for the .NET Compact Framework that will allow for the creation of applications that run on the latest devices, including Smartphones, Windows CE .NET 4.2-based devices, and the newest versions of the Pocket PC.