How different is it from Visual Studio's default features and Intellisense?

Visual Assist and the built in Intellisense tooling share a few common features. Where we share features, VA frequently operate much faster and do a better job of giving you the correct results (e.g. finding more references that Visual Studio would miss). Also, the Visual Studio UI can arguably complicate some dialog boxes for simple tasks. An example is the Visual Studio unified search, which operates like the search bar in the operating system wherein everything is shown. In contrast, VA uses different search dialogs for each type of search, each with features specific to that kind of search and without displaying results you aren't interested in.

What support does Visual Assist provide?

Visual Assist (VA) is a coding productivity plugin for C++ and C# developers who work in Visual Studio. Visual Assist has its own code parser, separate from the built in Intellisense parser. This provides all of the features one would expect from a modern IDE and many more. These features include tools for Navigation, Refactoring, Debugging Assistance and Automatic Code Modernization with Code Inspections. VA also offer special support and tooling for Unreal Engine, Unity, Graphics Card "Shaders" and CUDA.

Are there special ways for students and teachers to use VA in education/academia?

Yes! We have special licenses for students and teachers. Visit this page to learn more .

How will the long-term benefits outweigh the initial cost?

As with any tool, how useful it is depends on how much you intend to use it. VA enhances productivity by improving Visual Studio's default features or by adding new ones absent from the IDE. Some users focus on a few features, while some take the time to try out all the features. There are many options available to you with all of them aimed at making you code faster, easier, and making the experience less frustrating. Read this blog to learn more about the value VA provides

What kind of developers benefit from using Visual Assist?

Developers using Microsoft's Visual Studio to develop and code using C, C# and C++ will benefit from using VA. There has been a focus on C++ game development (Unreal Engine) wherein the added support and tooling is most needed. Recent updates have also added support and tooling for Unity Engine, Graphics Card "Shaders" and CUDA development.

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Another reason to cheer: Visual Assist academic licenses!

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December 22, 2023

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Visual Assist 2023.6 release post

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By Tristan Soliven

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Tips and Tricks Webinar Recap

Summer CodeFest: Magnificent or Malevolent: Maps! Measured, Monitored, & Magnified! [Mrecap]

By Tristan Soliven

August 27, 2023

Webinar overview: Std::maps is a staple in the C++ world for sure. It’s reliable and useful, but in this presentation, David Millington goes a level deeper and examines how other features offered beyond the standard library can be used to maximize the usefulness of the…

Tips and Tricks Webinar Recap

Summer Codefest: Lambdas go Baa! [Recap]

By Tristan Soliven

August 21, 2023

Webinar overview: This presentation by product manager, David Millington, talks about the convenient way to define an anonymous function object added in C++11. This topic was chosen because while it’s extremely useful, the data we see is that there tend to be two…

Webinar Recap

Summer CodeFest: Modern C++ with Modern 3D [Recap]

By Tristan Soliven

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TL;DR Building real time 3D applications requires more than just graphics. It demands speed, efficient memory management, and strong mathematical foundations. This webinar explores how modern C++ simplifies complex 3D development using features like templates, vectors, and smart pointers while explaining the math behind rendering, rotations, and color processing. Webinar overview: 3D Graphics in…

Build Announcements

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Tips and Tricks Webinar Recap

Summer CodeFest: What the Hex? Ports and Adapters Architecture with C++ [Recap]

By Tristan Soliven

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TL;DR As applications grow in size, poor design decisions can lead to increasing complexity, maintenance problems and bottlenecks in testing. In this Summer CodeFest session, we will learn how Hexagonal (Ports and Adapters) Architecture can help developers to build more…

Tips and Tricks Webinar Recap

Summer CodeFest: Next-Level Concurrency: Enhancing Scalability with C++20 [Recap]

By Tristan Soliven

August 4, 2023

This session has concluded watch the replay or download the slides below. The first Summer CodeFest presentation has concluded! Whole Tomato’s very own lead developer Chris Gardner lead the first session on enhancing your program’s scalability with concurrency techniques in C++! We’ve prepared a short introductory article about concurrency and a short history on C++ support for threads…

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Another reason to cheer: Visual Assist academic licenses!

Ensuring Code Quality: Why Every C++ Developer Needs Unit Tests

Game Development Showcase: Visual Assist + Cloud Hosted Perforce from Assembla

Summer CodeFest: Magnificent or Malevolent: Maps! Measured, Monitored, & Magnified! [Mrecap]

Summer Codefest: Lambdas go Baa! [Recap]

Summer CodeFest: Modern C++ with Modern 3D [Recap]

Visual Assist 2023.4 now released

Summer CodeFest: What the Hex? Ports and Adapters Architecture with C++ [Recap]

Summer CodeFest: Next-Level Concurrency: Enhancing Scalability with C++20 [Recap]

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