Being Lazy Is An Art Form Visual Studio Plug-ins with DXCore Zi Makki –

Agenda Other ways to extend Visual Studio DXCore Demos writing DXCore plug-ins

Other ways of extending VS Macros Add-ins and Wizards Visual Studio 2005 SDK (formerly known as the Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program) DXCore

Macros Easy access (if you’re a VB programmer) Record/Playback Long load time if VB language service isn’t loaded yet. I’m not a VB Programmer.

Add-ins and Wizards More powerful than macros Wizards to get you started COM objects that implement the IDTExtensibility2 interface and communicate with the IDE through the core automation object model. IDTExtensibility2 You can implement Add-ins in any COM-consuming language such as Visual C++, Visual Basic, Visual C#, and so forth. Disadvantages Limited power Limited power Some classes have poor performance Some classes have poor performance Some methods are not thread-safe Some methods are not thread-safe

Visual Studio 2005 SDK (VSIP) Advantages Powerful Powerful Low-level Low-levelDisadvantages Steep learning curve Steep learning curve C++ knowledge required to exploit everything C++ knowledge required to exploit everything Managed interop assemblies are tied to VS versions Managed interop assemblies are tied to VS versions Can’t do basic things, like get mouse & paint events Can’t do basic things, like get mouse & paint events

DXCore Nearly as powerful as VSIP Easier than a VS Add-in Fewer lines of code Fewer lines of code Smarter event arguments Smarter event arguments Powerful methods and properties Powerful methods and properties Able to extend Visual Studio like no other: Flicker-free painting on the editor Flicker-free painting on the editor Mouse events Mouse events Keyboard events Keyboard events Plug-in binaries work in VS’02, VS’03 and VS’05

DXCore architecture The DXCore Manages: Options Actions Text Expansion ShortcutsEvents Context Discoverability Source Model Visual Studio DXCore

Ease vs Power Power Easy

What you need What you need to be able to carry out these demos is … DXCore (FREEEEEE!!!) DXCore (FREEEEEE!!!)

Demo agenda Demo 1: Simple Action Demo 2: Simple Action with Parameters Demo 3: Tool bar Demo 4: Unused variables.

Demo 1: Simple Action

Demo 2: Simple Action with Parameters

Demo 3: Tool bar

Demo 4: Unused variables

DXCore summary Super easy to use Very powerful Works in VS’02 – VS’05 FREE DOWNLOAD!!!

DXCore availability Free Download is here: The DXCore is also shipped with: CodeRush for Visual Studio CodeRush for Visual Studio Refactor! Refactor!

Resources VSIP & Extensibility Model: DXCore Download: DXCore Support Newsgroup: devexpress.public.dotnet.coderush at news.devexpress.com devexpress.public.dotnet.coderush at news.devexpress.com

DXCore training videos MSDN: DX TV: