Is VS10 as good as VS6 yet?

Question

As a long time user of VS6 I have been utterly astounded at how the VS designers have left all the great things of VS6 out and have steadfastly ignored VS6 programmers' requests to get proper functionality carried forward. So, questions:

1. Has anyone made absolutely sure that all the high performance features of the VS6 IDE is in VS10?

2. Do you, in fact, have hard core C or C++ VS6 programmers that actually know VS6 well, and are capable of making the determinations?

3. Is there anyone there that realizes (or even cares about) the implications of a an IDE that can save a second here and a second there so that by the end of the day, your IDE helps your development instead of impeding it?

If there is even a hesitation in these answers then please tell your marketing department to stop bragging about "Inspiring Developer Delight".


To explain further, yes VS8 has lots of pretty features, can show multiple memory areas when debugging, etc. However in core IDE functionality: editting, display, resource editors, adding variables and functions, and browsing for procedures, variables, (including local variables), etc. VS6 beats VS8 hands down. The old VS6 browser database was more complete, faster, more reliable, better organized, had a more practical and useful display, and had enough detail.

After forcing myself to work through VS8 stupidities, it has become obvious to me that the new VS versions were started from scratch by someone or some people that thought they knew more than the VS6 developers. Wrong! If VS6 was prettied up, the IDE (I'm not talking about compilers and libraries here) could be seen as an advanced version of the VS series. The VS6 IDE was obviously written by serious C and C++ programmers that had to get a lot done and on slow hardware. It looks like the later VS versions were done by overpaid Basic or Java programmers with job security who really didn't care but figured changing things for the sake of change or doing things backwards was the same as "improving". IF the new libraries were available under the VS6 IDE, I wouldn't even bother installing the newer IDEs. Even better, if everyone else likes the new IDEs, leave them alone, just retrofit the new compilers into the existing VS6 IDE and browser database for C and C++ developers.


Hard core C/C++/MFC programming does not need pretty or advanced features - it needs basic tools that a programmer can invoke quickly and trust.

By adding additional clicks everywhere, making changes for the sake of change, and forcing programmers to use someone else's assumptions about how programming "should be done", you are simply providing a "stupidly" designed system that not only slows development, but guarantees hours of wasted time.

So, as I have been doing for the past several years, I implore you to make sure all the good features of VS6 are included in VS10. If you need more of an explanation, please contact me directly. If there is no one left at Microsoft that knows VS6, I can send you a copy of my toolbars. In a few minutes, anyone interested not only in "programmer delight" but in programmer productivity, will be able to see that the older VS6 IDE features would make a big difference in current VS.

You can also look through my (and others) previous posts (complaints). I apologize for some of the comments made in them, but I have been thoroughly disgusted and annoyed with the seeming lack of care, competence, and attitudes in the VS7 and VS8 development and feedback regarding core IDE features. (In other areas, development and followup has been excellent.)

At this point, I genuinely do not believe there is anyone there anymore that could/would/is smart enough/or is allowed to make sure your core C and C++ IDE tools are brought up to snuff.

Now IF you've done this, thank you - it should have been done in VS7 and you really should have got your act together for VS8. Hope I won't be doing this for VS12 and VS14...

Please let me know.

Bob

Answer 1

BobH2 said:

To explain further, yes VS8 has lots of pretty features, can show multiple memory areas when debugging, etc. However in core IDE functionality: editting, display, resource editors, adding variables and functions, and browsing for procedures, variables, (including local variables), etc. VS6 beats VS8 hands down. The old VS6 browser database was more complete, faster, more reliable, better organized, had a more practical and useful display, and had enough detail.

In VS2008, many times, especially in larger projects, I prefer creating empty files manually, then adding them (as existing files) to the solution, and then defining the class manually in these files. Adding a new class usually takes too much, 30-60 seconds (but not so in VC# ???). I think - and correct me if I'm wrong - such an operation, adding a new file, or a new file, should not take more than a second. What kind of operation does it do to run for 5, 10, 30 or more seconds?

My opinion is that in terms of functionality, the new IDEs (2005, 2008) are much superior to VC++ 6, but in terms of performance, they are definitely below.

---

Microsoft MVP VC++ | www.mariusbancila.ro | www.mariusbancila.ro/blog

Answer 2

Yeah I just hope they don't give up pre-ansi of C++0x like they did with C++ before it was even standardised. And VC6 wasn't that great anyways. And I've used them all.

Please comply with the full c++0x and not just part of it and what not.