Customer Reviews

Working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a long term developer, I have used many different compilers and development environments. They are all different and somewhat confusing when you bring them up and are confronted with a multitude of icons and menu items. This book is the only printed material I could find about this version of the development environment from Microsoft Press. I was dissapointed by the length of the manual and it's focus. It is not so much a how to about the Visual Studio, as a technical reference about how to extend the environment. I am glad I bought it and I wouldn't return it. It is not enough information though for a new developer confronted with this powerful and complex development tool. In time there will be other books on Visual Studio 2005, and I will buy them to answer questions that linger. As always, a subscription to MSDN Library is the most valuable reference. MSDN Library however is a huge collection of data, some of which is obsolete, that has been thrown together over the years, like Microsoft's SDKs. In conclusion, the book is a valuable asset when using Visual Studio 2005 and I am glad I bought it. I recommend that developer's buy it, with the caveat that it is not enough by itself. I hope Visual Studio 2005 lasts long enough to become documented to a helpful extent.

The previous reviewer hates this book for the very reason I love this book. This book covers everything about customizing Visual Studio, and does so in a crisp, understandable way. Visual Studio may not be as customizable as Eclipse, but it's close, and this book shows you how to do it. I agree that it could use a better title.

It's hard to write a completely useless book about a product as complex as Visual Studio 2005, but the authors have managed to do it. The only things readers will learn are the definitions of solutions and projects (which a complete novice could figure out after playing with the IDE for 10 minutes), shortcuts for entering basic programming constructs, and ways to extend Visual Studio by creating macros and snap-ins. That's it. That's all the "work" that is on display. All the details of writing code, debugging, designing classes, performing static code analysis, profiling, and building projects that aren't ridiculously simple are missing (I guess they don't constitute work). I hate books that are purposely mislabled. If the book was called "Writing Macros with Visual Studio 2005" or "Extending Visual Studio" it might rate two stars (and would no doubt sell far fewer copies). Avoid paying money for this title.

The title of this book is misleading and that may explain some of the low ratings here. This is not a book that introduces you to Visual Studio (which the title seems to imply), but rather it's an advanced book on how to extend Visual Studio 2005. Readers who are not ready for this book, or readers who prefer [...], would likely want "Developing Visual Studio [...]

1. The book was as described.

2. The book I bought was a new copy and arrived in excellent condition.

This same book is included with the Visual Studio 2005 package when it ships. Jargon filled pages describe the menus and buttons to push, v.s. why the feature exists and how you can use it productively. It assumes you know that already. Terminology is loosely defined and sometimes in circular definitions.

If you are coming from the previous IDE platform and have extensive experience with it, this book might be for you.

If you are new to Visual Studio 2005 and/or seek a conceptual understanding of the IDE features that might be useful to your development effort, you'll probably be disappointed.