Great news! The Whole Tomato experience just got even more complete and well-rounded!
The hobbies and recreational activities you do during your early days in school often become the gateway to the skills you’ll develop and use in the real world. It is no surprise, then, that the tools and machines you use when starting out as a complete novice influence how you grow from a curious enthusiast into a full-blown professional.
This also means that one of the biggest gatekeepers for novices and students learning the basics is access to tools and machines that are fundamental to learning a skill.
This is why Whole Tomato is proud to announce that we’ve recently launched our academic licensing program to help students—as well as their teachers—get a headstart in their programming career!
The benefits for students, instructors, and teaching departments
To help more people learn about the wonders of fast and efficient programming in C, C#, and C++, Whole Tomato is lowering the barriers to accessing its renowned Visual Assist plugin for Visual Studio. From now on, students and instructors can secure fully sponsored Visual Assist licenses.
Visual Assist is kicking off its foray into accessibility for young learners, instructors, and teachers.
For Students
Students can easily secure a license using a verified educational email address. They will be able to purchase discounted licenses—friendly to an apprentice’s allowance. And if a learner is only willing to test the waters, they can also opt for a monthly subscription plan. Just visit our webstore and follow the checkout process for students.
A student is someone who is enrolled in an accredited educational program. Students can also check with their university or program organizers if they have existing packages with Whole Tomato.
For teachers, instructors, and departments
Sometimes a beginner needs a push in the right direction. Recommending Visual Assist to students has never been easier. If an instructor is looking to share Visual Assist with their class or department, they have access to a number of tiered options ranging from fully sponsored deals to specially tailored plans.
If you’re interested in sharing the unrivaled power of Visual Assist to a class or a group of learners, contact the Whole Tomato sales team to explore your options.
Why an academic licensing program?
Picture this: rolling out academic licenses could be a game-changer, especially with the new generation of developers and programmers in mind. Think of it as guiding the future workforce with a backstage pass to industry-grade tools while they’re still in school. This early exposure to efficient and optimized instruments and applications makes learning a more encouraging and satisfactory experience.
Partnering up with schools and departments also means that we, as software providers, get a chance to know what the new wave of developers are interested in trying or what problems they are facing. This allows Visual Assist to grow alongside the ever-changing demands of C/C++ development.
And you students, on the other hand, get a more suitable and optimized tool to help you become fast and efficient developers. You won’t need to train and study as much when you graduate, as well since you will already be accustomed to the tools in the industry. This makes you a more attractive candidate for the occasional picky recruiter.
Supporting young learners is also one of the initiatives that the community should always strive to promote. As an interdependent and ever-changing industry, developers and the software world must ensure that people remain interested in learning our craft. Offering software at student-friendly rates (or even sponsoring them completely) levels the playing field and makes it more accessible. It’s totally the way to go! ?
Why would students need Visual Assist?
Long loading times, incomplete prompts, incorrect suggestions, and missing navigations, among others. The Visual Studio IDE has gone through leaps and bounds to improve C development, however, there are still areas in C++ that are in dire need of improvement.
Visual Assist provides the necessary support and tooling learners need in their journey to becoming developers. Visual Assist provides new tools and improves existing ones in VS to eliminate the frustration in C/C++ development.
The latest additions to Visual Assist
Visual Studio 2022
Cash in on that sweet x64 process. With virtually limitless memory available to Visual Studio, your productivity plugins no longer have to squeeze themselves for the remaining memory allocation. Visual Assist has been tweaked to properly utilize the newfound bandwidth.
Extremely fast project parsing
Interruptions and long loading times can make a significant hit on productivity. Stop fighting your development environment. Visual Assist’s raw performance allows users to focus on thinking and coding.
Better coding support and tooling
It’s easier to teach new learners new things. Visual Assist keeps the development environment updated with the latest features available. Follow the latest C++ standards and conventions with VA’s 100+ New code inspection checks and updated LLVM Clang Tidy 15.0 engine.
Specialized support
Unreal Engine source, shader files, CUDA core development, you name it. Visual Assist adds special support for lookalike C++ code. Enable basic IDE features such as navigations, refactoring, and code completion for these applications.
Frequently Asked Questions About Visual Assist Academic Licenses
How can students get a Visual Assist academic license?
Students can get a Visual Assist academic license by signing up with a valid educational email address through the official website. After verification, they can access discounted pricing or subscription plans. In some cases, universities or departments may already have agreements that allow students to use Visual Assist at no additional cost.
Is Visual Assist free for students or only discounted?
Visual Assist is primarily offered at discounted rates for students rather than being completely free. However, some institutions or educational programs may provide fully sponsored licenses, depending on their partnership with Whole Tomato. Students can also choose flexible pricing options based on their needs.
Who is eligible for a Visual Assist academic license?
Eligibility includes students enrolled in accredited educational institutions, as well as teachers, instructors, and academic departments. Verification is typically required through an official academic email address or institutional approval to ensure access to student-focused pricing or sponsored licenses.
Can teachers provide Visual Assist licenses to their students?
Yes, teachers and academic departments can provide Visual Assist licenses to students through bulk or sponsored licensing programs. These options are designed to support classroom learning and make it easier for instructors to introduce professional development tools into their curriculum.
What is Visual Assist used for in Visual Studio?
Visual Assist is a productivity extension for Visual Studio that enhances coding efficiency, especially for C and C++. It improves features like code navigation, auto-completion, and refactoring, helping developers write, understand, and manage complex codebases more effectively.
Why should students use Visual Assist for C++ development?
Students benefit from Visual Assist by reducing common coding frustrations such as slow performance, incomplete suggestions, or difficult navigation. It helps them learn faster, write cleaner code, and focus more on problem-solving rather than struggling with development environment limitations.
Does Visual Assist support Visual Studio 2022?
Yes, Visual Assist fully supports Visual Studio 2022 and is optimized for its 64-bit architecture. This allows for improved performance, faster project parsing, and better handling of large codebases compared to earlier versions.
What are the benefits of Visual Assist for beginners?
For beginners, Visual Assist simplifies coding by offering smarter suggestions, improved navigation, and helpful refactoring tools. These features make it easier to understand code structure and reduce errors, allowing new developers to build confidence more quickly.
Can I use Visual Assist on a monthly subscription as a student?
Yes, students have the option to use Visual Assist through a monthly subscription plan. This is ideal for those who want flexibility or prefer to try the tool before committing to a longer-term license.
Does Visual Assist work with Unreal Engine or specialized C++ projects?
Yes, Visual Assist offers enhanced support for Unreal Engine and other specialized C++ environments. It improves navigation, code completion, and overall development experience, making it especially useful for complex or large-scale projects.
The best time to get Visual Assist
Visual Assist was running at a discounted price when we publicly launched academic licenses—but luckily for you, being a student or a teacher ain’t seasonal! Visual Assist academic licenses will be available continuously for students using our webstore. And if you’re an instructor looking to secure some seats for your students, just contact our sales team to browse your fully-sponsored options.
Not a student or a teacher but you’re looking for affordable sets of licenses? Not a problem! Contact us to check your available options for bulk and enterprise licensing.