The new version of Visual Studio brings us a number of new templates for SharePoint components. The screenshot below is just the start of what new templates we can look forward to.
Visual Studio 2010 - SharePoint templates
Server Explorer
The Server Explorer connects to a SharePoint implementation and shows you all the artifacts including sites, document libraries, lists. You can click on an item and view the properties of it in the Properties tab.
Visual Studio 2010 Server Explorer for SharePoint
Feature Designer
The Feature Designer provides a detailed look at all the components of a Feature.
Visual Studio 2010 - Feature Designer
Package Explorer
The Package Explorer shows you all the items inside the package in a WYSIWYG view. You are able to drag and drop items around to create your package differently.
You can also add your solution to source control.
Visual Studio 2010 - Package Explorer
Building and Deploying Solutions
Currently, you have to package up your solution and deploy it manually to SharePoint. Debugging is also not something you can easily do. This will change with VS2010 — F5 will now allow you to compile, build, debug and deploy SharePoint solutions.
Integration with Team System
Not only can you now easily add your SharePoint solutions to Source Control, you can also integrate with Team System giving you MS Build Support and nightly build functionality. This will go a long way to helping teams of developers collaborate on SharePoint features.
