Programming .NET Windows Applications

Overview

If your goal is to produce significant, robust, and elegant applications with few bugs in a minimum amount of time, then a modern integrated development environment (IDE) such as Microsoft Visual Studio .NET is an invaluable tool. Visual Studio .NET offers many advantages to the .NET developer:

• A modern interface using a tabbed document metaphor for code and layout screens, and dockable toolbars and informational windows.

• Convenient access to multiple design and code windows.

• What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) visual design of Windows and Web Forms.

• Code completion that allows you to enter code with fewer errors and less typing.

• IntelliSense pop-up help on every method and function call as you type, providing and types of all parameters and the return type.

• Dynamic, context sensitive help that lets you view topics and samples relevant to the code you are writing at the moment. You can also search the complete SDK library from within the IDE.

• Syntax errors are flagged immediately, allowing you to fix problems as they are entered.

• A Start Page that provides easy access to new and existing projects.

• .NET languages that use the same code editor, shortening the learning curve. Each language can have specialized aspects, but all benefit from shared features such as incremental search, code outlining, collapsing text, line numbering, and color coded keywords.

• An HTML editor that provides Design and HTML views that update each other in real time.

• A Solution Explorer that displays all ...