TechEd - Visual Studio 2008 IDE Enhancements

The next version of Visual Studio will have some cool new features here are some of the highlights:

• The new version VS will allow you to target which framework you want to code and build to (i.e. 2.0, 3.0, 3.5).  Picking the appropriate target will activate or deactivate which features you can use.   Note:  To upgrade a 2.0 website will only require changing the framework target and will not require a complete solution upgrade as was the case in the past.
• The changes in the HTML designer are huge.
• Fast designer/source switching.
• The split view designer.  They finally have caught up with Dreamwearver with this feature.  Dreamweaver has done this since forever.
• Nested master pages.  You now have a page that inherits from a master page, which itself inherits from a another master page.  So you one master page for a very top level look and feel and then for say a certain section of a website have a nested master page with a more specific look and feel for a sub-group of web pages with in a website.
• An upgrade to the CSS designer.
• JavaScript debugging and intellisense.  We have already had certain degree of JavaScript debugging but the new version will take it to next level and now with intellisense.  Also the complete foundation of ASP.NET AJAX core JavaScript functionality will include:
• JavaScript type system
• JavaScript <-> .Net Networking Serialization
• JavaScript library of common utilities.
• ASP.NET Server Control integration.
• The JavaScript debugging functionality will now include breakpoints in aspx files and not just during runtime and new a new visualization feature for variables (You can click the little "plus" sign and it will expand the items in the object just like you can do with a .Net variable).