Appendix A. Visual Studio .NET and Visual Perl

Although it is possible to program .NET using only the command-line compiler, it is much easier and more enjoyable to use Visual Studio .NET. You can program straight Perl using any text editor and the Perl interpreter, but again it is easier to use an integrated development environment. Visual Perl, an add-on to Visual Studio .NET, provides such an IDE.

This appendix covers the basics of using Visual Studio to edit, compile, run, and debug programs. We introduce additional features of Visual Studio throughout the book as we encounter a need. Visual Studio is a very elaborate Windows application that is highly configurable, and you may encounter variations in the exact layout of windows, what is shown by default, and so on. As you work with Visual Studio, a good attitude is to see yourself as an explorer discovering a rich and varied new country.