C# Programming and Microsoft Visual Studio Tips and Tricks

Abstracts:


Introduction
C# is a great language. It is relatively easy to learn with its simpler syntax over C++ programming and Java. Ten years down the line it still is a strong competitor. It has had improvement year after year, with new features added with its every release. It has not disappointed the C# developer community.

1. Environment.Newline

Did you know that this property is platform independent and allows you to output the new line characters as per the platform?

Console.WriteLine("My Tips On ,{0}C#", Environment.NewLine);

2. Namespace Alias

Did you know that you can substitute your big namespaces with shorter aliases? Or have you faced a situation where you had to qualify the object with its complete namespace to avoid ambiguity.

Look at the sample below where there is a generic library created with extended .NET Framework controls.

using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using MyGenericLibrary.UserControls;

/* Assuming that you had a Text Box control in both the namespace, you would have to fully qualify the class object with the complete namespace. To avoid that, you can use namespace alias. Change as below */



using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using mc = MyGenericLibrary.UserControls;

/*and then use, /*
mc.TextBox textbox = new mc.TextBox();

3. DebuggerBrowsable Attribute

Every C# developer does debugging at some point or the other. This attribute is very powerful in controlling the behavior of an object during the debugging process. The debugging process involves the display of the object being debugging in a small tooltip window.

It can be used to hide the private members, or other members that are considered to be useless in the debugging window, e.g. when you debug any class object you would see the private variables in the debugger window. You can hide it using the [DebuggerBrowsable(DebuggerBrowsableState.Never)] attribute.

VIDIBLE


public class MyClass
{
private string _id;

public string InternalID
{
get { return _id; }
set { _id = value; }
}
}

HIDDEN

[DebuggerBrowsable(DebuggerBrowsableState.Never)]
public class MyClass
{
private string _id;

public string InternalID
{
get { return _id; }
set { _id = value; }
}
}


4. DebuggerDisplay Attribute

This attribute makes the display of the variable object with a readable description. It helps users who work on your projects in the future.

It's simple to use. The following code shows the value of the variable.


public class MyClass
{
[DebuggerDisplay("Value = {myVariable}")]
public string myVariable = "mydisplay";
}


5. Code Definition Window

This window lets you navigate to the Definition of an object. You can press the F12 key to quickly navigate to the definition of an object. Try it on any object in your editor right now and you shall not be disappointed.

There is also the "CODE DEFINITION WINDOW". The key combination CTRL + W,D will bring up the code definition window for you.


if (e.Item.ItemType == ListItemType.Item )
{
//Your code here.
}


6. Dreadful Dataset Merge Errors
Have you been unable to figure out why the dataset merges failed? There is a way out.

Yes, you have to wrap your code in try-catch. But watch out for the specific code in the exception handling block that captures the exact reason for the merge to fail.


StringBuilder error Messages = new StringBuilder();
try
{
DataSet dataSet1 = populateDataSet(1);
DataSet dataSet2 = populateDataSet(2);
dataset1.Merge(dataset2);
}
catch (System.Data.DataException de)
{
foreach (DataTable myTable in dataSet1.Tables)
{
foreach (DataRow myRow in myTable.GetErrors())
{
foreach (DataColumn myColumn in myRow.GetColumnsInError())
{
//loop through each column in the row that has caused the
error
//during the bind and show it.

error Messages .Append(string.Format(
"Merge failed due to : {0}", myColumn.GetColumnError(myColumn)));
}
}
}
}





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