Professional Visual Studio 2012

Book Preface

THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY, Visual Studio has incorporated the latest advances in Microsoft’s premier programming languages (Visual Basic and C#) and this version is no different. But alongside support for language features, is also continuing support for developers. In theory, it is possible to create any .NET application using tools as simple as Notepad and a command-line window. But the typical developer would never think to do so. The tools and utilities that come with Visual Studio do more to increase the productivity of developers than any other single piece of software currently available. Visual Studio 2012 is no different from previous versions in this respect. It includes a host of improvements and new features that are aimed at making the life of a developer easier.

Visual Studio 2012 is an enormous product no matter which way you look at it. It can be intimidating to newcomers and diffi cult for even experienced .NET developers to find what they need. And that’s where this book comes in. Professional Visual Studio 2012 looks at every major aspect of this developer tool, showing you how to harness each feature and offering advice about how best to utilize the various components effectively. It shows you the building blocks that make up Visual Studio 2012, breaking the user interface down into manageable chunks for you to understand. It then expands on each of these components with additional details about exactly how they work both in isolation and in conjunction with other parts of Visual Studio 2012, along with tools that are not included in the out-of-the-box product, to make your development efforts even more effi cient.

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR

Professional Visual Studio 2012 is for developers who are new to Visual Studio as well as those programmers who have some experience but want to learn about features they may have previously overlooked. Even if you are familiar with the way previous versions of Visual Studio worked, you may want to at least skim over Part I. These chapters deal with the basic constructs that make up the user interface. In the past, the basic interface didn’t change much from version to version. But as soon as you launch Visual Studio 2012 for the fi rst time, you’ll notice that the user interface has gone through some signifi cant changes. While you can get by without Part I, some of the changes in Visual Studio 2012 can make you a more efficient developer. And, after all, that’s what you’re looking to get out of this book. If you’re just starting out, you’ll greatly benefit from the first part, where basic concepts are explained and you’re introduced to the user interface and how to customize it to suit your own style.