52.1. Introduction
Add-ins are actually COM components that run as a part of the Visual Studio IDE and let users use their functionality to extend Visual Studio features or automate something in the IDE. Add-ins integrate with the Visual Studio IDE and can't run separately from the IDE.
Previously you had to register the COM component for add-ins to work, but with the introduction of a new mechanism for add-ins Microsoft has tried to hide their COM nature. This simplifies the process of add-in development and deployment, making it more like regular .NET development.
You'll read more about the technical details of add-ins and their development, but for now it's worthwhile to know that add-ins can be developed by multiple .NET languages including Visual C#, Visual Basic, and Visual C++ (CLR and ATL). However, the development language for an add-in doesn't matter because the anatomy and structure is the same for all the languages.
One thing you need to understand is the application of add-ins and how they differ from macros and other extensibility options. This is because the variety of extensibility options and their similarities to other options may make it confusing for a developer to choose the most appropriate option for his development.
Add-ins are an integrated component of Visual Studio 2008 and have access to the automation model API via Development Tools Extensibility (DTE), so their functionality is restricted to what the DTE provides. As a result of this we can conclude ...
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