Build Simple Business Applications with Visual Studio LightSwitch

The new Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch, which is now available in beta, helps Visual Studio developers solve specific business needs by quickly creating professional-quality business applications.

Regardless of their software development skills, developers can use LightSwitch to build custom applications that rival off-the-shelf solutions. LightSwitch offers pre-configured screen templates that give apps a familiar look and feel. It also provides prewritten code and other reusable components to handle routine application tasks, along with step-by-step guidance. Developers that need to write custom code can still use Visual Basic .NET or C#.

Applications created with Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch can be deployed to the desktop, browser and eventually to the cloud (post-Beta). LightSwitch applications can export data to Microsoft Office Excel for fast and easy sharing and reporting. They can also be attached to existing data sources, which makes it easy to collect, analyze and reuse information from a variety of data sources including Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Azure, SharePoint, Microsoft Office Access (post-beta), and other third-party data sources.

LightSwitch allows developers to keep their technology and business options open while building a practical yet scalable application that matches their needs now and in the future. The pre-built templates and components in LightSwitch are fully extensible, so developers can get the specific functionality their application demands. LightSwitch applications can grow to meet increasing demands using the Microsoft Windows Azure Cloud Hosting option.

Download the beta and get started with Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch today.