14 DAY TRIAL // Simplifying asynchronous programming is the task set for a new download available from Microsoft for developers.
Visual Studio Async went live on the Microsoft Download Center at the end of the past month, and is offered to devs as a Community Technology Preview release.
Obviously, the tool is served free of charge, and is designed to allow developers to extend Visual Studio 2010 with a new streamlined syntax set up to make asynchronous development easier.
The Visual Studio Async CTP brings to the table “await” and "async" language keywords in Visual Basic and C#, the software giant revealed. The enhancements will enable devs to avoid writing asynchronous code inside-out using callbacks.
“We are unveiling significant language and framework enhancements in C# and Visual Basic that enable developers to harness asynchrony, letting them retain the control flow from their synchronous code while developing responsive user interfaces and scalable web applications with greater ease,” revealed S. Somasegar, Senior Vice President, Developer Division.
“This CTP delivers a lightweight asynchronous development experience as close to the standard synchronous paradigms as possible, while providing an easy on-ramp to the world of concurrency.”
Somasegar offers examples of how Async can be leveraged on his blog. But at the same time, the solution comes with a collection of samples and documentation that will streamline its usage.
For the time being, Async CTP can only be installed on top of Visual Studio 2010 Professional, Premium, or Ultimate (English-US version), the Redmond company revealed.
“With Async, our goal now is to make asynchronous programming far more approachable so asynchronous code is as easy to write and maintain as synchronous code,” Somasegar added.
“Making your code asynchronous should require only simple changes and should be possible to implement in a non-disruptive manner in your code. At the same time, it should be evident when code is “going async” so that the inherently-concurrent nature of the method can be understood at a glance.”
Async CTP for Visual Studio 2010 is available for download here. Visual Studio 2010 Premium is available for download here.
Visual Studio 2010 Professional is available for download here.
Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate is available for download here.
Visual Studio Test Professional 2010 is available for download here.