Microsoft provides a free Developer Edition of BizTalk Server. I'd like to do some BizTalk development to get insights into what I think is an interesting bit of enterprise technology. Now, BizTalk Server systems requirements list a full version of Visual Studio as a prerequisite for the BizTalk Developer Tools:
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 provides a development environment for
rapidly building applications that target any device and integrate
with any platform. This is required for the Developer Tools and SDK
component of both BizTalk Server and BizTalk RFID. The Developer Tools
and SDK component cannot be installed on Visual Studio 2010 Express
Editions.
There's a video Example of an Orchestration (BizTalk) that gives you an idea of what the Dev Tools for VS look like.
Is it possible to do BizTalk development without the Dev Tools? Does it make sense? Is there any point in installing BizTalk Server on a developer machine without a non-Express version of Visual Studio?
You should be able to install the BizTalk server runtime, which would allow you to dig around in the BizTalk Server Administration console. You can use that to create ports that send and receive messages, without the need for Visual Studio.
However, that is about as far as you can go without Visual Studio. You'll need it to compile schemas, build maps to transform data, and create orchestrations.
Related
Can we use MSBuild without Visual Studio 2012?
Currently, we have a build server where we are compiling and creating deployment copy of one of our projects, it has Visual Studio Professional Edition installed. We are setting up a new build server now. Do we really need Visual Studio 2012 on the new build server?
If yes, then how? I googled it but I couldn't find an answer.
We have spent a lot of time trying to get our Build Servers to work without Visual Studio.
We do not use TFS for builds and therefore I am not sure the license exemption above applies to us. Also not having Visual Studio installed helps you really understand how your software is building and get references correct.
We have seen many examples of solutions with projects that contains references for the same piece of software with some in nuget packages shipped with the solution and others that are pointing to locations in the "program files" path which are not present on machines without Visual Studio installed. Once you attempt to build software without VS installed you can really see how "self-contained" your applications are.
Before I start listing the things you typically need to install, let me just point out that MS Build is now no longer considered part of the .NET framework but is shipped with Visual Studio but can also be installed separately. See this blog post for more: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/archive/2013/07/24/msbuild-is-now-part-of-visual-studio.aspx
The following software needs to be installed for most builds, there may be others for example if you are creating portable class libraries.
Microsoft Build Tools 2013
Web Deploy 3.5 (for packaging applications)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1 Developer Pack
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2 Developer Pack
Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 8 (You can use the SDK to build applications that target these operating systems: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008)
The following directories need to be copied:
Reference Assemblies (need to be copied from a machine running Visual Studio from/to directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies)
Public Assemblies (need to be copied from a machine running Visual Studio from/to directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies
We also use Wix and therefore we install the following:
WIX Toolset 3.8
I have a similar set for testing however that was not part of the question so I will leave that off!
Hope this helps someone.
Update: 3rd March 2017
Microsoft recently responded to a long standing user voice request "Support .NET Builds without requiring Visual Studio on the server" for the requirement for Visual Studio to be installed on a build server to be removed.
From the description on the download page "These Build Tools allow you to build native and managed MSBuild-based applications without requiring the Visual Studio IDE." Not tested yet but after RTM I will look at this and provide a further update here.
There is a blog post that promises these build tools install all pre-requisites and can be used to build MS Build based applications.
No, you don't need Visual Studio on your build box. If I recall correctly, msbuild is installed as part of the .NET framework - it certainly used to be.
Depending on what you're building, you may find that there are some things which are easier to get working if you do install Visual Studio though - things like portable class library profiles. While there are usually non-VS installers available, I've found it simpler to install an Express edition of Visual Studio just to get the bundled build targets.
Remember: The easiest way to build your visual studio solutions is to install Visual Studio on the build server. Even Visual Studio Express is often enough.
That said, you can make it work without it. But it it sometimes a lot of work to figure out. You'll need to install the right Windows / .NET Platform SDK. You can install multiple of these SDKs side by side. Now, when you depend, for example, on ASP.NET MVC 5 or Entity Framework 6, you might need to install further SDKs to get your application to compile. The downloads for these all assume that you also have Visual Studio installed, but many of their payloads can also be installed separately. It can become quite a hassle.
Personally I've grown tired of trying to figure out which parts of which installers enable what. But that is also driven by the fact that Microsoft allows you to install Visual Studio on a build server (TFS) with the same license as your development machine as long as you are an MSDN subscriber. Check the Visual Studio License Whitepaper for more details.
Using Visual Studio on the Build Server
If you have one or more licensed users of Visual Studio Ultimate with MSDN, Visual Studio Premium with MSDN, or Visual
Studio Professional with MSDN, then you may also install the Visual Studio software as part of Team Foundation Server
2013 Build Services. This way, you do not need to purchase a Visual Studio license to cover the running of Visual Studio on
the build server for each person whose actions initiate a build.
If you, like me, would prefer this to change in the future, I suggest you make sure you're heard by submitting your request or voting for an existing one over at the Visual Studio User Voice.
Here's just a quick take on this.
Your build machine should decouple development tools as much as is possible. With that said, and as already stated by others here, MSBuild can be run independently of Visual Studio, and it should!
If your build requires Visual Studio to run then there is a very good chance that you have a solution or project architecture problem that ought to be resolved.
Visual Studio doesn't need to be installed. MSBuild is part of the .net SDK.
Other .net dependencies will need to be installed though, if you are using them. MSTest, or anything that is part of Team foundation will require Visual Studio installed.
I believe you only need MSBuild ( that is part of the .NET framework you're targeting ) .
Make sure you install the proper .NET distribution
the following is a good place for build servers it have the developer tooling.
The .NET Framework 4.5.1 Developer Pack installs the multi-targeting pack for .NET Framework 4.5.1. Developers can build applications targeting the .NET Framework 4.5.1 using either Visual Studio 2012 or third party IDEs. You need to download the web installer instead of this package if you intend to redistribute .NET Framework 4.5.1.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40772
Best of luck.
C++ :
There is a "Build Tools" that contains MSBuild, Visual studio is not required.
From the official doc :
These tools allow you to build C++ libraries and applications
targeting Windows desktop. They are the same tools that you find in
Visual Studio 2015 in a scriptable standalone installer. Now you only
need to download the tools you need to build C++ projects.
Managed :
The same applied : Build Tool Managed
I am using VS2010 with access to TFS via the VS2012 shell. Looking around on the web version that usually offers rich functionality I am unable to view the kanban board and graphs. Will I need a higher level of access or does this installation not allow these?
From http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd997788.aspx:
"When you connect to a more recent version of TFS than that of the client that you run, you’ll only be able to access those features supported by your client. For example, if you connect Visual Studio 2010 to TFS 2013, you can perform the same functions as if you connected to TFS 2010. You can’t access any new features that Visual Studio 2010 doesn’t support."
I have Visual Studio 2010 and BizTalk Server 2010.
I need to uninstall BizTalk.
Is it possible to continue to use Visual Studio for BizTalk development?
If so, what do I have to do?
From BizTalk Server 2010 Microsoft made it completely free for development and testing purpose. Only BizTalk Server is free, not the dependant components like Visual Studio and SQL. SQL Express is not supported (http://blogs.digitaldeposit.net/saravana/post/2009/06/01/BizTalk-Server-with-SQLEXPRESS.aspx) .
You also need to keep in mind, you can use BizTalk Server with your MSDN subscription for development and testing purpose. Check it out.
You cannot totally uninstall BizTalk and continue to develop for BizTalk in Visual Studio, because completely uninstalling BizTalk will remove the Developer Tools and SDK. If you want to remove the BizTalk Server components, you can do that:
In your Control Panel, select Programs and Features or (if your settings are organized by category) select Uninstall a program.
Double-click on Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 Developer Edition (assuming that the version and edition installed).
The Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 Installation Wizard will open up.
Ensure that the Modify radio button is selected and press the Next button.
On the Component Installation page, uncheck all of the available components except for Developer Tools and SDK. Then press the Next button.
On the Summary page, select Install to proceed with the features removal.
I didn't know there is a free version of BizTalk.
nonnb's comment helped to resolve my license issue.
This doesn't seem to make sense to me - if you need to continue developing Biztalk projects, it will make life difficult without a local Biztalk (BizTalk dev edition is free and you can use SQL Express if you like). The Biztalk Deployment Framework (biztalkdeployment.codeplex.com/discussions) might assist with deploying to a remote server. – nonnb 2 days ago
Is it possible to get a standalone TFS client on a server that does NOT have Visual Studio installed? We'd like a way to "reach into" a TFS project from a server, without having to install Visual Studio?
Possible? I've seen Team Explorer, but will that work without Visual Studio?
Team Explorer 2008 will allow you to connect to TFS, but it will install a Visual Studio shell.
Team Explorer Everywhere has Web access. Martin Woodward wrote a great article about it.
Download the TFS power tools. The "Windows Shell Extension" component allows one to perform most operations with TFS via Windows Explorer. Note that the Power Tools installer states that Visual Studio 2010 (or Visual Studio Team Explorer 2010) is a prerequisite for the following features:
Command-line interface
Visual Studio Integration
Check-in Policy Pack
Process Editor
Windows Shell Extension
PowerShell Cmdlets
It's 2017 and Microsoft (re)introduced the standalone Team Explorer.
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/visualstudioalm/2017/04/05/reintroducing-the-team-explorer-standalone-installer/
If you remember back to 2013 (and before), we released standalone installers for Team Explorer. In VS 2015, we did not release a standalone Team Explorer since customers had free options with Express SKUs and Community, which included Team Explorer functionality.
Customers have continued to request a standalone installer for Team Explorer for non-developers, however. And so today, with the Visual Studio 2017 Update release, the standalone Team Explorer installer is back.
Download - https://www.visualstudio.com/thank-you-downloading-visual-studio/?sku=TeamExplorer&rel=15
Included with Team Foundation Server there is a free web front end called "TFS Web Access". In TFS 2008, the Web Access was a different installation and it came as a Power Tool to the TFS. In TFS 2010, the Web Access is installed automatically and is part of the TFS.
In order to get to the Web Access in TFS 2010 do the following:
In your preferred browser type:
http://[YourServerName]:8080/tfs/web/
YourServerName is the tfs name for example: http://tfs-srv:8080/tfs/web/
Also, if you need Agile planning and a Task Board with TFS Web Access, take a look at Urban Turtle - http://urbanturtle.com. According to Microsoft, this is the premier Scrum tooling for TFS.
Discloser: I work with the Urban Turtle team. So do not take my words. Instead, read what Microsoft blogs said about Urban Turtle.
http://blogs.msdn.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?q=urban%20turtle§ions=3652.
There now seems to be a more generic Team Explorer Everywhere for TFS - perhaps that will give us non-VS users desktop access to TFS :)
It includes an Eclipse plug-in and usefully, a command line client.
While it appears to be a dead project. If you like having version control outside an IDE (or independant of the IDE). There is SVN Bridge, which allows you to use TortoiseSVN to talk to your TFS server.
https://svnbridge.codeplex.com/
You can install Team Explorer (on the TFS install DVD, or you can download it from MSDN) without needing to have VS2010 installed - Team Explorer will install a 'shell' VS2010 with only the TFS features available - none of the IDE components.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=fe4f9904-0480-4c9d-a264-02fedd78ab38
I know VS 2010 Pro/Premium/Ultimate include TFS connectivity, does VS 2010 Express?
No it doesn't.
See this SO question (What is “missing” in the Visual Studio Express Editions?) - one of the bullet points is no Team Explorer support, meaning to TFS integration.
On this Microsoft page for VS 2010, you can see the the Pro edition with MSDN essentials subscription has none of the TFS features out of the box, suggesting that this is also the case for the express SKUs.
I'm not sure if you can install this http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=329
Though i don't know why you wouldn't be able to install TFS support for free, since microsoft provides a free plugin for Eclipse that you can use.
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=4240
If you log onto codeplex, it will give you a free key to use this.
Edit: The following link makes it seems like you can use it in VS
https://tfs.discountasp.net/KB/a843/visual-web-developer-20052008-and-visual-studio-2010-express.aspx
While Visual Web Developer 2005/2008 and Visual Studio 2010 Express will not directly integrate with Team Foundation Server, you can still use the Team Explorer application to connect to your server to check files out for editing.
Assuming that you have already
installed Visual Web Developer
2005/2008 or Visual Studio 2010
Express on your workstation, perform
the following step:
Download and install Microsoft Visual Studio Team Explorer 2010 - ISO.