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Visual Studio Tools for Applications

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Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) is a set of tools that independent software vendors (ISVs) can use to build customization abilities into their applications.[vague] Those customization abilities can be used by end-users to tailor the ISV's application within a managed extensibility environment.[vague][1]

Launch

Visual Studio Tools for Applications was announced by Microsoft with the release of Visual Studio 2005. The first Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Visual Studio for Application was released in April 2006. Version 1.0 was released to manufacturing along with Office 2007.[2]

Packaging

It is included with Office 2007 for use by end-users and business application developers, and the SDK is available separately for ISVs.[3] It is however integrated in InfoPath only, and not in other Office applications.

Current version

Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0 is the current version. The second version of Visual Studio Tools for Applications includes features such as the Dynamic Programming Model and support for WPF, WCF, WF, LINQ, and .NET 3.5.[4]

Architecture

Visual Studio Tools for Applications is based on the .NET Framework v2.0 and is built on the same architecture as Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO).[5] Some of the technology developed for Visual Studio for Application (VSA) was incorporated within Visual Studio Tools for Applications.[6]

Visual Studio Tools for Applications consists of an SDK and a customized developer IDE, based on the Visual Studio 2005 IDE, and a runtime that can be embedded in applications to expose its features via the .NET object model. It also includes an end-user IDE incorporating Visual Basic .NET and C#. Visual Studio Tools for Applications also features 64-bit support, macro recording and other usual Visual Studio 2005 IDE features, but does not incorporate Active Scripting support. [clarification needed What is the difference between "developer IDE" and end-user "IDE"?]

ISV License fees

Independent Software Vendors wishing to integrate Visual Studio Tools for Applications into their applications must pay a license fee to Microsoft that is calculated either on a $50 per-seat basis or on the basis of a 1%, 2% or 3% royalty depending on the products' revenue.[7]

Coexistence with VBA

Office 2007 applications continue to come with Visual Basic for Applications as the end-user customization environment, except for InfoPath 2007 which enables end-users to customize their InfoPath forms by programming with Visual Studio Tools for Applications.

References

  1. ^ "Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Applications". Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  2. ^ VSTA RTM's with the 2007 Office System
  3. ^ Download Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Applications Software Development Kit (SDK)
  4. ^ What's new in Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0
  5. ^ "Microsoft Office is about the tools too". Retrieved 2009-10-01.
  6. ^ What's up with VSA
  7. ^ "Licensing Visual Studio Tools for Applications". Retrieved 2009-07-15.
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