Professional Visual Studio 2008 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)

Let me start with a disclaimer: I know Nick Randolph & Dave Gardner personally through my involvement with the Perth .NET user group. They are both very talented & skilled developers & active in their support of the developer community. I tried not to let this fact bias this short review too much!

I reviewed the Visual Studio 2005 predecessor of this book some time ago, & I think the new 2008 is an improvement. It's a big book & not just by its size. It covers a huge amount of material & could probably have been subtitled `everything you wanted to know about Visual Studio 2008 but were afraid to ask'! The Visual Studio 2008 Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a complex beast, & worth getting to know well, if like me, you spend most of your working life in it! You could, of course, still do most of your development in Notepad, but you could also wear a hair shirt...

The primary focus of this book is on the IDE itself, rather than the specific languages that can be used within .NET or indeed the .NET Framework itself. I'm not going to give a chapter by chapter account of what is contained in this book, mainly because it would take a loooooong time, but also because I fear my head might explode! Seriously though, I have read around 75% of it. The writing style is clear & I doubt whether you could make any book about Visual Studio more engaging than they have achieved.

The authors' goals, as stated, were not just updating the Visual Studio 2005 version of this book or simply to explain how to use Visual Studio, but also to create a set of productivity best practices & recommendations on how to use Visual Studio features in an effective way. I think they have achieved that goal.

One of the first Amazon reviews was not favourable, but that reviewer was looking 4 a book that would teach C# & an introduction to the .NET framework. As Dave mentioned in his response to that reviewer, although both authors do have a bias towards Visual Basic, approximately 40% of the code samples are written in C#. There is also a chapter that provides coverage of F# (http://mitch-wheat.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-net-f-ctp-release.html)

It is probably not the sort of book you would read cover to cover, but rather delve into specific chapters to gain insight into particular features. It's great 4 quickly finding out what features are available. The first day it was on my desk at work, I used it to quickly find a debugging gem that might have otherwise remained undiscovered.
Kudos goes to Nick & Dave 4 producing a great resource 4 developers.

There is a companion website & blog here: http://www.professionalvisualstudio.com/

If you're a Visual Basic programmer, which I am not, then you might get a lot out of this book. I was hoping that the authors would provide examples in both Visual Basic & C#, but unfortunately that was not the case. There are a few examples that use C# but not nearly enough to even come close to enabling me to understand the Visual Studio framework & .NET development environment.

Perhaps this is an excellent book, but 4 me it was a major disappointment.

Professional Visual Studio 2008

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 is the latest version in the ongoing evolution of the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), & this resource examines the diverse facets of the IDE—from common tasks to intricate functions to the powerful tools that accompany the main code editing & design windows. Written by a unique author duo & offering an in-depth look at the powerful & fascinating features & techniques of the IDE, this book explores each aspect of the development life cycle from the perspective of how Visual Studio 2008 can make your life easier.

Each chapter is packed with examples that illustrate uses 4 various tools, commands, & shortcuts of Visual Studio 2008. You will gradually learn to identify where a feature is used, conclude how you can use it to its fullest potential, & then seamlessly apply that feature to help solve real-world problems.

What you will learn from this book

• How to create project templates & wizards

• Methods 4 using IntelliSense, code refactoring, class modeling, & unit testing

• Tips 4 using DataSets, LINQ, & Synchronization Services 4 working with data

• How to build web applications using ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, & ASP.NET MVC

• Ideas 4 building Office & Mobile applications, WPF, WCF, & WF projects

• Ways to effectively analyze & identify bugs using the advanced debugging features

• How to automate repetitive tasks using the Visual Studio 2008 add-ins & macros

• Suggestions 4 using Visual Studio Team System components coupled with Team Foundation Server

• Techniques 4 building more secure applications

Who this book is for
This book is 4 programmers who want to become proficient with the latest version of Visual Studio & are interested in the advanced capabilities of the IDE.

Wrox Professional guides are planned & written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, & IT professionals. Focused & relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, & expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.