The new version also includes a tool to help developers understand the impact of test cases related to the source code being modified. As a developer makes changes, a window appears that shows the tests that would be impacted by those changes.
Developers and testers often have an adversarial relationship because a tester will find a bug and throw it back to a developer who has to stop work, revert back to that version of the code and try to reproduce what the tester has found. Because it can be difficult for a developer to reproduce that bug, they sometimes dismiss its existence, Mendlen said. The new tool set will include what Microsoft calls "TiVo for debugging," or a way for a developer to see what Microsoft describes as a video of the tester discovering the bug.
"We're actually capturing what is happening during the test process - the entire state of the machine," Mendlen added. "The developer can watch the video and ... running this tool will emulate the experience of debugging."
A debugging log will put the IDE into a debugging state as if the developer is running the application itself but the developer actually will only be replaying the debugging log, he noted.
Microsoft also announced Monday that VSTS 2010 will combine the current development and database editions in VSTS 2008 into a unified VSTS Development and Database product.
Existing Microsoft software assurance customers who currently own Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition or Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition will receive several products starting Oct. 1. The tools, distributed without charge, include:
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Development Edition;
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition;
Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Software Developers; and
Visual Studio 2005 Team System for Database Professionals.