Microsoft delivers Visual Studio 2010 SP1

Microsoft is rolling out this week the first service pack (SP) for Visual Studio 2010.

On March 8, MSDN subscribers will be able to download and install SP1. MSDN subscribers also can get, as of today, the Team Foundation Server Integration Feature Pack (as part of the Visual Studio Ultimate SKU), which facilitates integration of Visual Studio, Project and SharePoint.  The general public can get access to the bits on March 10, according to company officials.

Visual Studio SP1, which has been in beta since December 2010, includes improved support for Silverlight 3 and 4 tools; the inclusion of Windows 7-specific MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) programming interfaces to support use of Direct2D, DirectWrite, and Windows Animation; and a new local Help Viewer.

Beta 2 of Visual Studio LightSwitch ("KittyHawk") also will be made available "in the coming weeks," according to a March 7 blog post by Developer Division chief Soma Somasegar. Beta 2 will add new capabilities for building line-of-business apps that target Windows Azure and SQL Azure, Somasegar said.

LightSwitch is a rapid-application-development tool targeted at fledgling coders who are interested in building business applications. Microsoft made a public beta of it available in August 2010.