Advantages Of Visual Studio 2008

Advantages Of Visual Studio 2008

1. LINQ with ASP.NET
Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) is a set of features in Visual Studio 2008 that extends powerful query capabilities to the language syntax of C# and Visual Basic. LINQ introduces standard, easily-learned patterns for querying and updating data, and the technology can be extended to support potentially any kind of data store. Visual Studio 2008 includes LINQ provider assemblies that enable the use of LINQ with .NET Framework collections, SQL Server databases, ADO.NET Datasets, and XML documents.
In Visual Studio you can write LINQ queries in Visual Basic or C# with SQL Server databases, XML documents, ADO.NET Datasets, and any collection of objects that supports IEnumerable or the generic IEnumerable interface. LINQ support for the ADO.NET Entity Framework is also planned, and LINQ providers are being written by third parties for many Web services and other database implementations.
asp:LinqDataSource
ContextTypeName="AdventureWorksDataContext"
TableName="Contacts"
Where="EmailPromotion=1"
ID="LinqDataSource1"
runat="server">


Getting Started with Standard Query Operators
To see language integrated query at work, we’ll begin with a simple C# 3.0 program that uses the standard query operators to process the contents of an array:
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class app {
static void Main() {
string[] names = { "Burke", "Connor", "Frank",
"Everett", "Albert", "George",
"Harris", "David" };

IEnumerable query = from s in names
where s.Length == 5
orderby s
select s.ToUpper();

foreach (string item in query)
Console.WriteLine(item);
}
}

If you were to compile and run this program, you’d see this as output:
BURKE
DAVID
FRANK

2. Debug Expression Blend application in Visual Studio 2008

Microsoft Expression Blend 2 is a design tool for creating rich Windows Presentation Foundation applications for Microsoft Windows, and Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 applications for the web. Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, which is also used to build Microsoft Windows applications, can open, build, and debug Expression Blend 2 projects. If you are having trouble debugging your application using the Test (F5) feature of Expression Blend, you can use Visual Studio 2008 to obtain detailed error messages about runtime errors. Sometimes, you can fix runtime errors by trying out different changes in your XAML or code until you understand what is going on behind the scenes. However, it is faster to actually watch what is going on behind the scenes by stepping through your code line by line as the application is running.


3. WPF Windows Presentation Foundation
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) provides developers with a unified programming model for building rich Windows smart client user experiences that incorporate UI, media, and documents.
The core of WPF is a resolution-independent and vector-based rendering engine that is built to take advantage of modern graphics hardware. WPF extends the core with a comprehensive set of application-development features that include Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), controls, data binding, layout, 2-D and 3-D graphics, animation, styles, templates, documents, media, text, and typography. WPF is included in the Microsoft .NET Framework, so you can build applications that incorporate other elements of the .NET Framework class library.
4. Visual Studio 2008 Multi Targeting Support
Earlier you were not able to working with .NET 1.1 applications directly in visual studio 2005. Now in Visual studio 2008 you are able to create, run, debug the .NET 2.0, .NET 3.0 and .NET 3.5 applications. You can also deploy .NET 2.0 applications in the machines which contains only .NET 2.0 not .NET 3.x.

5.Ajax support for ASP.NET
Previously developer has to install AJAX control library separately that does not come from VS, but now if you install Visual Studio 2008, you can built-in AJAX control library. This Ajax Library contains plenty of rich AJAX controls like Menu, TreeView, webparts and also these components support JSON and VS 2008 contains in built ASP.NET AJAX Control Extenders.


6. JavaScript Debugging Support
Since starting of web development all the developers got frustration with solving javascript errors. Debugging the error in javascript is very difficult. Now Visual Studio 2008 makes it is simpler with javascript debugging. You can set break points and run the javaScript step by step and you can watch the local variables when you were debugging the javascript and solution explorer provides javascript document navigation support.

7. Nested Master Page Support
Already Visual Studio 2005 supports nested master pages concept with .NET 2.0, but the problem with this Visual Studio 2005 that pages based on nested masters can't be edited using WYSIWYG web designer. But now in VS 2008 you can even edit the nested master pages.
8. LINQ Intellisense and Javascript Intellisense support for silverlight applications
Most happy part for .NET developers is Visual Studio 2008 contains intellisense support for javascript. Javascript Intellisense makes developers life easy when writing client side validation, AJAX applications and also when writing Silverlight applications
Intellisense Support: When we are writing the LINQ Query VS provides LINQ query syntax as tool tips.
9. Organize Imports or Usings:
We have Organize Imports feature already in Eclipse. SInce many days I have been waiting for this feature even in VS. Now VS contains Organize Imports feature which removes unnecessary namespaces which you have imported. You can select all the namespaces and right click on it, then you can get context menu with Organize imports options like "Remove Unused Usings", "Sort Usings", "Remove and Sort". Refactoring support for new .NET 3.x features like Anonymous types, Extension Methods, Lambda Expressions.
10. Intellisense Filtering:
Earlier in VS 2005 when we were typing with intellisense box all the items were being displayed. For example If we type the letter 'K' then intellisense takes you to the items starts with 'K' but also all other items will be presented in intellisense box. Now in VS 2008 if you press 'K' only the items starts with 'K' will be filtered and displayed.
11. Intellisense Box display position
Earlier in some cases when you were typing the an object name and pressing . (period) then intellisense was being displayed in the position of the object which you have typed. Here the code which we type will go back to the dropdown, in this case sometimes programmer may disturb to what he was typing. Now in VS 2008 If you hold the Ctrl key while the intellisense is dropping down then intellisense box will become semi-transparent mode.
12. Visual Studio 2008 Split View
VS 205 has a feature show both design and source code in single window. but both the windows tiles horizontally. In VS 2008 we can configure this split view feature to vertically, this allows developers to use maximum screen on laptops and wide-screen monitors.
Here one of the good feature is if you select any HTML or ASP markup text in source window automatically corresponding item will be selected in design window.
13. HTML JavaScript warnings, not as errors:
VS 2005 mixes HTML errors and C# and VB.NET errors and shows in one window. Now VS 2008 separates this and shows javascript and HTML errors as warnings. But this is configurable feature.
14. Debugging .NET Framework Library Source Code:
Now in VS 2008 you can debug the source code of .NET Framework Library methods. Lets say If you want to debug the DataBind() method of DataGrid control you can place a debugging point over there and continue with debug the source code of DataBind() method.
15. In built Silverlight Library
Earlier we used to install silverlight SDK separately, Now in VS 2008 it is inbuilt, with this you can create, debug and deploy the silverlight applications.
16. Visual Studio LINQ Designer
Already you know in VS 2005 we have inbuilt SQL Server IDE feature. by this you no need to use any other tools like SQL Server Query Analyzer and SQL Server Enterprise Manger. You have directly database explorer by this you can create connections to your database and you can view the tables and stored procedures in VS IDE itself. But now in VS 2008 it has View Designer window capability with LINQ-to-SQL.