The ORM Foundation

I see that NORMA is available for three different versions of Visual Studio; namely, 2005, 2008 and 2010.

Is there any difference, functional or otherwise, in NORMA on the three different Visual Studio versions?

The read-me file for each version shows the details of the differences.

VS2010 uses a different technical architecture and Matt noted the following unresolved issues in VS2010 as at the October 2011 release. 

1. If the .orm designer is opened simultaneously with more than one other file (such as when opening a solution) and is the active file immediately after load, then the ORM designer tool windows and menu items will not activate properly. Activating a second document (of any type) and reactivating the ORM designer will fix the problem. This is a Visual Studio 2010 bug (I can reproduce similar behavior with missing menus with one XML and one Text file).
2. The ORM Diagram Spy window will occasionally go blank after extended use with multiple open ORM files. A restart of the environment is required to recover the window. If you can reliably reproduce this issue please report the scenario.
3. The NORMA help files are not installed or integrated with Visual Studio 2010. [The installer merge modules used for help integration in VS2005 and VS2008 are not included with the VS2010 SDK.]
4. The FrequencyConstraint and Reading shapes are larger in Visual Studio 2010.
5. Database import does not work from the Add New Item dialog in a project. Use File/New instead then save the file in the project file and add it to the project.
6. The document tab after a database import using File/New displays the full path of the temporary file instead of the base file name.

Thanks for that Ken.

So would there be any great advantage in obtaining one of the later versions of Visual Studio or would VS 2005 suffice for NORMA?

I'm trying to decide whether to buy VS 2005, which is quite cheap, or whether there's any justification for obtaining one of the later versions of VS.

 Hi John,

I have VS 2008 pro and VS 20210 pro but I stopped using VS2005 some years ago.
If there isn't much price difference between VS 2005 and VS 2008 then go for VS 2008.
I'll ask Matt to comment on the VS2005/2008 differences.

Ken

Hi John,

The VS2008 version installs one additional code generator, but it isn't something I've put any time into in the last couple of years, so it isn't a major bonus at this point. There are not other feature differences between the two products. There are minor differences in text rendering because the underlying design surface switched rendering engines between 2005 and 2008, but it is unlikely you will notice a difference unless you print the models in both versions and hold them up to a light.

I'd go on price and other features that are not related to NORMA that you might want in VS2008 (it should have some additional support for SQL 2008). VS2008 also handles the tighter security models in Vista and Windows 7 better than VS2005, which requires some MSDN-provided patches to run well in these environments.

-Matt

Thank you to both Ken and Matt.

Sounds like VS 2008 is the way to go.

I assume there are no differences, in NORMA terms, between the standard and professional editions?

There may be no Standard Edition with VS 2010 but I thought VS 2008 came in Express, Standard and Professional editions, amongst others.

Is that correct? 

Does NORMA run on VS 2008 Standard Edition?

Does NORMA work any different