C# IDE Text-Editor Issues

[Mike_R]

Hi guys,

 

I'm thinking about switching over to C# from VB.Net. I'm a little disappointed, however, that the C# Text Editor for Visual Studio seems to be inferior to that of VB.Net.

 

In particular, Syntax and Compile-Time errors are not picked up until the code is executed. Similarly, once errors are identified and fixed, the squiggly blue lines do not disappear on the fly, but instead wait until run again.

 

Is there a plug-in/patch/upgrade to improve C#? How about a C# beta 2005 version, is this improved?

 

I appreciate any and all feedback...

 

Thanks :),

Mike

[PlausiblyDamp]

The intellisense and the background compiler are improved in the 2005 version, errors are displayed similar to in VB now.

[Mike_R]

Ok, glad to hear it... And I'm not surprised.

 

Thanks for the info, Plausibly. :)

[BlackStone]

One more thing that drives me crazy about 2002-3 C# is the outlining feature. For some reason, it goes one line past the '}'. Thankfully, they fixed that in 2005.

[Mike_R]

Do you know if there a Beta of this somewhere that we can upload/plug-in to Visual Studio? I find the 2003 version almost unusable. :(

[Richard Crist]

This forum rules

 

I'm glad I happened upon this posting. I'm somewhat new to Visual Studio .NET and I started out with Visual Basic. When I recently switched to C# I thought I was losing it until I realized that the IDE editors must be behaving differently. :rolleyes:

 

I have a question: Can I "plug in" the 2005 IDE editor into my 2003 VS? Or do I have to upgrade completely to get the editor fix?

 

Thanks! :)

[Mike_R]

Yeah, I've tracked down the C# 2005 Beta "light" version since my last post, above. The C# 2005 Beta is very nice. The VB.Net version is also really nicely improved.

 

But it is a "light" version. Most notably you cannot compile to a Release Build -- which is very reasonable given that it is free! But there are some, I don't know, maybe 10% or so of the "usual" features missing. Not obvious at first, but enough to drive you a bit crazy...

 

Anyway, I guess a die-hard could use the beta version and use the CSC.exe console-based compiler, but there are fewer debugging tools and the like as well. The new features such as a very nice Help File system and the C# Text Editor behaving very smoothly is all very nice, but overall, I find the 2003 "full version" better. Without a doubt though, these new features are very nice and when 2005 is a "full version" it will be very nice. (I can't wait. :))

 

So, overall, since this is a Beta, and is a "light" version, I am going to guess that the answer to your question is "No". It seems to install as a completely new side-by-side version as Visual Studio 8.0 (versus 7.0 for 2003) and using the .NET Framework 2.0 instead of 1.0 (for 2002) or 1.1 (for 2003).

 

I think we have to wait. :( But I wonder about #Develop I've not given this a try, but I have heard some good things here and there. Given how clunky the Visual Studio 2003 C# Text Editor is, it might be worth a shot...

[BlackStone]

You can order the full version from Microsoft(Enterprise Edition). I have it, they only charge you $10 for S & H, but the whole thing is amazing. It has everything the light version has, plus.

[Richard Crist]

Gonna try SharpDevelop

 

I think we have to wait. :( But I wonder about #Develop I've not given this a try' date=' but I have heard some good things here and there. Given how clunky the Visual Studio 2003 C# Text Editor is, it might be worth a shot...[/quote']

 

I have downloaded the executable and source code for the SharpDevelop editor from the link you supplied. I will try it out as soon as I have time and post my experience with it. The web site has a cool Features Tour. Thanks for the link! :)

[Mike_R]

You can order the full version from Microsoft(Enterprise Edition). I have it' date=' they only charge you $10 for S & H, but the whole thing [i']is amazing[/i]. It has everything the light version has, plus.

You know, I didn't know how to get it... I know they hand these things out at MSFT Events, but I didn't know you could order it. But I found the link: Ordering the Visual Studio 2005 Beta. It looks free, but then they tack on $8.50 for S&H, as you said. But from your enthusiasm, it sounds like it's worth it!

 

 

I have downloaded the executable and source code for the SharpDevelop editor from the link you supplied. I will try it out as soon as I have time and post my experience with it. The web site has a cool Features Tour. Thanks for the link! :)

Let us know how SharpDevelop works out... I'll let you know how the Full Beta goes. Based on my experience with the Beta Light ("Express") version, I think the Full Beta should be phenomenal.

[IngisKahn]

But it is a "light" version. Most notably you cannot compile to a Release Build -- which is very reasonable given that it is free!

 

Release/Debug versioning is built in. i.e. You press F6 and it builds to the release folder, press F5 and it builds and runs from Debug. The configuration manager is hidden by default, but can still be accessed. Under Tools->Options select Show all settings. Select the Projects and Solutions item and select Show advanced build configurations.

[Mike_R]

Ah, thank you very much! Still waiting for the "Full Beta" version to arrive by mail... but it's turning into a long wait! This is a big help. Thank you! :)