I'm currently investigating my options to run automated tests from within Visual Studio 2008 Professional. I noticed that the MSDN page documenting the integrated funcionality is only available for VS 2008 and VS 2005. This kind of makes me suspcious. Since we are planning to upgrade to VS 2010 I'm wondering whether I will able to continue to use my configurations and knowledge with VS 2010? Does anyone here have made any experience with this?
TIA, Thomas
No need to be nervous, the terminology around the test configuration has merely changed in VS 2010. Most of what you know is the same but resides under different product branding which causes some versioning problems in the documentation.
Most notably, "test configuration" is often referred to as "test settings" under 2010.
Microsoft moved away from silo-ed "Team Test" terminology of VS 2005/2008 to a more holistic big picture known as Microsoft Application Lifetime Management, where testing is an integrated component for delivery of successful applications. Keep in mind that most of the documentation you'll find for testing refers to the Test Manager, which ship with the Ultimate and Test editions of Visual Studio. The Test Manager ties Tests to Use Cases and Requirements and is part of that big picture.
If you're not going down the ALM big picture, the focused view of just running tests hasn't changed much at all, with the exception of some new features like Test Impact which are pretty cool.
The following links may be useful to you, as it sounds like you're interested in how the tests can be used by developers or part of your build process:
Running Automated Tests within Visual Studio
Running Automated Tests from the Command-line
Hope that helps!
In our company, we have two main development environment. One uses VS2010 for C# and C++ development, the other uses Code Composer from TI (not the newest Eclipse based, and no, I cannot upgrade it right now).
Some of the C++ code is shared between VS solution and the embedded solution.
I'm in the process of upgrading our VSS to TFS, and so far everything is a bliss, but it is going to be a hard sell telling my EE engineers that they need to install VS2010 to perform source control.
I'm installing the TFS 2010 Power Tools right now, but the bad reviews scare me.
So, what's the best way to perform this integration?
You can get the engineers licensed with TFS and then use the explorer to have them check in and out, if Visual Studio scariness is the main issue. The explorer is very lightweight compared to Visual Studio.
As for the power pack, it is an installation on top of VS or the Explorer, unless you are talkinga bout TFPT.exe, which is a command line tool to be able to work with source code. I would not head that way, although engineers might be brainiac enought to love the DOS/UNIX like syntax. :-)
I come from a strong Java background and in recent years have been also developing in C#.
What I can never understand is how far behind (Personal Opinion) the Visual Studio IDE's are in compared with Intelli-J IDEA and Eclipse (Java).
There have been improvements by Microsoft from VS 2005 to VS 2008, but I feel they are not quite there in terms of taking the development experience to the next level.
What I want to know is, is VS 2010 any different?
Why is it that the tools and syntax editors are so much more "evolved" in the Java IDE's.
Just to name a few:
Code Completion (Much more advance in Java IDE's)
Ant Integration (Eclipse and IDEA) vs Visual Studio Build Events
Lack of Code Repository integration in VS (Subversion and CVS) out of the box.
Lack of Advance Re-factoring Tools in Visual Studio.
Thanks.
A few points…
People tend to like what they know.
It is quicker to get up-to-speed in C# as the IDE and most of the tools / docs come from a single source.
In the Java world you have a lot more chooses, this is great for expert that spend times learning about them all, but does also lead to its own problems.
Adding ReSharper or Refactor to Visual Studio may give you what you want.
The Visual Studio debugging is great.
Visual Studio tries to make life easy for you by trying to find missing dlls etc and then storing where they are in the registry. This may be great for a 1 man project, but can often lead to build problems across developer’s machines if you are not careful. In the Java world you have to edit more config file by hand, but at least you can put these files under source code control.
There is not a small command line tool that works well on a build server that will build all types of Visual Studio projects. However in day to day usage you don’t need to learn how to use command tools, as Visual Studio hides them form you.
I think these days most programmers
are just happier with the IDE they
know best.
Note I wrote this over 6 years ago, since then C#/.Net has got a lot more complex, with lots of open source projects. Microsoft has also open sourced a lot of the .net framework. For web and server side development I expect there is now little to choose between the Java world and the .Net world. For “smart clients” .net still have a lot to offer including the new support from cross device phone development.
For multi-threaded IO, I think c# is years ahead of Java, but that could change as C# and Java keeps learning from each other...
Visual Studio has definitely been coming on over the last few years - although many of the improvements have basically been things that Eclipse has had for ages (I haven't used IDEA myself).
You may well want to look at ReSharper, which brings more goodness to Visual Studio, along with the VS2010 Productivity PowerTools.
Also, have a look at Scott Guthrie's blog series about improvements in VS2010. Lots of goodies in there.
All tools have their strengths and weaknesses - these days I'm about as happy in Visual Studio as in Eclipse... although I'm much happier writing C# than Java :) One area where Visual Studio really shines is debugging though... I find things like the VS Watch window to be much better than Eclipse's equivalent.
Visual studio 2017 is still far far behind Intellij IDEA. I'm using both and i can say that even VS2017 with ReSharper is not comparable with IDEA.
Biggest problem for me is that VS still doesn't offer usable hot reload debugging experience. I'm crying every time i have to rebuild my .NET MVC project (it is +- fast, but IIS Express load time ~ 15s EVERY time you make even the smallest change in your code).
If you want to argue with "Edit and continue" so so hotreload function - it is absolutely useless, you can't do almost any change in code without rebuilding (and everytime you have to manually break code and close opened tab with useless information).
So i'm really looking forward for full version of IntelliJ Rider bringing all super user friendly possibilities of IntelliJ IDEA to the .NET world!
I don't agree with you. I think VS is much more easy to use.
For example, when i need to create a web application. I open VS and create a new project (Web Application). After the project created, i press f5 and tadda!...
But if want to create my web application with Java, i need to install a server or some frameworks. Still i don't know how can i create a web application?
Or, Windows Application.
At VS, you don't need do any thing to create a windows based application like web application. but if i want to create windows based application with Java, i had to do something.
I think VS IDE is more user friendly than Java IDE's.
With the general public release of Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 today, this latest version has created a lot of hype and interest.
Indeed, the opinion I've gauged is that VS 2010 has resolved a great deal of the minor flaws left over from previous versions, as well as added some particularly useful new code editor and project development tools (in particular the Premium/Ultimate versions).
My question here is: what are you favourite new features in VS 2010 that have really got you excited? Or similarly, what are the flaws of VS 2008 that you are most glad to have resolved?
There is a wealth of changes in VS 2010, of course, but these are some of the ones that have interested me most (about which I know!).
Integrated support for F# (with multi-targeting for .NET 2.0 - 4.0)/
Much improved WPF designer. The VS 2008 was more than a bit buggy at times.
Great improvements to the code editor, such as call hierarchy viewing.
A decent add-in framework.
A greatly expanded testing framework (now capable of database testing, for example) in Premium/Ultimate.
Project planning and modelling features in Premium/Ultimate.
If I could request one point/feature per post, I think that would be best, so we could vote them individually.
Visual Studio 2010's true Multi-Monitor Support sounds pretty fantastic.
The feature I'm most looking forward to having a decent play with is actually more .net 4 than visual studio. Parallel Extensions looks like it will be very interesting.
The new, clean web.config should make my managers happy.
"Just change the option in the web.config"
"Where is it?"
"Under 'AppSettings.'"
"Ugh ... there's so much junk in that file."
The built in profiler and historical debugger!
The 'Navigate To' window (Ctrl+,) is fantastic. Eclipse has something similar, and I've always thought Visual Studio needed it. Now if they would just add a 'Collapse All' button to the Solution Explorer...
One-click web publishing will be handy.
Favorite feature? Requiring 4 gigs of RAM to run it's bloat.
I liked many features
Deployment
Gated checkin
Parallel Programming
Faster debugging
Separate debugger for x86 and x64
These are just few.... The more you explore VS2010 the more you will get. Try to go through the videos by microsoft.
Thanks,
Sunil Agarwal
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Can anyone recommend any good add-ons or plugins for Microsoft Visual Studio?
Freebies are preferred, but if it is worth the cost then that's fine.
SmartPaster - (FREE) Copy/Paste code generator for strings
AnkhSvn - (FREE) SVN Source Control Integration for VS.NET
VisualSVN Server - (FREE) Source Control
ReSharper - IDE enhancement that helps with refactoring and productivity
CodeRush - Code gen macros on steroids
Refactor - Code refactoring aid
CodeMaid (FREE) - Code cleanup, organization and complexity analysis
CodeSmith - Code Generator
GhostDoc - (FREE) Simple code commenting tool
DXCore (FREE) and its many awesome plugins: DxCore Community Plugins, CR_Documentor, CodeStyleEnforcer, RedGreen
TestDriven.Net - (FREE/PAY) Unit Testing Aid
Reflector - (PAY) Feature rich .Net Disassembler Reflector AddIn's
Web Deployment Projects - Provides additional functionality to build and deploy Web sites and Web applications (source).
StudioTools - (FREE) Navigation assistant, code metrics tool, incremental search, file explorer in visual studio and tear off editor windows. Moved from old site (archive.org) to new site and discontinued.
Not free, but ReSharper is definitely one recommendation.
Whole Tomato's Visual Assist X. I absolutely swear by it. I would like to see a better plug in for Lint than Visual Lint by Riverblade, but since that will eventually be moved onto the build server I don't mind running it every couple of days manually.
PowerCommands is a Microsoft-created plugin that offers a variety of new features that one would think probably should have been in Visual Studio in the first place.
These include
Copying/Pasting project references!
"Open Containing Folder" to jump straight to the hard-drive location of a file or project
Automatic reorganizig and sorting of using statements
"Open Command Prompt Here" to open a command prompt in any of your project folders.
Collapse Projects
RockScroll is awesome, and free.
Addendum
As #Andrei points out, MetalScroll is a better alternative. It's Open Source, and corrects some annoying things about RS.
I'm a big fan of CodeRush and Refactor! Pro by DevExpress. I've been using them for a number of years, and without a doubt it makes me a faster developer. Also, both are built on a free framework called DXCore that allows you to develop your own plug-ins for Visual Studio, and the sky is the limit there...
Resharper
Resharper MbUnit Test Runner Add-On
SQL Prompt for Database Projects (works inside your SQL Management Studio as well)
Ankh SVN 2.0+ for free SVN support (v1.x pales in comparison)
TeamCity plug-in to monitor your builds, personal builds, and bug tracking
I find Ghost Doc to be very useful.
GhostDoc is a free add-in for Visual Studio that automatically generates XML
documentation comments for C#. Either by using existing documentation inherited
from base classes or implemented interfaces, or by deducing comments from
name and type of e.g. methods, properties or parameters.
If you use SVN for source control, definitely get VisualSVN. It enables TortoiseSVN interactions from within the Visual Studio IDE.
I also echo the Resharper comment. Retail price is a little steep, but if you're a student or otherwise educationally affiliated, it's actually pretty cheap.
+1 Visual Assist.
It's unfortunate that you need a plugin to get really good intellisense but it's definitely worth paying for.
LinqPad is great for testing linq to objects/xml/sql. Free download.
What about IncrediBuild? This is a nice distributed build system with visual studio integration.
Clipboard Manager
Maintains your clipboard data through removal of lines, a few other nice items but that one alone makes me happy.
Regionerate
While some have problems with regions I think if you use them, this tool is for you. Automatically region'izes your code into appropriate region blocks. Fully configurable for custom items etc.
VSCommands 2010
from the website:
Latest version supports:
Manage Reference Paths
Prevent accidental Drag & Drop in Solution Explorer
Prevent accidental linked file delete
Apply Fix (automatically fix build errors/warnings)
Open PowerShell
Show Assembly Details
Create Code Contract
Cancel Build when first project fails
Debug Output - custom formatting
Build Output - custom formatting
Search Output - custom formatting
Configure WPF Rendering
Configure Fusion Logs
Configure IE for debugging
Locate Source File
Thumbnails in IDE Navigator
Extended support for xaml, aspx, css, js and html files
Disable Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Zoom
Zoom to Mouse Pointer
Configurability
Attach to local IIS
Copy Full Path
Build Startup Projects
Open Command Prompt
Search Online
Build Statistics
Group linked items
Copy/Paste Reference
Copy/Paste as Link
Collapse Solution
Group items directly from user interface (DependantUpon)
Open In Expression Blend
Locate in Solution
Edit Project File
Edit Solution File
Show All Files
and others, so try it now!
http://trolltech.com/products/qt/">Qt Cross-Platform Application Framework
Qt is a cross-platform application framework for desktop and embedded development. It includes an intuitive API and a rich C++ class library, integrated tools for GUI development and internationalization, and support for Java™ and C++ development
They have a plug-in for Visual Studio that costs a bit of money, but it is worth every penny.
I've been using Visual Assist X for nearly two years now, and I find it so useful I can honestly say that if my employer didn't provide it, I'd have to pay for it myself.
I also use Cool Commands and SlickEdit (the free version), whose File Explorer and Command Spy tools are quite useful.
+1 for Visual Assist
And I will add VLH (Visual Local History) which provides a kind of local source control system. Every time you save a file, the plugin add a copy in the local repository.
ViEmu
vi/vim support inside VS
I found this site called Visual Studio Gallery - it has a lot of visual studio add-ins. I'm browsing it right now and I recommend everyone to visit it.
Consolas font
Free font from MS designed for reading code.
Try MetalScroll!! It's better than Rockscroll
Sonic File Finder for when you have loads of files in your solutions and searching for them in the solution explorer becomes a pain in the wrist.
You might also find DPack interesting. Several tools and enhancements rolled into one neat package.
MZTools is great too.
+1 for CodeRush & Refactor Pro. I've been using CodeRush since its Delphi incarnations, and it's utterly wonderful. The mantra of "Code at the speed of thought" is very close to reality ;)
Microsoft StyleCop provides code style checking for C#, we use it all the time and love it (free)
Axialis IconWorkshop has a Visual Studio add-in which is now free for VS2008 users.
Resharper Yes another vote, because I can't upvote everyone who suggests it :)
Workspace Whiz for C++, I used to live by Workspace Whiz but haven't used it in VS2008 as I hadn't realised there was an update. Will have to give it a try again.
If you're doing C++ coding, hands down Visual Assist.
I love CopySourceAsToHTML as a cool little addin. It's great if you want to copy code blocks for blogging and the like while maintaining your syntax formatting.
I think this is still the url.. you have to do some manual work to set it up with 08.
http://www.jtleigh.com/people/colin/software/CopySourceAsHtml/
For the laptop bound or for those with vi/vim key bindings burned into the brain I would recommend ViEmu.
If you have not tried editing with vi key bindings here is why you may want to try "Why, oh WHY, do those #?#! nutheads use vi?"
AtomineerUtils Pro Documentation - automatic DocXml/Doxygen/JavaDoc/Qt doc-comment generation/updating (similar to GhostDoc, but more powerful & flexible, and supports C#, C++, C++/CLI, C, Java and Visual Basic code).
The style of the generated comments is very configurable, and automatic re-formatting (such as whitespace control and word wrapping) can be optionally applied to keep the comments as readable as possible. It also has many helpers to allow users to read and convert most legacy doc-comments into any of the above formats.
(I'm the author, but I believe the above is an accurate and objective description. This add-in was free when this answer was first added, but to cover the costs of hosting, supporting, and continuing to improve the addin in monthly releases, it is now $10 with a 30-day free trial)
I'm always amazed that more people don't know about/use NDepend - it shows all dependencies at every level of your code, and will even draw pretty box and arrow pictures showing how confused your architecture really is :) Together with TestDriven.Net, I can't imagine working without it any more. Free/cheap.