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CTP of Visual Studio Team System Imminent

The next generation of Microsoft's Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) is about to see the light of day.

A community technology preview (CTP) of VSTS, code-named "Rosario," is set for availability within the next week, according to a blog post from Brian Harry, a Microsoft distinguished engineer.

Despite the CTP, Microsoft's roadmap for Rosario's release appears to remain a bit hazy, judging from Harry's post.

"We have not (and will not soon) be announcing anticipated timelines for Rosario, so for now you'll have to be happy with getting your hands on the bits to play with," he wrote.

Of course, Microsoft is first set to release Visual Studio Team System 2008, which promises incremental improvements to the first version, or VSTS 2005.

Microsoft is framing Rosario as a major step forward in bridging gaps within IT organizations, as well as gaps between the technical and business sides of an enterprise, as RDN noted in an earlier RDN cover story.

Harry said that the first Rosario CTP will be called CTP8, being named after the eighth iteration of internal development. He says another CTP will arrive in about three months, following the 10th internal iteration.

Microsoft's double-barreled approach to evolving VSTS is unusual to say the least, Harry acknowledged.

"You might say it's odd that we are releasing CTPs of Rosario before we've even shipped Orcas," he wrote. "Historically, we have managed our development cycles pretty serially. We are trying something new this time.…The outcome of this should be a shorter delta between Orcas and Rosario than we've seen between previous releases."

About the Author

Chris Kanaracus is the news editor of Redmond Developer News.