Visual Studio 2005
I’ve been developing in Visual Studio 2003 for almost two years now and I haven’t yet found anything quite like this IDE. It’s extremely
fast and very useful, and unlike some Microsoft software, I’ve never
seen VS 2003 crash. Many say that Linux offers more in it’s IDEs like
kDevelop or Anjuta but I disagree. While kDevelop and Anjuta are more
than good I feel a lot more comfortable developing in Visual Studio.
fast and very useful, and unlike some Microsoft software, I’ve never
seen VS 2003 crash. Many say that Linux offers more in it’s IDEs like
kDevelop or Anjuta but I disagree. While kDevelop and Anjuta are more
than good I feel a lot more comfortable developing in Visual Studio.
My run with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2
I’ve been developing in Visual Studio 2003 for almost two years now and I haven’t yet found anything quite like this IDE. It’s extremely
fast and very useful, and unlike some Microsoft software, I’ve never
seen VS 2003 crash. Many say that Linux offers more in it’s IDEs like
kDevelop or Anjuta but I disagree. While kDevelop and Anjuta are more
than good I feel a lot more comfortable developing in Visual Studio.
fast and very useful, and unlike some Microsoft software, I’ve never
seen VS 2003 crash. Many say that Linux offers more in it’s IDEs like
kDevelop or Anjuta but I disagree. While kDevelop and Anjuta are more
than good I feel a lot more comfortable developing in Visual Studio.
Installation
Like
any Microsoft software the installation is easy, just slip the DVD in
the drive and follow the instructions. The only thing I noticed was
that it takes quite some time to install this IDE, not like installing
the full KDE on Gentoo but still quite some time. After the .NET
framework 2.0 is installed you need to do a reboot.
any Microsoft software the installation is easy, just slip the DVD in
the drive and follow the instructions. The only thing I noticed was
that it takes quite some time to install this IDE, not like installing
the full KDE on Gentoo but still quite some time. After the .NET
framework 2.0 is installed you need to do a reboot.
First run
After
the installation completes you are presented with the same quiestions
as in VS2003 installation, update, install MSDN and exit. For my sample
there were no updates and I didn’t feel like installing the MSDN
library to the desktop.
the installation completes you are presented with the same quiestions
as in VS2003 installation, update, install MSDN and exit. For my sample
there were no updates and I didn’t feel like installing the MSDN
library to the desktop.
When starting the first time
VS2005 asks you for information on what you are mostly developing, in
my case I answered web applications, but there are a whole lot of
different option to set up the IDE the way it should be.
VS2005 asks you for information on what you are mostly developing, in
my case I answered web applications, but there are a whole lot of
different option to set up the IDE the way it should be.
My choice made the IDE look almost exactly like I was used to in VS2003. After this you can start using the IDE.
The looks & feels
I
feel like they have once again made a nice IDE, it looks even better
than the old one and the improvements are more than good. For example
when creating a new web project, you don’t have to run IIS on the
development station anymore, VS2005 comes with a built in http server
to show you the content on the pages you are developing. This is a
really good thing because is far more flexible to work with and if you
want you can always use IIS instead. I didn’t. What I liked most was
the new IntelliSense, it starts showing as soon as you start typing.
While some can find this very annoying I find it helpful and it speeds
up my work. See the example in the picture below.
feel like they have once again made a nice IDE, it looks even better
than the old one and the improvements are more than good. For example
when creating a new web project, you don’t have to run IIS on the
development station anymore, VS2005 comes with a built in http server
to show you the content on the pages you are developing. This is a
really good thing because is far more flexible to work with and if you
want you can always use IIS instead. I didn’t. What I liked most was
the new IntelliSense, it starts showing as soon as you start typing.
While some can find this very annoying I find it helpful and it speeds
up my work. See the example in the picture below.
Not only is IntelliSense a lot better but you can also drop in controls from the toolbox straight to the code. This was not possible in VS2003.
I’ve
always wanted this feature and once again I see myself working faster
and more efficient than ever before. And if you look closely at the
picture above you can see that it’s even possible to choose to
highlight parts of the code. For example choosing the form tag
highlights everything inside the tag. Another thing worth to mention is
that the “html” editor now supports + and – code blocks, this is very
useful when you are working on large sites.
always wanted this feature and once again I see myself working faster
and more efficient than ever before. And if you look closely at the
picture above you can see that it’s even possible to choose to
highlight parts of the code. For example choosing the form tag
highlights everything inside the tag. Another thing worth to mention is
that the “html” editor now supports + and – code blocks, this is very
useful when you are working on large sites.
VS2005 comes
with a lot of code examples and it’s really nice, for web developers
there are Personal website starter kit and a few others. See picture
below.
with a lot of code examples and it’s really nice, for web developers
there are Personal website starter kit and a few others. See picture
below.
It
also has a community menu integrated into the IDE. It enables searching
for help on MSDN posting questions and a few other features. Se picture
below.
also has a community menu integrated into the IDE. It enables searching
for help on MSDN posting questions and a few other features. Se picture
below.
When
you create a new webform it now defaults as Flowlayout and not
Gridlayout which is a good thing for us developing for more than
Internet explorer. Also the default language is now XHTML.
you create a new webform it now defaults as Flowlayout and not
Gridlayout which is a good thing for us developing for more than
Internet explorer. Also the default language is now XHTML.
Some new controls
I
almost jumped up and down in my chair when I first saw the new login
menu. This must be the best added feature I’ve seen so far. Can it get
faster than dropping the login box into the design? I hardly think so.
The best part is that it also has a control for registration, password
recovery, login status and change password. It looks more and more like
I would have to invest to an update from 2003 to 2005.
almost jumped up and down in my chair when I first saw the new login
menu. This must be the best added feature I’ve seen so far. Can it get
faster than dropping the login box into the design? I hardly think so.
The best part is that it also has a control for registration, password
recovery, login status and change password. It looks more and more like
I would have to invest to an update from 2003 to 2005.
Conclusion
There
are still a lot of cool features for me to test and form an opinion
about but for now my four hour quick look session is over. With this I
leave you and urge you to try this new IDE out. You can download the
trial version from Microsoft and see for your self just how many
improvements they have made on a already very good product. I’ll add up
articles on this software when I have more time to test it’s features.
are still a lot of cool features for me to test and form an opinion
about but for now my four hour quick look session is over. With this I
leave you and urge you to try this new IDE out. You can download the
trial version from Microsoft and see for your self just how many
improvements they have made on a already very good product. I’ll add up
articles on this software when I have more time to test it’s features.
Mats Hellman
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