Is there anything like Eclipse Perspective in Visual Studio? - visual-studio

I was wondering if there's anything like Eclipse Perspectives in Visual Studio (2008 or 2010).
For those unfamiliar with Eclipse, here's a definition of Perspectives:
A perspective is a visual container
for a set of views and editors
(parts). These parts exist wholly
within the perspective and are not
shared. A perspective is also like a
page within a book. It exists within
a window along with any number of
other perspectives and, like a page
within a book, only one perspective is
visible at any time.
Let me give you a visual example:
Java Perspective:
SVN Repository Perspective:
Maybe there is nothing like that straight out of the box, but with some plugin. If that's the case, it'll also be a valid answer.
Thanks for your time.

I used Brian's blog post as a starting point and made a VS2010 extension: http://perspectives.codeplex.com/
More info here: http://csharpening.net/blog/?p=292
It's probably not as complete as the VSWindowManager but lets you save your configurations and create new ones. Let me know if it works out!

I found this http://vswindowmanager.codeplex.com/ but it's for 2005.. there is a branch for 2008 in the source code but i don't know if it works... I think I'll give it a try and post any results...
It would be great if it works also for 2010!!! When you work in 1024*768 it's really annoying to rezise the windows every two seconds!!!
Good luck!!

You can check out my blog post which provides the ability to list and switch window layouts in Vs2008 and Vs2010: http://www.brianschmitt.com/2010/09/save-and-change-tool-layout-in-visual.html

Related

Is there a view/widget to show details of language elements in Visual Studio?

In Eclipse, there is a view called "ABAP Element Info", which can show details about language elements such as functions, classes, etc. when they are clicked on. It will display details such as function/method signature, class/struct members, element documentation, etc. as you can see on the image below:
It is a great help for me and it's very quick to find out details of elements, but I cannot find anything like it in Visual Studio standard package (except Object Browser, but I does not show what I click on, I need to look it up). Is there any extension or something with similar functionality I could make use of? I'm using C++ desktop version if it helps. Thanks a lot for any input.
Instead of using Visual Studio, try to check if your project is fully supported and operational in Visual Studio Code.
In VSCode there are various plugins for ABAP development, including syntax highlighting which is your main concern.
Check out the following article on how to prepare your environment:
https://blogs.sap.com/2019/12/06/abap-development-in-vs-code/

Trying to create a custom functoid in Biztalk 2010. Trouble getting resources to show (all null)

First time poster here, so if you need more info or when I am too vague, please say so.
We are using Biztalk 2010 here, together with (of course) VS 2010 (Ultimate in my case, not that it matters) on a 64bit server.
I need to create a custom functoid and have done this (enough tuts on the web, albeit usually for older versions of Biztalk).
What I have problems with now are getting the name, tooltip, description and icon to show up when I add my custom dll to the Toolbox. Whatever I try with my resources, I cannot for the life of my have them appear in Toolbox (always null).
Picture link is below, I am not allowed to include more than 2 hyperlinks in my message yet.
I have used this link as (one of my) sources : http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials/aspnet/f843db77-a775-415e-bd08-71c2b1127e40/biztalk-writing-and-usin.aspx
I must be doing something wrong in a stupid way, but I am at the end of my wits here. So, if anyone can please take my hand and help me through this ordeal.. please.. don't let me hold you back.
Thanks in advance !
http://i.stack.imgur.com/3UAJ6.png
Solution by the original author (Dennis):
I copied the sample functoid solution from Microsoft into a new project. Used that as a basis to create my own functoids and all is good. Not really the way to go I suppose, but it worked. The reason for my problem (I think) might have been the blank custom tool namespace on the properties of the resources.

Snippet Designer/Editor for Visual Studio 2010

What Editors/Designers for creating Visual Studio 2010 Snippets are there?
I would like to be able to put in different replacements (ie spots where the text should be replaced). A low incidence of blocking bugs is also nice.
So far the only one I have seen is Snippet Editor 2.1. I am going to dig into it and see how it works, but I did not want to spend too much time on that app if there is a better one out there.
I like Snippet Designer by Matt Manela and chose to use it in my Extending Visual Studio course. I like the Snippet Explorer and searching snippets as well as the designer view to help you edit them, including replacements. It also gives you a nice Export as Snippet context menu item. And the code is on CodePlex if you would like to learn how it's done.
Go to the Visual Studio Gallery and search for "snippet" in the "Find" box. You should find several options (e.g. Snippet Designer, Snipper, etc.). I haven't used any of these so I can't attest to how good they may be but at least it's a start.
Hope this helps.
Resharper (not free) has it's own snippet system which is really great. I'm adding this answer because I was searching for something not realising I already had something installed (Resharper)

Is it really worth purchasing R# for VS2010?

I heard that R#5.0 (still in beta) will support VS 2010. My question is
VS2010 == VS2008 + ReSharper ?
I know there are many improvements to VS2010, so I 'm not sure weather is it really worth purchasing the R#5.0 for VS2010?
Well, I haven't explored VS 2010 new refactoring features that much, but its my understanding that VS has some but definitely not all of resharpers features implemented (From MSDN):
Navigate To
You can use the Navigate
To feature to search for a symbol or
file in the source code.
Navigate To lets you find a specific
location in the solution or explore
elements in the solution. It helps you
pick a good set of matching results
from a query.
You can search for keywords that are
contained in a symbol by using Camel
casing and underscore characters to
divide the symbol into keywords.
For more information, see How to:
Search for Objects, Definitions, and
References (Symbols).
Generate From Usage
The Generate From
Usage feature lets you use classes and
members before you define them. You
can generate a stub for any undefined
class, constructor, method, property,
field, or enum that you want to use
but have not yet defined. You can
generate new types and members without
leaving your current location in code,
This minimizes interruption to your
workflow.
Generate From Usage supports
programming styles such as test-first
development.
IntelliSense Suggestion Mode
IntelliSense now provides two
alternatives for IntelliSense
statement completion, completion mode
and suggestion mode. Use suggestion
mode for situations where classes and
members are used before they are
defined.
In suggestion mode, when you type in
the editor and then commit the entry,
the text you typed is inserted into
the code. When you commit an entry in
completion mode, the editor shows the
entry that is highlighted on the
members list.
When an IntelliSense window is open,
you can press CTRL+ALT+SPACEBAR to
toggle between completion mode and
suggestion mode.
So I guess it would depend on which of Resharpers features you want to use. If you are satisfied with the above which is certainly great improvements, then you don't need Resharper.
On the performance question, well it might perform better because of tighter integration.
Personally the above leaves me still needing a lot of features like (just the ones i can think of right now - might be more):
There are as far as I can tell only about 6 refactorings, where resharper currently has more than 30
No import type completion, which i use ALL the time. One shortcut adds to references and adds import statement
No smart completion
Change namespace to follow navigation structure and update all references with one shortcut
Goto is more advanced in R# you can go to inheritors and bases,
file member, recent files and edits and theres the fast goto feature
Resharpers static analysis is far more comprehensive than what you get from VS
So what do you need? (I am definitely not giving up Resharper)
Peter,
Best person that can answer this question is yourself. What I suggest is you download it, learn it (and note I said learn it, not just play with it). Then decide. However, I'll warn you that it's quite addictive.
My question is VS2010 == VS2008 + ReSharper ?
Oh hell no. VS2010 has more features than VS2008, and some of those feature ideas were stolen from ReSharper, but vanilla VS2010 is still a long way behind VS2010 + ReSharper 5 or even VS2008 + ReSharper 5.
From a quick glance at my 31 Days of ReSharper blog posts (written back in the R# 2.5 days), here are just a few ReSharper features that are still not present in VS2010: (Please correct me if VS2010 does have any of these -- I haven't actually used it that much without ReSharper!)
Unused code highlighted in gray and with quick-fixes to delete the unused code for you (this is just one of many hints and warnings R# does that VS does not)
Visual indication of where you have hints, warnings, and errors in a source file (colored stripe next to the vertical scroll bar)
Integrated unit-test runner that's not locked down to only MS's test framework
Shared settings for code formatting, code templates, etc. -- check these settings into version control, and they'll be picked up automatically by other computers (no manual export/import)
Go To Type -- a pop-up window where you can enter a type name (or part of the name) and jump straight to the right source file
Navigate to derived types / overriding methods
Code Structure View -- view a list of members in your type, and drag/drop to reorder them in your source code
R# will suggest variable names for you
You can invoke an Intellisense dropdown that shows types from all namespaces (and then it adds the using for you)
It's eerily good at guessing what you meant when you tell it to fix an error for you
Remove unused braces and Invert If
Generate Code (I particularly like Generate Equals and GetHashCode, even though I use them very rarely)
Viral Rename (if you rename a type, it'll also suggest that you rename any variables that were named after the type)
And best of all, Safe Delete.
Safe Delete rocks.
And that's just the features that R# had in 2.5 when I wrote the 31 Days of ReSharper. They've added plenty of new features since (I just don't have a comprehensive list handy). A couple of my favorites are the background solution-wide analysis, which will tell you in nearly real-time if you have compiler errors anywhere in your solution, and Inspect > Value Origin, which is just wicked cool.
If your having to ask the question, my guess is that you're not using ReSharper to its full potential. Personally I find that R# writes most of my code for me and I feel like a noob using visual studio without it.
YES. unequivocably YES.
After migrating to Visual Studio 2010 we asked our development team if buying Resharper upgrades is worth the investment. The votes were unanimous: yes!
Btw: we use VS2010 Premium and the devteam has its own budget.
Why don't you try out the R# 5 betas and then you can decide if you're using enough of its features to justify purchasing it.
http://confluence.jetbrains.net/display/ReSharper/ReSharper+5.0+Nightly+Builds
ReSharper has been around long enough that developers might purchase the upgrade just out of habit! :)
I recall that when VS2008 was released, R# wasn't quite ready, and there was griping among the .NET community about it. "Must...have...ReSharper!". Heh. Jetbrains appear to be on top of it this time though.

What’s the best approach when migrating legacy projects across versions of visual studio?

I've been thinking about the number of projects we have in-house that are still being developed using visual studio 6 and how best to migrate them forward onto visual studio 2008. The projects range in flavours of C/C++ and VB.
Is it better to let VS2008 convert the work-spaces into solutions, fix any compile errors and be on your merry way? Or, is it better to start with a clean solution and migrate code across project by project discarding dead code along the way?
The Microsoft p&p team has recommended some strategies that answers this. Basically they recommend something like the project by project approach you mention. Of course, they're assuming a neatly architected application that has no nasty, dark corners from which late nights of coding and copious amounts of coffee spring from.
It doesn't hurt to let VS2008 convert the project for you and see how much effort is required to fix the errors.
When I had to convert a VB6 app to VS2003 several years ago, I ran the converter and it produced something that basically compiled, but wasn't very good at all. I ended up having to modify a big chunk of the code it generated.
I would start with a clean solution, then run the converter on a project and copy over only the code you need. One of the big differences I noticed between a VB6 project and the converted VB.NET project (WinForm) was with the built-in controls. The converter would try to preserve the type of controls you were using, even if they were old and outdated. So you might be better served by creating new forms with modern controls (text boxes, tab controls, etc), then copy in the code that you need.

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