1. Using Visual Studio with C#
Creating, editing, debugging, and running C# programs

2. Creating C# Solutions in Visual Studio
C# solutions, projects, and code

3. Using Visual Studio with C#
Visual Studio with C# uses the same IDE (Interactive Development Environment) as
Visual C++
Visual Basic
Visual F# and IronPython
Other .NET languages
VS has many features in common with the Eclipse IDE for Java
September 17, 2018
Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

4. Visual Studio IDE The IDE for Visual Studio provides a
Powerful code editor with Intellisense
Project manager (called the solution explorer)
Interactive debugger
UML class diagramming tool
Code execution profiler
Many other features, some of which we shall see

5. Visual Studio 2017
Need ID to sign in – to have same settings on other computers
A number beside the flag indicates updates available
Create new project or open existing project
Scroll down to see a list of short videos that demo VS 2017 features
Recently opened projects

6. Visual Studio Solution
Visual studio organizes C# programs into
Solutions (.sln)
Each solution contains one or more projects (.csproj)
Each project has one or more C# source code files (.cs) and possibly other types of files as well
The solution explorer tab in Visual Studio shows the solution structure:
Project
Source code files
September 17, 2018
Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

7. Creating a Console Application in VS2017
On the File menu, choose New/Project
…Project
File/New …
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

8. Can target a specific .NET version
Console Application
Project Name
Location of Solution Folder
Solution name same as project by default
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

9. Creating a Console App, cont.
Code editor window
File name SHOULD also be changed here; Do NOT turn in a program named Program (or Project 3, etc.)
Namespace and class names default as shown – but the names SHOULD be changed
September 17, 2018
Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

10. Running a Console Application
Use these menu choices to run.
The F-key combinations and toolbar buttons can also be used.
September 17, 2018
Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

11. Add a New Class to the Project
Use this to add a new class or some other project item
Add new class
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

12. Adding a New Class Name the class file – e.g. Student.cs
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

13. Tailoring Visual Studio
Setting IDE options to your preferences

14. Setting Options Use Tools/Options to get to Options Dialog
May also set options for error messages, output, debugger, etc.
Select Font
Select Syntax Coloring Choices
Preview your selection
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

15. More Options
Set Default Location for new Projects – analogous to a Java workspace
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

16. More Options Show line numbers in code editor September 17, 2018
Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

17. More Options
Set size of tabs for indenting things in the code editor – 4 is common
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

18. Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs
More Options
Set your preferences for automatic indenting – example shows the effect for the selected item
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

19. Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs
More Options
Preferences for vertical spacing – makes program more readable. Example shows results.
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

20. Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs
More Options
Set preferences for horizontal spacing to improve readability. See results in example to left.
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

21. Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs
Save/Restore Options
This can be used to set options on one machine and use them on other machines as well.
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Introduction to the Syntax and Structure of C# Programs

22. Visual Studio Debugger
Elementary Debugging Tools in VS
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Odds and Ends

23. Debugging Three types of errors that developers see frequently
Syntax errors: compile time issues
Execution time program crashes
Program logic errors – program runs successfully but does not produce desired results
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Odds and Ends

24. The VS Debugger The debugger is a set of tools that can be used to
monitor a running program
inspect object state (values) during execution
collect execution history so that at any point we know how we got to that point
and more
The debugger may be used to help the developer gather information needed to deal with runtime errors, not syntax errors

25. VS Debugger
The debugger can be used for some quite sophisticated debugging situations such as
Distributed solutions with parts running on separate computers in diverse locations
Parallel algorithms running on multiple processors within a single computer (or a super computer)
Debug suspected bugs within VS itself
Monitor memory, registers, and so forth
The discussion here is limited to much more common debugging scenarios
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Odds and Ends

26. “Watching Code Run”
To use the debugger’s features, execution must be started with “Start Debugging”
Start Debugging
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Odds and Ends

27. Code Breakpoints
In debug mode, one may pause program execution at a specified point called a breakpoint
Once paused, one can inspect the current values of variables, properties, and so forth
One may step through subsequent instructions one at a time
One may inspect program history to determine what execution path led to this point (a method may have been called from many different places, for example, and it may be helpful to know where it was called this time)
One may even modify something and continue
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Odds and Ends

28. Click here to toggle the breakpoint on/off
Breakpoints
The easiest way to set a breakpoint on or off is to click in the margin to the left of the line number
Click here to toggle the breakpoint on/off
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Odds and Ends

29. Breakpoints One may set as many breakpoints as desired
When execution reaches a breakpoint
Execution pauses at that line (it has not been executed - yet)
Program runs full speed up to the first breakpoint
At the breakpoint, one may inspect the values of objects at that point in the program
Easiest way to do this is to hover over the object with the cursor, and a tool tip will reveal the value
For a complex object such as an array, one may have to expand the tool tip to see the details
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Odds and Ends

30. Example Yellow arrow marks place where execution is paused
Tooltip shows current value of strFrom – line 20 has not been executed yet.
Hovering over a different variable shows its value – as of line 20
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31. Debugging Toolbar Stop debugging Run to next breakpoint
Step Into – a method one is trying to execute on this line – to watch it run, a line at a time
Step over – execute the line at full speed but pause on the following line
Step Out Of – execute rest of this method and return to the calling method; most useful when in code you did not write
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Odds and Ends

32. Step Through Code and Watch it Run
Execution point moves to next line and result of the executed line can be observed
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Odds and Ends

33. Point and Click Debugging (new in VS2017)
Sometimes, when stopped at a break point or while stepping through subsequent instructions, one may prefer to “jump ahead” to a later line rather than stepping over several lines one line at a time
This can be accomplished in several ways such as:
Add another break-point at the later line
Use a new Point-and-Click feature added in VS 2017
The new Point-and-Click feature is quicker and involves only a single step as shown on the next slide

34. Point and Click Debugging (new in VS2017)
When stopped in a break state under the debugger, a light green “run execution to here” glyph subtly appears next to a line of code where your mouse is hovered
Move your mouse to the glyph and click the button. Your code will run and stop on that line the next time it is hit in your code path
Run to Click works within the same method, between different methods, and within loops

36. Where that method was called
Call Stack
The Call Stack shows the program’s execution history
For example:
This shows we got to the MilesPerGallon constructor from a call to it on Line 17 of Main
Where we are now
Where that method was called
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Odds and Ends

37. Locals Watch
The Locals Watch window shows values of all locally defined variables at the point in time where execution is temporarily frozen
Stepping through allows one to watch these values change
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Odds and Ends

38. Autos Watch
The Autos Watch Window shows information similar to the Locals Watch Window
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39. Disassembly
One can even see the pseudo assembly language code that has been generated …
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40. More On Breakpoints
Right-clicking on a breakpoint brings up a context menu that allows one to make breakpoints work in more sophisticated ways
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Odds and Ends

41. Conditional Breakpoints
Sometimes, a breakpoint may be in a loop and you may not want to pause every time through the loop, but you do want to break on specific passes
Specify a condition that determines when to break
User-specified condition
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Odds and Ends

42. Conditional Breakpoints
You may want to stop after the breakpoint is hit a certain number of times
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43. IntelliTrace
Using the techniques described so far, one may watch a program run, examining variable values as the program advances
One can only go forward in execution or quit debugging after a pause
One cannot go backward if the result of some previous step has been forgotten
IntelliTrace allows one to move backwards as well as forward
IntelliTrace “records” the state of the program as it executes
One may “back up” and review a previously recorded state
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Odds and Ends

44. Open the Intellitrace Tab
Using Intellitrace
Open the Intellitrace Tab
History to this point
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Odds and Ends