Microsoft just released
.NET 3.5 SP1
and
Visual Studio 2008 SP1.
While scrolling through the Overview section to see what's new in each
service pack, I saw this:
VSTA 2.0 SDK
Huh?
Now, I've heard of Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO)
before
and I attended a
DevCares.com event not long ago on VSTO, but I've never heard of VSTA. Did
Microsoft do another name change?
Apparently not. According to
this article:
"The same team that created Visual Studio Tools for Applications also
developed Visual Studio Tools for Office and the two technologies share
a common architecture. However, Visual Studio Tools for Office is
designed for developers who want to include Microsoft Office in custom
solutions, while Visual Studio Tools for Applications is designed for
end users of any application that includes it. For example, an
accountant could add a new capability to accounting software by writing
a function, without having to involve the company's development
department. End users add new functionality by creating add-ins."
So
there you have it. With these new tools coming out for much easier
development on the Office platform, it's probably time to take a new
look at making Office a front-end for some of our solutions. You could
make
the same argument for SharePoint, but I
think I'll leave that one alone for now.