For the next version of Visual Studio, Visual Studio 2010, new tools for SharePoint development have been announced.
The Visual Studio 2010 Tools for SharePoint will contain the following features:
- Server Explorer for SharePoint viewing Lists and other artifacts in SharePoint directly inside of Visual Studio
- Windows SharePoint Services Project (WSP file) Import to create a new solution
- Added a new web part project item and showed the Visual web part designer which loads a user control as a web part for SharePoint
- Showed adding an event receiver for SharePoint and using the wizard to choose the event receiver and to just create a source file with that event receiver.
- Added an ASPX workflow initiation form to a workflow project and showed how this workflow initiation form has designer capability
- Showed the packaging explorer and the packaging editor which lets you structure the SharePoint features and WSP file that is created
Great news, looks like functionality currently offered by the WSP Builder and SmartPart will be integrated into the VS 2010 tools.
On Channel9 Reza Chitsaz, Senior Program Manager working on Office and Sharepoint tooling, posted a screencast on SharePoint Development with Visual Studio 2010. Below some of the interesting features:
Figure 1: Visual Studio 2010 templates for SharePoint
Figure 2: Add SharePoint Solution to Source Control
Figure 3: Server Explorer, Packaging Explorer and User Controls in Web Parts
Figure 4: Manage SharePoint features