Difference between Visual Studio Redistributable a

Question

Are there many redistributable packages? If so, how do I know which package to download?

Answer 1

If using InstallShield, you should update your MSMs to point to the new Visual C++ libraries.

Answer 2

You will need the redistributables for any of the environments you develop in. Note the "full" versions for the .net Frameworks contain both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/5a4x27ek.aspx

You can select other versions (.net 3.5, etc) from the "Other versions" link at the top of the page.

For C++, the VC2010 redistributables are here:

x86 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=a7b7a05e-6de6-4d3a-a423-37bf0912db84

x64 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=BD512D9E-43C8-4655-81BF-9350143D5867

Answer 3

The visual studio SP1 redistributable fixes issues (bugs) in visual studio and updates the security
-> Use this if you have VS and want to update

The visual studio redistributable puts updated versions of assemblies, packages and dlls on your machine
-> Use these if you have programs that depend on the updated packages