In previous article, I have mentioned SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) Versions, now in this article, I have mentioned what is Visual Studio and Visual Studio Version list with details about Editions.
What is Visual Studio?
Before we beging listing Visual Studio version, you must know what is Visual Studio.
Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for developing console and graphical user interface applications made by Microsoft and used for different types of software development such as computer programs, websites, web apps, web services, and mobile apps. It contains completion tools, compilers, and other features to facilitate the software development process.
The Visual Studio IDE (integrated development environment) is a software program for developers to write and edit their code.
Its user interface is used for software development to edit, debug and build code.
Visual Studio includes a code editor supporting IntelliSense (the code completion component) as well as code refactoring.
It is must have IDE for C#, .NET developers, but can also be used for C++ or Python.
Visual Studio Version List
Visual Studio's first version was introduced in 1997, and have completed 25 years, here is the list of Visual Studio IDE versions.
| Product name | Release date | Version number |
Latest Update Version | Latest Update Date | Supported .NET Framework Versions |
Supported .NET Core Versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.5 | 2023-04-11 | 17.5 | 17.5.4 (vs_community.exe) | April 11, 2023 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0(Out of support), 6.0, 7.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 | 2022-11-08 | 17.4 | 17.4 | November 8, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0(Out of support), 6.0, 7.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3.6 | 2022-10-11 | 17.3.6 | 17.3.6 | October 11, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0(Out of support), 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3.5 | 2022-09-27 | 17.3.5 | 17.3.5 | September 27, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0 (Out of support), 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3.4 | 2022-09-13 | 17.3.4 | 17.3.4 | September 13 , 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0(Out of support), 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3.3 | 2022-08-24 | 17.3.3 | 17.3.3 | August 30, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3.2 | 2022-08-24 | 17.3.2 | 17.3.2 | August 24, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3.1 | 2022-08-16 | 17.3.1 | 17.3.1 | August 16, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3 | 2022-08-09 | 17.3 | 17.3 | August 8, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.2.6 | 2022-07-12 | 17.2.6 | 17.2.6 | July 12, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.2.5 | 2022-06-22 | 17.2.5 | 17.2.6 | June 22, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.2.4 | 2022-06-14 | 17.2.4 | 17.2.4 | June 14, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 version 17.2.3 | 2022-05-31 | 17.2.3 | 17.2.3 | May 31, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2022 | 2021-11-08 | 17.0 | 17.2.3 | April 26, 2022 | 4.6.2 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 6.0 |
| Visual Studio 2019 | 2019-08-02 | 16.0 | 16.11.18 | August 9, 2022 | 3.5 - 4.8 | 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0 |
| Visual Studio 2017 | 2017-03-07 | 15.0 | 15.9.45 | March 8, 2022 | 3.5 - 4.7.2 | 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 2.1 |
| Visual Studio 2015 | 2015-07-20 | 14.0 | Update 3 | June 27, 2016 | 2.0 - 4.6.1 | 1.0 |
| Visual Studio 2013 | 2013-10-17 | 12.0 | Update 5 | July 20, 2015 | 2.0 - 4.5.1 | N/A |
| Visual Studio 2012 | 2012-09-12 | 11.0 | Update 5 | August 24, 2015 | 2.0 - 4.5 | N/A |
| Visual Studio 2010 | 2010-04-12 | 10.0 | Service Pack 1 | March 10, 2011 | 2.0 - 4.0 | N/A |
| Visual Studio 2008 | 2007-11-19 | 9.0 | Service Pack 1 | August 11, 2008 | 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 | N/A |
| Visual Studio 2005 | 2005-11-07 | 8.0 | Service Pack 1 | December 15, 2006 | 2.0 | N/A |
| Visual Studio .NET 2003 | 2003-04-24 | 7.1 | Service Pack 1 | August 15, 2006 | 1.1 | N/A |
| Visual Studio .NET (2002) | 2002-02-13 | 7.0 | Service Pack 1 | March 8, 2005 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Visual Studio 6.0 | 1998-09-02 | 6.0 | Service Pack 6 | March 29, 2004 | N/A | N/A |
| Visual Studio 97 | 1997-03-19 | 5.0 | Service Pack 3 | December 4, 1997 | N/A | N/A |
How to Download Visual Studio Offline
You can simply open Command prompt and then navigate to the folder, where you have downloaded "vs_community.exe", then use below command to download complete Visual Studio files in English langauge
vs_community.exe --layout f:\VSOfflineLayout --lang en-USAs of now, Visual Studio 2022 Community Offline version size is 31.1GB
If you just want to download .NET web and .NET desktop development files, you can use below command
vs_community.exe --layout c:\localVSlayout --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NetWeb --includeOptional --lang en-USWhat's new in Visual Studio Latest version?
Here are some of the new features or upgrades
- Visual Studio 2022 is faster, more approachable, more lightweight, and is designed for both learners and those building industrial scale solutions.
- Find in Files is faster
- Visual Studio 2022 makes it quick and easy to build modern, cloud-based applications with Azure. As well, our new version also has full support for .NET 6
- Better dev tools for C++ and .NET, and Hot Reload
- Visual Studio 2022 includes a big update for the Blazor and Razor editors, and new capabilities for Hot Reload in ASP.NET Core—including Hot Reload when you save a file or when you apply changes to CSS files live
- Multi-repo support with Git in the IDE
- IntelliCode improvements
Is Visual Studio IDE Free?
Yes, Visual Studio comes with FREE Edition, which is called as Visual Studio Community Edition.
Visual Studio comes with 3 Editions
- Visual Studio Community (FREE)
- Visual Studio Enterprise (Paid)
- Visual Studio Professional (Paid)
What is the difference between Various Editions of Visual Studio
So here is the list of features and supported Editions for comparison
| Features | Visual Studio Community | Visual Studio Professional | Visual Studio Enterpise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free Open source for an individual developer | Paid | Paid (Enterprise organizations are defined as >250 PCs or > $1 Million US Dollars in annual revenue.) |
| Development |
Supports full development features, but doesn't have Live Dependency Validation, Architectural Layer Diagrams, Code Clone and CodeLens Partially Supported |
Same as Community, CodeLens complete support | Includes everything like Code Live Dependency Validation, Architectural Layer Diagrams,Code Clone, CodeLens |
| Unit testing | Only unit tests. No Performance tests, no-load tests, no performance profiling. | Same as VS Community version | Includes everything including Code Coverage, Live Unit Testing, IntelliTest |
| Cross-platform Development | Have Remoted iOS Simulator for Windows, Share code between Android and iOS with Xamarin, Xamarin.Forms. Doesn't have Xamarin Inspector and Xamarin Profiler |
Same as VS community | Have everything including Xamarin Inspector and Xamarin Profiler |
| Advanced Debugging and Diagnostics | Lacks IntelliTrace, Code Map Debugger Integration, .NET memory Dump Analysis, Snapshot Debugger | Same as VS Community | Includes everything missing in VS Community |
As you can see from the above comparison, VS community and Professional edition have almost same features.
But you will have to buy a professional edition, once you have more than 250 PC in an organization.
You may also like to read:
Where Can I download complete Visual Studio 2017 ISO?
What is the visual studio 2019 download size, complete Community Edition?
Useful Visual Studio Extensions (Plugins), every developer should use.
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