Modeling a New Version of VS (Continued)

PM: I think it's important to point out that UML is not the language you use to keep the model and code in sync.

Soma: UML is a great modeling tool or language. But there is a world that is beyond UML, a world you can address with the notion of domain-specific languages. What we want to do is build a platform that lets you take advantage of UML, where appropriate. But there are domains where UML might not be appropriate, and in those cases, people should be able to use a more appropriate language.

If you talk to the UML guys, they argue there are 11 or 12 domains for which UML makes good sense. That's great. But what about the 13^th, 22^nd, and 39^th domains? We want to have a generic platform where you can plug in UML for the specific domains it makes sense to use it in, but also to be able to plug in a different language that makes sense for other domains you might work with.

We support UML, but the modeling world is broader than UML.

PM: Visual Studio Team System has been split apart in this release of Visual Studio 2005. The client-oriented tools will ship in November, but the Team Foundation Server that underpins the different skews of VSTS and provides the engine for collaboration and workflow will ship in the first quarter of 2006. Let's cover what VSTS will deliver, and when.

Specifically, what aspects of VSTS are shipping immediately?

Soma: All the client-side tools will be available immediately. For example, the modeling tools for the architect, the development tools for static analysis and profiling tools, and unit testing plus other testing tools will ship with Visual Studio 2005 next week.

The thing that is not launching next week is Team Foundation Server, which is the back-end server component that provides the store that ties together providing enterprise-wide, industrial-strength source control; issue tracking; and similar functionality. The beta 3 CTP is available now, and this will work with the shipping version of Visual Studio 2005. We have a Go Live license for customers who want to start using Team Foundation Server in their production environments now.

PM: Is there anything apart from Team Foundation Server that won't be made available with the November release of Visual Studio 2005?

Soma: No, Team Foundation Server is the only piece that won't ship immediately. It will ship in the first quarter of next year. When we first started working on Visual Studio 2005, Team Foundation Server and VSTS were begun a little later in the process. We expected to ship VSTS and Team Foundation Server a short while after the release of Visual Studio 2005. But the team got the client-side tools done sufficiently early to include them in the initial release of Visual Studio 2005, so only the Team Foundation Server will come later, and even it will ship in the relatively near future.

About S. "Soma" Somasegar
Soma Somasegar, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Developer Division, is primarily responsible for all the developer-related languages, tools, and platforms within Microsoft, including Visual Studio, Web Platform and Tools, .NET Framework, Common Language Runtime, and other .NET Developer Platform technologies. He also oversees the India Development Center in Hyderabad, India.