Creating a VS2008 Isolated Shell Application (Think "Cool VS box that you fill with your own cool stuff...")

Visual Studio Extensibility User Education - Walkthrough: A Basic Isolated Shell Application

"This preview walkthrough shows how to integrate a custom application into the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Shell (isolated mode). In this walkthrough, you create an isolated shell solution, add a custom Help About tool window, and create a Setup program for installing the isolated shell.

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In this section, you use the the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Shell project template to create an isolated Shell solution. The solution contains two projects, as follows:

· The Shell Stub, which produces the executable file that invokes the isolated Shell.

· The Shell Stub UI, which produces a satellite DLL that defines active menu commands and localizable strings.

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Microsoft Downloads - Visual Studio 2008 SDK Version 1.0

"This is the official software development kit that allows developers to integrate tools, editors, designers, languages, and other features inside Visual Studio 2008.
Key features in the VS 2008 SDK include:

• Visual Studio Shell development support
• Enhancements in Domain-specific Language tools
• Visual Studio Package development and testing support for C++, C# and Visual Basic
• Code samples and documentation covering toolbox controls integration, general IDE integration, Domain-specific Languages (DSL), Team Foundation Server extensibility, Data Designers extensibility , and other areas
• Support for Windows Vista

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To get started with the Basic Isolated Shell Walk-Through you'll first need the VS2008 SDK... If you're interested in a little more information about the Visual Studio Shell (like licensing information, etc), check this out, Visual Studio 2008 Shell.