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Microsoft Visual Studio VS ILSpy

Compare Microsoft Visual Studio VS ILSpy and see what are their differences

Microsoft Visual Studio logo Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

ILSpy logo ILSpy

ICSharpCode. Decompiler. Console..
  • Microsoft Visual Studio Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-18
  • ILSpy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02

Microsoft Visual Studio features and specs

  • Comprehensive Development Environment
    Microsoft Visual Studio offers a robust and comprehensive integrated development environment (IDE) that supports multiple programming languages, including C#, VB.NET, F#, C++, and Python. This makes it versatile for a wide variety of development needs.
  • Rich Feature Set
    The platform provides an extensive set of built-in tools and features, such as code analysis, debugging, and version control. These tools improve productivity and help maintain code quality.
  • IntelliSense
    Visual Studio’s IntelliSense offers powerful code completion, highlighting, and suggestion features that enhance the coding experience and reduce the likelihood of errors.
  • Integration with Azure and Other Microsoft Services
    The IDE integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Azure and other Microsoft services, making it easier to develop, deploy, and manage applications in the cloud.
  • Large Community and Support
    As a popular IDE, Visual Studio has a large user base and an active community. This results in a wealth of resources, including tutorials, forums, and extensions.
  • Customizability
    Visual Studio allows extensive customization through extensions and plugins, enabling developers to tailor the IDE to meet their specific needs.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft Visual Studio

  • Resource Intensive
    Visual Studio is known to be resource-heavy, requiring significant system memory and processing power. This can slow down development, especially on less powerful machines.
  • Complexity
    The abundance of features and tools in Visual Studio can make it overwhelming for beginners or those new to the IDE. Navigating through its numerous menus and options can be challenging initially.
  • Cost
    While Visual Studio Express is free, many advanced features and professional tools are only available in the paid versions (Professional and Enterprise). This can be a drawback for individual developers and small businesses with restricted budgets.
  • Frequent Updates
    Although frequent updates can bring new features and improvements, they can also introduce bugs and require ongoing time investment to manage transitions and adapt to changes.
  • Windows-Centric
    While Visual Studio now supports macOS, it is traditionally Windows-centric and may not provide the same level of performance or features on other operating systems compared to its Windows counterpart.
  • Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive feature set and capabilities, there is a steep learning curve associated with Visual Studio. It may take considerable time for new users to become proficient.

ILSpy features and specs

  • Open Source
    ILSpy is open source, allowing developers to contribute to its development and customize it according to their needs.
  • User Friendly
    The user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, which makes it accessible for both beginners and experienced developers.
  • Active Community
    There is an active community of users and contributors who provide support, plugins, and updates.
  • Supports Multiple Versions
    ILSpy can decompile assemblies generated with various versions of .NET, making it versatile for different projects.
  • Continuous Updates
    Regular updates ensure compatibility with the latest .NET versions and introduce new features and improvements.

Possible disadvantages of ILSpy

  • Limited Debugging
    ILSpy primarily focuses on decompilation and lacks comprehensive debugging features found in some other tools.
  • Performance Issues
    When dealing with large assemblies, ILSpy may experience slowdowns or performance issues during decompilation.
  • Complex Assemblies
    For very complex or obfuscated assemblies, the decompiled code might not be very readable or accurate.
  • No Direct Editing
    ILSpy does not support editing the decompiled code directly, which means developers need to use additional tools for modifications.

Analysis of Microsoft Visual Studio

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Microsoft Visual Studio is considered a highly capable and feature-rich IDE, suitable for both beginners and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • Microsoft Visual Studio is widely regarded as a powerful and versatile integrated development environment (IDE). It supports a broad range of programming languages including C++, C#, Python, and more, making it a popular choice for developers working on diverse projects. With features like IntelliSense, integrated debugging, and version control, it enhances productivity and simplifies complex workflows. Its extensibility through extensions and plugins further customizes the development experience to suit individual needs.

Recommended for

  • Professional developers seeking a comprehensive IDE for large-scale projects.
  • Beginner programmers looking for an intuitive and supportive environment to learn coding.
  • Teams that require robust collaboration and version control tools integrated into their development workflow.
  • Developers working with Microsoft technologies, such as .NET, or those integrating with Azure services.

Microsoft Visual Studio videos

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ILSpy videos

How to decompile (read source code of) .NET Framework assemblies using ILSpy

More videos:

  • Tutorial - ILSpy -- How to Add Execute Extension

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft Visual Studio and ILSpy)
IDE
95 95%
5% 5
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Decompiler
0 0%
100% 100
Software Development
93 93%
7% 7

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Microsoft Visual Studio and ILSpy

Microsoft Visual Studio Reviews

9 Of The Best Android Studio Alternatives To Try Out
Microsoft Visual Studio (Download Here) is an Android studio alternative developed by Microsoft. You can build computer programs, websites, web services, and web applications and use platforms like windows forms, windows stores, Microsoft Silverlight, and Windows API.
What's The Best C++ IDE? Our Top C++ IDEs & Editors In 2024
As you'd expect, this IDE supports a vast array of C++ standards, libraries, and frameworks, catering to legacy applications and modern, cutting-edge projects. So whether you're building a simple console application or a high-performance game using Unreal Engine, Visual Studio is up to the job.
Source: hackr.io
Android Studio Alternative
Visual Studio is the best alternative for android studio. It is an IDE platform developed by Microsoft. It is used to build computer programs, website, web apps, mobile apps and web services. It uses various Microsoft software development platforms such as windows forms, windows API, windows store, windows presentation foundation and microsoft silverlight. Visual studio has...
Source: www.educba.com
Top 10 Visual Studio Alternatives
Visual studio has been in the game for 20 years or more. The first version of the visual studio was established in 1997. However, since the establishment years of the Visual Studio, there have been many changes. Microsoft visual studio is an integrated development environment that Microsoft programs.
Best Eclipse Alternatives to Use
Visual Studio is the most used IDE for .Net developers. It is an IDE that can be used to create almost all types of applications. It is used by many developers across the world to create many types of applications, both desktop and web-based.
Source: eclipsewin.com

ILSpy Reviews

We have no reviews of ILSpy yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Microsoft Visual Studio seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Microsoft Visual Studio mentions (1)

  • Why don't schools teach the modern c++?
    While the editor seems to old fashioned there isn't anything particularly wrong in using it for learning. Alternatively you can propose to your teacher about https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/express/ . IMO editor is not a big factor when we are talking about high school learning. Source: almost 4 years ago

ILSpy mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of ILSpy yet. Tracking of ILSpy recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft Visual Studio and ILSpy, you can also consider the following products

Xcode - Xcode is Apple’s powerful integrated development environment for creating great apps for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Xcode 4 includes the Xcode IDE, instruments, iOS Simulator, and the latest Mac OS X and iOS SDKs.

dotPeek - dotPeek is a free tool based on ReSharper. It can reliably decompile any . NET assembly into C# or IL code. Download dotPeekCommunity. Materials Newsletters, webinars.

IntelliJ IDEA - Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM

dnSpy - .NET assembly editor, decompiler, and debugger

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

.NET Reflector - .