On the Visual Studio 15 CTP download page, it says this:
This release is unsupported and are not intended for use on production computers, or to create production code. We strongly recommend only installing this release in a virtual machine, or on a computer that is available for reformatting.
So... why can't I install it on a production machine? I'm not talking about creating production code (obviously not that!). But I can't even install it?
Is this because all pre-release software tends to come with the "it might explode your PC" caveat? Or is there something more to it, like the new compiler is just unable to live side-by-side with the old one from VS 2013?
The "we strongly recommended only installing this release in a VM, or on a computer that is available for reformatting" warning falls into the "it might explode your PC" bucket. However, that said, this release does not have a Go-Live license (which is different).
What is this Go-Live thing?
The license terms for Visual Studio pre-releases come in 2 buckets - Go-Live and, well, not Go-Live. The terms for a Go-Live license are basically the same as the released product: some amount of support (though not the full MS 10-year support policy), and no specific restrictions on what you do with your projects created with that prerelease build. Go-Live licenses are generally used for the RC releases that come shortly before general availability (aka RTM).
However, a non Go-Live license (such as the one applicable in this case) has the following clauses (emphasis added):
INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.
•You may install and use any number of copies of the software solely for evaluation purposes to design, develop and test your programs. If you use the software on Microsoft Azure, additional charges and terms may apply.
•You may not deploy or distribute any program you design or develop with the software, except that you may deploy your programs internally solely to evaluate any deployment technologies contained in the software.
•You may not test the software in a live operating environment or public website unless Microsoft permits you to do so under another agreement.
Based on these restrictions, the recommendation is more strong that you don't install these on a production machine as it is solely intended for evaluation purposes.
Related
Does anyone know how licensing work for Visual Studio 2010 from MSDN? I noticed it doesn't require a key. Does that mean that I can install it on multiple computers?
Go to the source :) MSDN Subscription Software Use Rights:
MSDN subscriptions are licensed on a per-user basis. One person can use the software to design, develop, test, or demonstrate his or her programs on any number of devices. Each person who uses the software this way needs a license.
So yes, as long as you're the one using it, it may be on multiple computers. Two different Microsoft licensing reps have confirmed this for me over the years, and it was a conscious decision since many developers have multiple machines. This applies to other MSDN downloads as well, Windows 7, Windows Server, etc.
It is "pre-pidded", which means the key is baked in. You can install it on any computer you like, but that doesn't mean you should - you still have to abide by the licence agreement imposed by your subscription.
By itself, this does not mean that you have a license for multiple computers. Quite a few Microsoft products have built-in license keys for certain license types which allow only a single installation. Look at your license agreement. If it's still unclear, call Microsoft or ask a lawyer.
I have been looking at whether our MSDN Premium Subscriptions would cover upgrading our developer’s machines from Vista OEM to Win 7 RTM MSDN.
The assumption here is that "design, develop, test, or demonstrate" covers the developer’s day job, so should cover the OS.
I have found that other development shops seem to make this same assumption.
Having looked at the MSDN Subscription Software Use Rights page this does not seem to be the case.
from the page :
"Many MSDN subscribers use a computer for mixed use—both design, development, testing, and demonstration of your programs (the use allowed under the MSDN Subscription license) and some other use.
Using the software in any other way, such as for doing email, playing games, or editing a document is another use and is not covered by the MSDN Subscription license.
When this happens, the underlying operating system must also be licensed normally by purchasing a regular copy of Windows such as the one that came with a new OEM PC"
So if you are not using the operating software install to purely "design, develop, test" read "use your visual studio license" and you answered a company email you are in violation of the license.
Is this indeed the case?
Is there a way that MSDN OS licenses can cover your day to day dev machine?
Did you make the same assumption as I did?
Yes that's the case. No you can't change the license.
MSDN license has always been a "technical" license that restricts the usage to development "sandbox" only. Your primary workstation must be covered by a regular non-dev license. Although I heard of some shops that (purposefully or not) violate this license and are very happy with the savings.
Based on this document the accepted answer no longer appears to hold true (at least for licensed users of Visual Studio Enterprise with MSDN).
Relevant excerpt (p13) says:
Production use of Office Professional Plus 2016
Office Professional Plus 2016 can be used by licensed users of Visual Studio Enterprise with MSDN or Visual Studio Enterprise – annual on
one device for production use
From this page the Office Professional Plus SKU contains Outlook, and although IANAL it would seem that use of Outlook is now allowed with an MSDN subscription.
With regard to the underlying OS this remains excluded. The relevant text from the licensing document says:
When there is mixed use the underlying operating system must be licensed normally by purchasing a regular copy of Windows such as the
one that came with a new OEM PC.
I'm working as part of a volunatry team creating an open source product with a permissive license. We are currently using Visual SVN Server/TortoiseSVN for source control and TeamCity for our continuous integration builds.
I would like to add a bug tracking component into the mix that will integrate into SVN. Ideally, I'd like to use FogBugz but we have no budget. So, I need an alternative. The requirements are:
Must be free or have a free version supporting at least 20 developers (we're volunteers!)
Must integrate with VisualSVN Server
Must run on Windows
I prefer Microsoft technology (ASP.Net over PHP; SQL Server over MySQL, etc) because we are a Microsoft shop, we have experience with those tools and already have them installed.
Must be able to work with a geographically distributed team
Must work with Express editions of Visual Studio (the developers don't all have the Pro version so we can't rely on Visual Studio add-ins).
I'd like The Community's recommendations, please, for products that meet all of the above requirements.
[Clarification: our license is very close (though not word-for-word) to the MIT license.]
Trac: It is not a Microsoft technology but will integrate well into SVN. There are not many free bug tracking software's that are free on Microsoft technology.
JIRA is free for open source projects and will run on Windows. Subversion integration is available and provided through a plugin.
Trac
Redmine
Try Bugzilla.
Is free
I do not know if integrates with SVN... but I suppose the answer is YES.
Runs on Windows - you must set up few
components, but it actually runs
prety well on IIS, however
installation is a bit tricky.
Bugzilla is Perl and MySQL. However,
as I said I had installed succesfully
Bugzilla on Windows 2003.
Installation of MySql and Perl does
not take a lot of server resources -
we had those two on our ASP.NET +
MSSQL test server, and no performacne
drop had been observed.
Works with distributed team.
Try InDefero, you can even get the hosted way for free if your project is not that big in size.
How can I create a setup file in visual basic 6 after completion of my programming work?
Front End language is Visual Basic 6,
Backend : MS Access 2003 and
Report Tools : Crystal Report 8.5. Operating System Windows XP.
You need to be a little clearer about some of this.
"Front end/back end" is really terminology and a thought pattern from the MS Access world. It doesn't really apply to VB6 development in any meaningful way unless you're doing something really odd like automating instances of MS Access.
That's about the only place where any "MS Access runtime" comes in as well. If you're actually using Access Reporting you might be doing this though - which seems odd but anything is possible.
See Deploying Complex Microsoft Office Access Runtime-Based Solutions.
Much more likely what you are trying to say is that you have a VB6 program that is using a Jet MDB as an embedded database, and using Crystal Reports 8.5 for reporting.
There should be no issue about any "runtime" for Jet on Windows XP, since Jet 4.0 is shipped as part of the OS even as far back as XP RTM (gold). It is also extremely unlikely that XP will have an MDAC release any older than 2.7 (see Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) release history).
So this leaves you looking for a way to package your VB6 program, any immediate dependencies such as possibly the VB6 runtime components, and the Crystal Reports 8.5 runtime components. You may also have INI files, etc. to bundle in there.
A long, long time ago (1998?) the PDWizard was replaced for most purposes by Visual Studio 6.0 Installer 1.0, and shortly after VSI 1.1 was released (1999?) which made up for a number of ills. This is a pretty basic tool for authoring Windows Installer packages, but it should meet your needs.
Along with this you'll want the recent merge modules for your dependencies: Merge Modules for Service Pack 6 for Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual C++ 6.0.
Then of course you need a merge module for Crystal Reports 8.5, and for this we have to turn to the community because BO didn't start releasing them until CR9. One place to look for this is InstallSite: Seagate Crystal Reports 8. Your real problem is that CR8.5 is ancient.
If this doesn't work out for you, you can always hope that CR8.5 Dev installed on your machine with a "good enough" set of .DEP files (which tell setup authoring tools what subdependencies each dependency has, among other things). This may still let you use VSI 1.1 to succesfully package your application with CR8.5.
You might also look at for-pay packaging tools as already suggested. If desperate enough you might look at some legacy installer technologies too, just in case their communities have addressed your issues.
If I misunderstood and you really do use your VB6 program to automate an instance of the "MS Access 2003 Runtime" you'll probably have to build some hybrid package.
But normal VB programs do not use Access or Access Runtimes to open and work with Jet databases.
You can search google for package and deployment vb6
and you will find millions of links showing in steps how to do that.
The Package & Deployment Wizard is quite primitive and not well-suited to distributing things like the MS Access runtime and Crystal Reports. You'd be better off using one of the more powerful commercial products like InstallShield or Setup Factory. However, these can be pricey (especially InstallShield).
There are also free products like Inno Setup and Nullsoft, but these may not be as easy to use or may lack some important features.
Bob's suggestion of using Visual Studio Installer 1.1 for a Visual Basic 6 application is sound but the Microsoft link he has given for the download does not work. I guess MS thinks nobody needs VB6 anymore. After searching a little I found a 2008 snapshot of MSDN page in web.archive.org complete with setup files:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080513102621/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa718352.aspx
Good suggestions above.
While it might seem unlikely that VB6 app could possibly be in use, there are those of us in the public sector that keep VB6-like apps and even Access apps alive because public dollars are not in a hurry to replace app that still work. A frequent mantra heard in many places is that you leave it alone if it is not broken. Broken enough that is--otherwise baling wire works just fine as long as VB/VBA developers can still found.
With the upcoming release of Visual Studio 2010, and all the lovely new features in C# 4.0, I would really love to update from 2008. However, over the last few years, I've managed to get student pricing, or even free versions via the MSDN Academic Alliance.
Now I am no longer a student.
I can't seem to justify the $AU500 pricetag of even the Standard version for what is at the moment, essentially a hobby. As much as I may like for it to be, it just isn't paying the bills.
So, I've read on the Microsoft site that there's no non-commercial clause in the Express version EULA which is good because I do the occasional bit of paid work in it. How much is missing from the Express version though, compared to Professional (what I use currently, and what the 2010 beta is)? Am I likely to go through withdrawal pains as I reach for something that just isn't there?
As far as addons go, the only one I've really played with is VisualSVN, and I can live with just using TortoiseSVN manually. Anything else I should be aware of?
Version comparisons can be found here: (For 2008) (Edit: A far more in depth document can be downloaded from here)
The things that leap out to me as features I wouldn't want to be without are:
Extensibility (no plugins like VisualSVN or Resharper)
Source Code Control
Remote debugging
64-bit compiler support (x64) (from the first link, though the document implies you can make 64bit apps...)
SQL Server 2005 integration
No setup projects (for making MSI installers)
Limited refactoring
Some missing debugging tools (especially the threads window)
If you can live without those (and the other limitations that wouldn't bother me personally) then I guess that you'll get by with Express just fine.
Final thought: Express isn't your only option for free .net development, there is also SharpDevelop which has some advantages (SVN integration, compact framework support) over Express. Though I'm sure it has many limitations too.
Do you do any entrepreneurial work? If you're building the next killer app, check out BizSpark: http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/
There is new program now available from Microsoft to allow web developers to access the Microsoft Stack similar to the BizSpark program.
It is called Website Spark. VS 2008 Professional Edition and SQL Server 2008 Web Editon are some of the tools available through the program.
Of all things I would probably miss the ability to install extensions. Especially tools like AnkhSVN and TestDriven.NET have grown invaluable to me...
I would seriously consider investing some money in purchasing VS especially if you can get some of that back by using it for jobs.
Maybe switching to Eclipse and Java is an option for you?
EDIT:
By the way, investing a few hundred dollars is common among ex-students. If you were a designer you would probably have to invest $1000 on Adobe software.
You won't be able to have solutions with multiple project types (so no mixed language solutions), or solution folders either.
The main thing that is missing is the ability to build an installer for a solution.
The work-around is to build the installer using some open source installer for .NET, e.g. WiX.
And multi-language solutions are more cumbersome (e.g. mixed C# and VB.NET).
I use the Professional version, but I didn't experience any problems with opening and building my project/solution in the Express Edition.