| Visual Studio 2005 (VS2005) is an invaluable tool for creating robust and elegant applications with few bugs in a minimum amount of time. VS2005 offers many advantages to the .NET developer, including: -
A modern interface, using a tabbed document metaphor for code and layout screens, and dockable toolbars and information windows . -
Convenient access to multiple design and code windows. -
What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) visual design of Windows and Web Forms. -
Code completion, which allows you to enter code with fewer errors and less typing. -
Intellisense, which displays tips for every method, providing the return type and the types of all the parameters. -
Dynamic, context-sensitive help, which allows you to view topics and samples relevant to the code you are writing at the moment. You also can search the complete SDK library from within the IDE. -
Immediate flagging of syntax errors, which allows you to fix problems as they are entered. -
A Start Page, which provides easy access to new and existing projects. -
The same code editor for all .NET languages, which shortens the learning curve. Each language can have specialized aspects, but all languages benefit from shared features, such as incremental search, code outlining, collapsing text, line numbering, color -coded keywords, etc. -
An HTML editor, which provides Design and HTML views that update each other in real time. -
A Solution Explorer, which displays in outline form all the files comprising your solution. -
An integrated Debugger, which allows you to step through code, observe program runtime behavior, and set breakpoints, even across multiple languages and multiple processes. -
Integrated support for source control software, such as Visual Source Safe. -
Ability to modify your controls' properties declaratively or through a properties window. -
Ability to integrate custom controls that you create or purchase from a third party. Features that are new or significantly improved in VS2005 include: -
Support for all three coding models: in-line, code-behind, mixed. -
Access to web sites through the filesystem, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) , or Internet Information Services (IIS). (IIS no longer has to be installed on the developer's machine since a built-in web server is provided.) -
Full support for look-and-feel features, such as skins, themes, and master pages. -
An improved Server Explorer , which allows you to log on to servers to which you have network access, access the data and services on those servers, drag and drop data sources onto controls, and perform various other chores. -
Ability to import and export user preferences. -
Ability to drag and drop controls onto your web page in Design mode or in Source mode (looking at the control declarations and other content of the page). -
Code refactoring capabilities. VS2005 is a useful tool that can save you hours of repetitive tasks . It is a large and complex program, so this chapter cannot explore every nook and cranny. Instead, this chapter will lay the foundation for understanding and using VS2005, and we'll point out some of the nastier traps you might run into along the way.  | For a thorough coverage of VS2005, see Mastering Visual Studio 2005 , by Jon Flanders, Ian Griffiths, and Chris Sells (O'Reilly). | |
|
