Coffee Geekz and Technology

Cycle through Clipboard when using Visual Studio Editor

rishish — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:44:52 GMT

Have you wondered what does below option at ‘Tools->Options->Text Editor->All Language’ means ?

This is an example of how thoughtful folks at Visual Studio are. Many a times when I copy a text and try to paste it on a blank line, rather than selecting Ctrl +P , I by mistake select Ctrl+C. This wipes out my copied line and I again need to go back for copy . That’s annoyance.

Now go the the above location and uncheck the checkbox as below.

This disables my ability to accidently copy a blank line. So when try Ctrl+C it does not copy the line to clipboard if the cursor is at a blank line.This makes Ctrl+V always paste the selection I copied earlier. That’s cool.

Copy[Ctrl C] and paste [Ctrl V] comes to Visual Studio developers as naturally as breathing to humankind.

Rather than using Copy[Ctrl C] and paste [Ctrl V] in pairs, developers can store multiple cut/copy segments in the memory and use Ctrl+Shift+V to cycle through them.

To try this, simply select texts in editor and continue to copy your selections using Ctrl C. You can copy up to 20 selections at a time.

Now point your cursor where you want to insert these selections and select Ctrl+Shift+V. Keep hitting ‘V’ key to cycle through the list of all the selections you have.Hit enter and your selected selection will be pasted where cursor is located.

Having learned this you can argue that you can use Ctrl+Shift+V to cycle through and paste your selection rather then enabling the option provided by Visual Studio.That’s true, but why press another key when Visual Studio has already done the job for you. Well , I will not !!!

Visual Studio Extensibility

rishish — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:45:28 GMT

Technorati Tags: visual studio,VSX,extensibility

There are various ways of extending VS.

Scripting [Dev 10]
Macros
Add - ins
Visualizers
VSPackages
Code snippets
Project templates
MSBuild
Visual Studio Shell
Domain - specific languages tools

Macros, Add-ins, Visualizers and Code snippets support extensibility in limited way. They are more suitable to be used by the developers directly rather than providing IDE environment. Scripting which is introduced in dev10 also falls under this category.

Both visual studio shell and VS Packages are coupled with power of MS Build and Project Templates is great way to build extensible IDE.

Visual Studio Shell:

The Visual Studio Shell is for developers who wish to build their own development tools inside the Visual Studio IDE. Its target users are not the typical developers who would use the other editions of Visual Studio. The Shell’s target users are ISVs and other developers who wish to build their own tools IDEs, and in turn ship to their users and customers.

Visual Studio Shell has two modes: VS Shell (isolated mode) and VS Shell (integrated mode). Both these shells are separate binary downloads. In order to develop using VS Shell one would need following software.

Download Name	Description
Visual Studio 2008 SDK	Use this SDK to develop and test all your Visual Studio extensions. You can use the SDK to create Visual Studio packages that target Visual Studio, Visual Studio Shell (integrated mode) as well as Visual Studio Shell (isolated mode). You also use the SDK to create your own instance of the Visual Studio Shell (isolated mode). Visual Studio 2008 Standard and above is a pre-requisite for the SDK.
Visual Studio 2008 Shell (isolated mode) Redistributable Package	Include this package in your Setup program if you are building your own tools environment on the isolated Shell. This package is about 300 MB in size; it includes the .NET Framework 3.5 and the components of the Visual Studio Shell. In order to redistribute your isolated Shell, you will need to obtain a Shell Load Key from Microsoft.
Visual Studio 2008 Shell (integrated mode) Redistributable Package	Include this package in your Setup program if you are building your own tools environment on the integrated Shell. This package is about 300 MB in size; it includes the .NET Framework 3.5 and the components of the Visual Studio Shell.

Visual Studio Shell in the integrated mode is used to building on top of the same Visual Studio instance as the other Visual Studio editions (Standard, Pro, Team Architect, etc.). This means that developed tools will merge into the same environment as the other editions of Visual Studio if they are also installed on the user’s machine. Most project systems such as Silverlight, ASP.NET, c#, VB, Visual c++ falls under integrated mode. As below picture indicates Integrated mode provides access to all the features of shell+project systems which are part of particular editions.

Visual Studio Shell in the isolated mode, is used to build a brand new IDE which has a new application identity. The tools environment will be isolated with other Visual Studio AppIds as well as other environments that are built on the Visual Studio Shell .The new IDE will have its own stub .exe, custom branding, and registry isolation. Express SKUs as mentioned in below picture falls under isolated mode.

Each mode offers its own benefits. Typically, if one is leveraging existing language tools, one will benefit from the integrated mode because user has other editions of Visual Studio (Standard and above) installed, they will benefit from mixed language development as well as the extra features offered by Visual Studio such as unit testing, code profiling, and static analysis. On the other hand, if there is a need for custom branding in tools IDE and have it run in complete isolation with Visual Studio, the isolated mode would be the right fit.

One can use regpkg.exe tools to edit, .pkgdef file to add and .pkgundef file to remove packages from VS Shell instances. In order to deploy VS Shell-based IDE on to the end user’s machine, one will need to obtain both a shell load key (SLK) and package load keys (PLKs).

VSPackages are used to extend VS Shell. Irrespective of which mode developers choose, VSPackage provide standard way to extend IDE and will be the subject of next blog.

Lighter shade of Expression Blend

rishish — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:27:39 GMT

Technorati Tags: tips,tricks,blend

Do you know that there is a lighter shade of expression available in case you do not like dark black as below

Go to ‘tools-> Options’ and Select ‘Expression Light’ from workspace.

This will turn expression blend light grey.

For the light hearted people… Light shaded Blend.Enjoy.

cheers

Rishi

Grasshopper ‘s Hello World Application.

rishish — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:34:23 GMT

Technorati Tags: Silverlight.Smart Devices

Another first from Microsoft - WorldWide Telescope

rishish — Wed, 14 May 2008 06:57:00 GMT

WorldWide Telescope(WWT) is a single rich application portal that blends terabytes of images, information, and stories from multiple sources over the Internet into a seamless, immersive, rich media experience. Kids of all ages will feel empowered to explore and understand the universe with its simple and powerful user interface.

Try this beautiful expereince with your loved ones at : http://worldwidetelescope.org

Steps to download :

Review the System Requirements given below to ensure that WWT can run on your computer.
Click Download at http://worldwidetelescope.org/experienceIt/ExperienceIt.aspx.
If you don't have Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0, or later, installed on your computer, a message box
displays prompting you to install it. Click Yes to go to the .NET Framework 2.0 SDKs, Redistributables
& Service Packs page.
- On the .NET Framework 2.0 SDKs, Redistributables & Service Packs page, scroll down the page to the .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package section, and then click the link for your computer's architecture and operating system.
  Note Most computers currently use a 32-bit architecture and operating system and should click the
  Download x86 version.
- On the Microsoft .Net Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package page, read the system requirements to ensure that your computer has all the necessary software installed, and then click Download.
- In the File Download – Security Warning message box, click Run.
- In the Internet Explorer – Security Warning message box, click Run.
- Follow the software installation instructions.
- After the software has been installed, click the Windows Update link to make sure that you have all the latest service packs and security updates. Click Express to review all recommended software and follow the software installation instructions.
In the File Download – Security Warning message box, click Run.
In the Internet Explorer – Security Warning message box, click Run.
Follow the instructions in the WorldWide Telescope Setup Wizard.
After WWT installs, double-click the WWT icon on your desktop to open WWT.

WorldWide Telescope minimum system requirements

For PC:
Microsoft® XP SP2 (minimum), Windows® Vista® (recommended) PC with Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2 gigahertz (GHz) or faster, recommended 1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM; 2 GB RAM recommended 3D accelerated card with 128 megabytes (MB) RAM; discrete graphics card with dedicated 256-MB VRAM recommended for higher performance 1 GB of available hard disk space; 10 GB recommended for off-line features and higher performance browsing XGA (1024 x 768) or higher resolution monitor Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing and scrolling device Microsoft® DirectX® version 9.0c and .NET Framework 2.0 Required for some features; Internet connection at 56 Kbps or higher through either an Internet service provider (ISP) or a network. Internet access might require a separate fee to an ISP; local or long-distance telephone charges might also apply

Estimated download time 1 hour (56Kb), 10 minutes (DSL 512Kb)

The mission of the WWT is twofold:

To aggregate scientific data from major telescopes, observatories and institutions and make temporal and multi-spectral studies available through a single cohesive Internet–based portal.
To re-awaken the interest for science in the younger generations through astronomy and new technologies through the virtual observatory of the WWT. This also provides a wonderful base for teaching astronomy, scientific discovery, and computational science.

My two cents : Have special evening booked and a candle light dinner arranged next to your PC and switch on to WWT and enjoy the evening of your lifetime.

Post your expereinces. We are listening.

cheers

Rishi

The Man Who Saw The Future

rishish — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:15:00 GMT

Cloud computing ..... mobile connectivity all the time, with all the services, everywhere.

Silverlight, .NET framework and ASP.NET along with WPF, IIS and SQL Server coupled with power of sharepoint and LIVE series will become building blocks for the future generation of web products.

What application you think you need to build to drive Internet of next generation? Your response will help us provide solutions which will help bring out your and your company's potential. That's our passion.

Stay tuned World, we have just started.

cheers

Rishi