Microsoft"s readying its next big Visual Studio release that (at least for now) is expected in 2004.
Now that Microsoft has got its "Everett" release of Visual Studio .Net out the door, what"s next for its integrated developer-tool suite?
"Whidbey" is the code name for the release of Visual Studio that"s expected to ship in 2004. Microsoft — and sources close to the company — have offered a few hints where it"s going with the next major upgrade to the suite.
Whidbey will be joined at the hip with "Yukon," the next version of SQL Server, Microsoft execs have acknowledged. While Yukon feasibly could ship without Whidbey, or Whidbey without Yukon, Microsoft"s plan is to roll the two out in tandem, the way it rolled out Visual Studio .Net 2003 alongside Windows Server 2003.
Whidbey is slated to get an overhaul on the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and community fronts.
Sources say the Visual Studio .Net team has been tinkering quietly with ways to make its help system more community-oriented. Whidbey is expected to include new methods for developers to access both local and online help provided by both Microsoft developer-tool team members and knowledgeable community members. Some are referring to this as an "integrated community experience" interface.