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Chapter 1: Introducing Visual Studio 2010 5
automatically generated code. VS offers many premade controls, which include skeleton
code, saving you from having to write your own code for repetitive tasks. Many of the more
complex controls contain wizards that help you customize the control’s behavior, generating
code based on wizard options you choose.
Rapid Coding Experience
The VS editor optimizes your coding experience. Much of your code is colorized; you
have Intellisense, tips that pop up as you type; and keyboard shortcuts for performing a
multitude of tasks. There are a few refactorings, features that help you quickly improve
the organization of your code while you’re coding. For example, the Rename refactoring
allows you to change an identifier name where it is defined, which also changes every
place in the program that references that identifier. VS introduces even more features,
such as a call hierarchy, which lets you see the call paths in your code; snippets, which
allow you to type an abbreviation that expands to a code template; and action lists for
automatically generating new code.
Everything at Your Fingertips
You’ll really want to learn how to navigate the VS environment because a plethora of
tools are available to aid you in your quest to rapidly create quality software. Y
ou have
the Toolbox jam-packed with controls, a Server Explorer for working with operating
system services and databases, a Solution Explorer for working with your projects, testing
utilities, and visual designers. By the way, there are compilers too.
Customizability and Extensibility
You can customize many parts of the VS environment, including colors, editor options,
and layout. The options are so extensive that you’ll need to know where to look to find
them all. If the out-of-the-box VS development environment doesn’t offer a feature you
need, you can write your own macros to automate a series of tasks you find yourself
repeating. For more sophisticated customization, VS exposes an application programming
interface (API) for creating add-ins and extensions. Several third-party companies
have chosen to integrate their own applications with VS. For example, Embarcadero’s
Delphi language and development environment is hosted in Visual Studio. The rich and
customizable development environment in VS helps you work the way you want to.
As you move through this book, keep these important concepts in mind and look for
all of the tips that will help you use VS to your advantage. Your first step in using VS will
be installation, which is discussed in the next section.