Visual Studio Hacks: Tips & Tools for Turbocharging the IDE (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: enterprise templates, test regular expressions, refactor your code, Visual Studio, Speed Hacks, Cancel Help Figure (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With start-up templates for projects ranging from Windows applications to web services, and extensive help and on-line documentation, Visual Studio .NET might be mistaken for a tool for unsophisticated users. It's true that most developers soon discover that the basic operation of Visual Studio is fairly self-explanatory; less obvious are some of the suite's more advanced built-in features. Visual Studio .Net includes a wealth of little-used capabilities, is very customizable, has a complete automation model, and much more. On top of its regular feature set, there are hosts of free add-ins, macros, and power toys that can further enhance the functionality of Visual Studio. This book is all about exploring these things, and in doing so, becoming a better and more efficient developer. Developers will learn how to:

• Get the most out of projects and solutions, including getting down and dirty with the undocumented format of project and solution files
• Use these editor features to the fullest, and add additional functionality to the editor through the use of third-party add-ins
• Learn smarter ways to navigate the application and your own source code
• Customize shortcut keys, toolbars, menus, the toolbox, and much more
• Use the debugger successfully not only on your source code, but with T-SQL and scripting languages as well
• Automatically generate code
• Learn how the server can be used to interface with databases, services, and performance counters, as well as WMI
• Use and create Visual Studio add-ins to extend its functionality

Offering valuable tips, tools, and tricks, Visual Studio Hacks takes you far beyond the suite's usual capabilities. You can read this book from cover to cover or, because each hack stands its own, you can feel free to browse and jump to the different sections that interest you most. If there's a prerequisite you need to know about, a cross-reference will guide you to the right hack. If you want to experience the full spectrum of Visual Studio's functionality and flexibility, you'll find the perfect guide for exploration in Visual Studio Hacks. Once the final page is turned, you can confidently say that you've been exposed to everything that Visual Studio .NET is capable of doing.

About the Author

James Avery has been a Web application developer since 1997, starting with basic Web design and evolving to complex Web application solutions using ASP.NET and C#. His technologies include ASP.NET, C#, Visual Basic .NET, ASP, and other general Web technologies. James currently works for an international imaging company developing n-tier Web applications using .NET and SQL Server(TM) 2000. Before that, he worked for Dell Computer developing Web applications to assist technical support with troubleshooting. James coauthored Professional ASP.NET Performance, published by Wrox Press, and currently has other publications forthcoming from Wrox, ASPToday, and SAMS. He maintains a column at aspalliance.com and has contributed articles to 4guysfromrolla.com. James has also published numerous book reviews in ASP.NETPro magazine. He is a member of the ASPElite and a moderator at ASPFriends.com, as well as a moderator of the ASP.NET forums at www.asp.net.

Product Details

• Paperback: 500 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 26th edition (March 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596008473
• ISBN-13: 978-0596008475
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #682,480 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #12 in

  Books > Computers & Internet > Microsoft > Development > Visual Basic > Visual Studio

• This item is part of The O'Reilly Hacks Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a way to impress your boss., April 23, 2005

By	B. Kennedy (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Visual Studio Hacks offers the reader 100 tips related to the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE). This book covers topics on versions of the software including Visual Studio 2005. Mr. Avery has selected a good compliment of topics. While not all of the hacks will be of interest to all developers, I think there is enough content in here for all levels of Visual Studio users. The typical items such as IDE setup, keyboard shortcuts, macros, and enhancing the tool are covered. However, this book also provides guidance on how to use and integrate the necessary tools to support a complete developer build cycle. Topics such as unit testing, debugging, profiling, code analysis, automating builds, and documenting source code are covered.

Visual Studio is one of the most productive development IDEs that I have worked with, in my experience. There are so many features that it takes a text like this to make you appreciate it. It is much more interesting to read a format such as this, instead of stepping through the product documentation, page by page, looking for nuggets of value.

I highly recommend this book. I believe that it is a must-have companion for Visual Studio. Anyone that is establishing their project's IDE guidelines for their development team would be well-served by the material covered in this book. What a way to impress your boss.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Full of gems, January 6, 2006

By	Ying Jin "geektrick" (Gaithersburg,MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I would say this book is must-have for any die-hard .Net coder. Visual Studio.Net is a powerful IDE, and it is an expensive piece of software. This book helps you to squeeze every dollar out of your investment.

Among 100 hacks in the book, #64 about Reflector is my favorite. It sent me deep below the skin of .Net framework and get me an intimate look at .Net.

I would give this book a solid five stars if all the hacks download work as book said, but some(although very few) of hacks have bugs that need some help. For example, hack #97 Classify add-in, when I downloaded it from the book's site and installed it, I got a cryptic keybinding invalid warning. But it got fixed when I emailed the author about the problem. Thank you, James for your responsiveness.
Ying

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any VS 2005 developer, February 10, 2006

By	Russell A. McClure (Temecula, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want to remain a Junior Programmer forever, then don't get this book. But if you want to really excel as a VS 2005 programmer, then you need to get this book. There is no fluff in this book at all. It is densly packed with a ton of useful details on the VS 2005 IDE. Not only do you learn the ins and outs of the IDE but it also guides you through several very useful 3rd party add-ins to VS.

This book is a terrific read and a great reference. I can't say that about too many books.