What impact installing Roslyn will have on my VS Installation

Question

I wrote a few VS Extensions and Roslyn seems to be an interesting tool in such endeavors. I would be really curious to try it.

But

Is there a safe way to install it? Can I install it in an isolated hive? How cleanly does it uninstall?

Correct me if I am wrong but the Roslyn compiler replaces the 'Standard' C# compiler. If it breaks the result will be quiet unpleasant

Answer 1

I think this thread should have answers to your questions. When you install the CTP it replaces the C# and VB language services under the 'Roslyn' rootsuffix inside Visual Studio. The 'Standard' C# and VB compilers (including the command line compilers vbc.exe and csc.exe) are not replaced and your regular code editing experience inside VS is left unchanged.

In other words, the intention is that the CTP shouldn't impact your existing setup - but to be sure you could follow Hank's suggestion and install it on a Virtual PC.

This thread also has some discussion around this.

Disclaimer: I work for Microsoft on the Roslyn team.

Answer 2

Yes, it's safe to install. I installed on VS 2012 and it was working fine, but it causes problem when used with Resharper. You can even uninstall it with Tools->Extensions and Updates.