This chapter is intended to introduce each of the tools in the Microsoft® Visual Studio™ Professional Edition suite, provide a high-level overview of the types of applications you can build with Visual Studio tools, and describe some of the key technologies underlying those application types. The chapter includes pointers to more information available online in the Microsoft® Developer Network (MSDN) Library, Visual Studio 6.0 edition, which is shipped with Visual Studio.
This chapter includes the following sections.
| Section | Description |
| How to Use This Book | Describes the audience for the book and provides an overview of the book's contents. |
| What's in the Professional Edition | Introduces each tool in the Visual Studio 6.0 Professional Edition. |
| What Can You Build with Visual Studio? | Surveys the different types of applications you can build with Visual Studio, focusing on Web applications and data-centric applications. Includes overviews of key Web and data access technologies. |