Harold van de Kamp's Blog : Visual Studio 2008

StyleCop for ReSharper: The power of ReSharper 4.5 and StyleCop combined

Harold van de Kamp — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:48:48 GMT

Since yesterday it’s possible to use ReSharper 4.5 beta in combination with StyleCop by using StyleCop for ReSharper. This post gives you some information on all the three tools that I use to write source code in Visual Studio 2008 for business solutions faster and deliver better maintainable source code.

ReSharper 4.5

ReSharper is a productivity tool for Visual Studio. It provides solution-wide error highlighting on the fly, advanced code completion, superior unit testing tools, over 30 advanced code refactorings, multiple handy navigation and search utilities, single-click code formatting and cleanup, automatic code generation and templates, and a lot more productivity features for C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET, XML, and XAML. ReSharper fully integrates with Visual Studio to intelligently and powerfully extend the functionality that is native to Visual Studio. See also the complete ReSharper feature list.

ReShareper 4.5 is currently under development and available as a beta version. The biggest improvement is the performance improvement. The following picture illustrated the performance improvements, according to the ReSharper website:

Download ReSharper 4.5 beta from jetbrains.com.

Microsoft StyleCop

Microsoft StyleCop analyzes C# source code to enforce a set of style and consistency rules. It can be run from inside of Visual Studio or integrated into an MSBuild project
For more information about Microsoft StyleCop see the StyleCop blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/sourceanalysis.

Download StyleCop from the MSDN Code Gallery StyleCop website.

StyleCop for ReSharper

StyleCop combines the power of ReSharper and StyleCop. It is a ReSharper plug-in that allows Microsoft StyleCop to be run as you type, generating real-time syntax highlighting of violations and automatic fixing of StyleCop issues during ReSharper Code CleanUp (silent mode):

StyleCop for ReSharper also contains a collection of Quick-Fixes:

and Code Clean-Up Modules to help you easily fix StyleCop code styling violations:

Download StyleCop 1.5 for ReSharper 4.5 beta from the CodePlex website.

Getting the Visual Studio 2008 extensions for SharePoint v1.3 CTP to work on Windows Server 2008

Harold van de Kamp — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:21:00 GMT

January 2009 the Microsoft SharePoint Product Group announced the Community Technology Preview of Visual Studio 2008 extensions for SharePoint v1.3 (VSeWSS). Previous VSeWSS versions were not out-of-the box installable on x64 machines, therefore I blogged about Installing Visual Studio Extensions for Windows SharePoint Services on 64-bit machines. It’s great to see that x64 support has been added to version 1.3. The complete list of new features are:

Can be installed on x64 Server OS machines running SharePoint x64. Previously only x86 Server OS could be used.
Separate build commands for package, deploy and retract are added
Command line build, package and retract commands are included enabling continuous integration and build servers. Previously command line build of SharePoint projects was very difficult
Refactoring support for renaming of Web Parts. Previously renaming a web part required changes in several files in the project
WSP View improvements for consistency of deleting feature elements, merging features and adding event receivers to features
Solution Generator can now generate solutions from publishing sites. Previously only regular sites could be generated
Allowing partial trust BIN deployments of web parts. CAS configuration must still be provided by the developer.
New project item template for SharePoint RootFiles items
Deployment will now optionally remove conflicting existing features on the development server prior to redeployment. Previously any feature name conflicts would result in an error
Ancillary assemblies such as for business logic can now be added to the SharePoint Solution WSP
Hidden features related to Site Definition projects are now shown in WSP View. They are no longer hidden
For advanced users a fast deploy is included to update only the compiled assembly on the SharePoint development installation
The User Guide is now installed with the extensions instead of being a separate download

The final release of VSeWSS 1.3 is planned for the North American Spring of 2009. The CTP version is available on the Microsoft Connect VSeWSS website where you are welcome to post your feedback.

What I did to get the VSeWSS 1.3 CTP working on my Windows Server 2008 development machine

The new VSeWSS version makes use of a Web Service to connect to local SharePoint sites and WCF is used to connect to that Web Service. Because the current VSeWSS version is a CTP version, it’s not marked as stable and contains bugs. Error messages can contain very little information about the problem and how to fix it, so here are my tips to get you started.

Read the “Release Notes”

The Release Notes document contains a lot information how to get this VSeWSS version working and needs to be your starting point.

Getting around the error “The communication object, System.ServiceModel.Channels.ServiceChannel, cannot be used for communication because it is in the Faulted state.”

The deployment of my SharePoint solutions failed with the error “The communication object, System.ServiceModel.Channels.ServiceChannel, cannot be used for communication because it is in the Faulted state”. On my x86 environment I re-registered WCF using the command:

%Windir%\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v3.0\Windows Communication Foundation\ServiceModelReg.exe -r

x64 users can re-register WCF using the command:

%Windir%\Microsoft.Net\Framework64\v3.0\Windows Communication Foundation\ServiceModelReg.exe -r

More information on the MSDN Forums thread “VSeWSS 1.3 Deploy fails with Faulted state”.

Getting around the error “Error: Assembly {0} not found.”

After I fixed the previous error, the deployment of SharePoint solutions failed with the cryptic error “Error: Assembly {0} not found.”. The VSeWSS Web Service account needs to be in the local administrator group and have SharePoint Farm Administrator rights. My Windows Server 2008 machine is enrolled into it’s own domain, so I did the following:

Started IIS7
Created a new application pool with the administrator account as its identity
Put the VSeWSS Web Service into the new application pool
Added the administrator account to the WSS_RESTRICTED_WPG user group.

Maybe not the most security friendly way, but for me it is acceptable at the moment for my development environment. More information on the MSDN Forums thread “Problems with use of VSeWSS 1.3 in Visual Studio 2008”.

After all this work I’m able to make use of the new VSeWSS version, hope this helps you.

Snipped Designer for Visual Studio 2008

Harold van de Kamp — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:55:42 GMT

Finally there is a great snippet designer add-in for Visual Studio. The Snipped Designer for Visual Studio 2008 is available for free on CodePlex. I have used version 1.1 some time and it works great.

The Snippet Designer features:

A Snippet editor integrated inside of the IDE.
- Access it by opening any .snippet file or going to File -> New -> File -> Code Snippet File
- It uses the native Visual Studio code editor so that you can write the snippets in the same environment you write your code.
- It lets you easily mark replacements by a convenient right click menu.
- It displays properties of the snippet inside the Visual Studio properties window.

A Snippet Explorer tool window to search snippets on your computer.
- It is located under View -> Other Windows -> Snippet Explorer
- This tool window contains a code preview window which lets to peek inside the snippet to see what it is without opening the file.
- Maintains an index of snippets on your computer for quick searching.
- Provides a quick way to find a code snippet to use, edit or delete

A right Click "Export as Snippet" menu option added to C#, VB and XML code editor to send highlighted code directly to the Snippet Editor

More information can be found at http://www.codeplex.com/SnippetDesigner or download directly from the Releases page.

Ramp Up learning program

Harold van de Kamp — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:46:00 GMT

Ramp Up is a new learning program on the MSDN website.

About Ramp Up:

Introduction
Take the Next Step on Your Career Path
Ramp Up is a free, online, community-based learning program, with a number of different tracks that will help you build your portfolio of professional development skills. Ramp Up has a solid foundation of premium technical content from subject-matter gurus, and provides easy-to-access content in a variety of forms that guide you in learning the important skills. Join Ramp Up (it's free!) and help advance your career - click on a track now to start!

Benefits
Take the Next Step on Your Career Path
Ramp Up is a free, online, community-based learning program, with a number of different tracks that will help you build your portfolio of professional development skills. Ramp Up has a solid foundation of premium technical content from subject-matter gurus, and provides easy-to-access content in a variety of forms that guide you in learning the important skills. Join Ramp Up (it's free!) and help advance your career - click on a track now to start!

At the moment you can focus on the tracks: SharePoint for developers (part 1), Visual Studio 2008, Aspiring Developer, Java Developer, Visual Sudio 6.0 Developer, Visual Studio 2002/2003 Developer.

Good to see a SharePoint track already. Part 1 of the SharePoint developers track is focused on:

As a developer, would you like to learn more about Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS)? MOSS is based on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, which gives developers the opportunity to get more problems solved with less effort. Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 takes full advantage of Microsoft ASP.NET and the Microsoft .NET runtime. The new features and added programmability support in MOSS provide a wealth of development opportunities. This course will immerse you in many of the developer-centric capabilities of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.

Level 1: Web Parts
Did you know that in SharePoint you can build pages as easy as in ASP.NET – and allow end users to create dashboards? Web parts allow for creating components of Web user interface that can be reused on multiple Web pages. These are introduced in ASP.NET and built on in SharePoint where they can be added to pages by end users and managed by IT Professionals. In this topic you will learn about building simple Web parts for SharePoint and how to connect them back to SharePoint site data.

Level 2: Data Lists
Did you know that SharePoint developers can work with data from lists that users get access to too? Data lists provide data storage for end users in SharePoint. End users can create lists with schema all through the SharePoint user interface and they can create, edit, and view the data. All of this data can be programmatically accessed by developers and this topic is all about that.

Level 3: Event Handlers
Did you know that SharePoint developers can automatically process data that your users upload via a spreadsheet? Event handlers (or event receivers) are custom code that runs on the SharePoint server in response to something that happens on the server. Event handlers can be useful for running business logic in response to data being added to the site. This topic shows how to create simple event handlers and investigates ways that event handlers can be used in SharePoint.

Level 4: Workflow
Did you know that you can write WF workflows in SharePoint without having to worry about storage, persistence, or how to interact with the user? Workflow in SharePoint allows for implementation of processes that require interaction such as email approvals or form completion by people in your organization. This topic shows you how to create simple workflows in SharePoint using Visual Studio that involve approvals from people by email and for meeting room resource bookings with an administrator.

Level 5: Silverlight Web Parts
Did you know that you can build rich Internet applications with SharePoint? Silverlight is a new Web user interface technology from Microsoft that allows for each implementation of animations and videos. This topic shows how a SharePoint user interface can be enhanced by using Silverlight in Web parts as part of a SharePoint site.

Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio and SDK October 2008 CTP

Harold van de Kamp — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:31:42 GMT

Microsoft released the Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio October 2008 CTP, available at the Microsoft Download Center. The Windows Azure Software Development Kit October 2008 CTP is available also at Microsoft's Download Center.

Although they have just released the Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 CTP, notice the Windows Azure Tools CTP is for Visual Studio 2008 SP1.

Windows Azure has been announced at the Microsoft PDC08 event, it is a new type of operation system which runs in the cloud. You host your Web applications in Microsoft data centers. Visit the Windows Azure Services Platform Developer Center website and Cloud Computing blog, for more information.

Guidance Automation Toolkit and Guidance Automation Extensions February 2008 Release

Harold van de Kamp — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:48:00 GMT

Grigori Melnik announced the February 2008 release of the Guidance Automation Toolkit (GAT) and Guidance Automation Extensions (GAX). GAT and GAX can be used to extend Visual Studio and automate development tasks from within the Visual Studio IDE.

It's great to see that after a series of CTP versions, this release is marked as final. Both Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 versions are supported and can be used side-by-side. Existing guidance packages will automatically be registered with the current version of GAX.

See Grigori Melnik's post for more information about this release. To download this release, go to the MSDN Guidance Automation Extensions and Guidance Automation Toolkit Download page.

Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 Released

Harold van de Kamp — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 20:46:29 GMT

Today the Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5 have been released.

Both will be officially launched in February 2008, but are already available to developers as of today.

MSDN subscribers can get their version from the MSDN Subscribers page. Trail versions are available for download also via the Visual Studio 2008 Trail Downloads page.

For more information visit the blog posts by Scott Guthrie, Somasegar and The Moth.

Be sure to check out the Top 10 things to know about Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5.

Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 and .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2 Released, Silverlight 1.0 RC in a few days

Harold van de Kamp — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 23:12:00 GMT

Today Scott Guthrie and Somasegar anounced the release of Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 and .NET Framework 3.5 Beta 2.

Silverlight 1.0 RC will be available in a few days.

Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 is a feature complete product, so have a first look at the product if you haven´t seen it yet. Download Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2 from the Visual Studio Developer Center or grab it already from the MSDN Subscriber Downloads.