As software engineers, we rely on powerful integrated development environments (IDEs) like Visual Studio, Eclipse, and XCode, to build software applications, from internal tools to complex packages.
Software Development Kits
Many well-known software packages, such as Microsoft Office, SolidWorks, and Adobe Photoshop, offer Software Development Kits (SDKs). These SDKs allow developers and power users to create custom logic for these platforms. This can range from simple macros in Microsoft Office, automating repetitive tasks with VBA scripts, to sophisticated graphic filters in Adobe Photoshop.
Regardless of how SDKs are implemented, the underlying principle is the same: internal application APIs are exposed to developers for creating user-defined plugins or scenarios. Additionally, a set of programming tools is provided to utilize these APIs effectively.
While some software packages require a complete IDE like Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code, others come with their own tools, such as Visual Basic for Applications for writing macros in Microsoft Office Word or Excel.
Why AlterNET Studio
AlterNET Studio was developed to provide .NET developers with the powerful features of IDEs within their .NET applications, while also offering scripting capabilities to the users. AlterNET Studio consists of the following key components:
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Scripter: Integrates C#, Visual Basic, Python, IronPython, and TypeScript/JavaScript scripting into your .NET applications and provides tools for debugging these scripts.
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Code Editor: Supports all the essential features for efficient code editing, including syntax highlighting, code completion, code folding, bookmarking, and is specifically designed for C#, Visual Basic, TypeScript, JavaScript, and Python.
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Form Designer: Enables the creation of custom graphical interfaces that can be connected to your user-defined code.
Cross-platform development
With the introduction of the AlterNET UI cross-platform UI framework, AlterNET Studio’s scripting and code editing capabilities will be used to develop .NET applications that can run on macOS and Linux.
In summary, AlterNET Studio is not an alternative to Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, or any other integrated development platform. Instead, it’s designed to bring some of the software development environment tools into your own software applications. If you’re a .NET developer looking to extend your applications with comprehensive development tools, AlterNET Studio is an excellent choice.