Extending Visual Studio

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 Extending Visual Studio
Uitbreidingen voor Visual Studio

• Mark Miller
• Developer Express
• markm_at_devexpress.com

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About Mark Miller
Great UI
Refactoring
Chief Architect, IDE Tools Developer Express
Plug-in Architectures
Design Patterns
Developer Tools
Writing Code
1980
1990
2000
Today

• Design priorities
• Great architecture
• Great user experience
• Simplicity, especially in client code

• Products
• DXCore
• CodeRush
• Refactor!

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Ways to Extend VS

• Macros
• Automation Model
• VSIP
• DXCore

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Macros

• Advantages
• Easy access (if youre a VB programmer)
• Record/Playback
• Great for learning how to access extensibility
  model
• Disadvantages
• Long load time if VB language service isnt
  loaded yet.

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Automation Model

• Advantages
• Wizards to get you started
• Can be written in any .NET language
• More powerful than macros
• Disadvantages
• Must be compiled
• Limited power
• Some classes have poor performance
• Some methods are not thread-safe

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VSIP

• Advantages
• Powerful
• Low-level
• Disadvantages
• Steep learning curve
• C knowledge required to exploit everything
• Managed interop assemblies are tied to VS
  versions
• Cant do basic things, like get mouse paint
  events

http//msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/extend
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DXCore

• Nearly as powerful as VSIP
• Easier than a VS Add-in
• Fewer lines of code
• Smarter event arguments
• Powerful methods and properties
• Able to extend Visual Studio like no other
• Exclusive Flicker-free painting on the editor
• Exclusive Mouse events
• Exclusive Keyboard events
• Component-centric architecture
• Plug-in binaries work in VS02, VS03 and VS05

http//www.devexpress.com/DXCore
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Accessibility vs. Power
Accessibility
Power
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DXCore Architectural Overview
DXCore
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview
DXCore
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview
DXCore
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview

• Perform a function
• Can be registered with VS
• Can be bound to a shortcut

The DXCore Manages
Actions
Text Expansion
Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview

• Bound to Actions
• Keyboard or mouse
• Associated context

The DXCore Manages
Actions
Text Expansion
Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview
The DXCore Manages

• Resolves feature availability
• Resolves ambiguity
• Finegrained precise
• Extensible

Actions
Text Expansion
Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview
The DXCore Manages

• Provides detailed parse tree
• Decouples feature from language
• C, VB, and C fully supported
• Full trees for XML Doc Comments
• HTML/XML, SQL soon

Actions
Text Expansion
Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview

• Insert, delete, or change text
• Position caret
• Select text
• Sophisticated text manipulation

The DXCore Manages
Actions
Text Expansion
Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview

• VS IDE events are available here
• Adds important new events
• Sophisticated EventArg descendants

The DXCore Manages
Actions
Text Expansion
Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview
The DXCore Manages

• Decoupled options architecture
• Integrated options page
• Storage handled automatically

Actions
Text Expansion
Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio
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DXCore Architectural Overview
The DXCore Manages
Actions
Text Expansion

• Integrated User Guide
• Dynamically-generated assistance
• Hinting services

Shortcuts
Events
Options
Context
Discoverability
Source Model
Visual Studio