New Features of Visual Studio 2008 for .NET Professionals

1. LINQ Support

LINQ essentially is the composition of many standard query operators that allow you to work with data in a more intuitive way regardless.

The benefits of using LINQ are significant � Compile time checking C# language queries, and the ability to debug step by step through queries.

2. Expression Blend Support

Expression blend is XAML generator tool for silverlight applications. You can install Expression blend as an embedded plug-in to Visual Studio 2008. By this you can get extensive web designer and JavaScript tool.

3. Windows Presentation Foundation

WPF provides you an extensive graphic functionality you never seen these before. Visual Studio 2008 contains plenty of WPF Windows Presentation Foundation Library templates. By this a visual developer who is new to .NET, C# and VB.NET can easily develop the 2D and 3D graphic applications.

Visual Studio 2008 provides free game development library kits for games developers. currently this game development kits are available for C++ and also 2D/3D Dark Matter one image and sounds sets.

4. VS 2008 Multi-Targeting Support

Earlier you were not able to working with .NET 1.1 applications directly in visual studio 2005. Now in Visual studio 2008 you are able to create, run, debug the .NET 2.0, .NET 3.0 and .NET 3.5 applications. You can also deploy .NET 2.0 applications in the machines which contains only .NET 2.0 not .NET 3.x.

5. AJAX support for ASP.NET

Previously developer has to install AJAX control library separately that does not come from VS, but now if you install Visual Studio 2008, you can built-in AJAX control library. This Ajax Library contains plenty of rich AJAX controls like Menu, TreeView, webparts and also these components support JSON and VS 2008 contains in built ASP.NET AJAX Control Extenders.

6. JavaScript Debugging Support

Since starting of web development all the developers got frustration with solving javascript errors. Debugging the error in javascript is very difficult. Now Visual Studio 2008 makes it is simpler with javascript debugging. You can set break points and run the javaScript step by step and you can watch the local variables when you were debugging the javascript and solution explorer provides javascript document navigation support.

7. Nested Master Page Support

Already Visual Studio 2005 supports nested master pages concept with .NET 2.0, but the problem with this Visual Studio 2005 that pages based on nested masters can't be edited using WYSIWYG web designer. But now in VS 2008 you can even edit the nested master pages.

8. LINQ Intellisense and Javascript Intellisense support for silverlight applications

Most happy part for .NET developers is Visual Studio 2008 contains intellisense support for javascript. Javascript Intellisense makes developers life easy when writing client side validation, AJAX applications and also when writing Silverlight applications

Intellisense Support: When we are writing the LINQ Query VS provides LINQ query syntax as tool tips.

9. Organize Imports or Usings: We have Organize Imports feature already in Eclipse. SInce many days I have been waiting for this feature even in VS. Now VS contains Organize Imports feature which removes unnecessary namespaces which you have imported. You can select all the namespaces and right click on it, then you can get context menu with Organize imports options like "Remove Unused Usings", "Sort Usings", "Remove and Sort". Refactoring support for new .NET 3.x features like Anonymous types, Extension Methods, Lambda Expressions.

10. Intellisense Filtering: Earlier in VS 2005 when we were typing with intellisense box all the items were being displayed. For example If we type the letter 'K' then intellisense takes you to the items starts with 'K' but also all other items will be presented in intellisense box. Now in VS 2008 if you press 'K' only the items starts with 'K' will be filtered and displayed.

11. Intellisense Box display position

Earlier in some cases when you were typing the an object name and pressing . (period) then intellisense was being displayed in the position of the object which you have typed. Here the code which we type will go back to the dropdown, in this case sometimes programmer may disturb to what he was typing. Now in VS 2008 If you hold the Ctrl key while the intellisense is dropping down then intellisense box will become semi-transparent mode.

12. Visual Studio 2008 Split View

VS 205 has a feature show both design and source code in single window. but both the windows tiles horizontally. In VS 2008 we can configure this split view feature to vertically, this allows developers to use maximum screen on laptops and wide-screen monitors.

Here one of the good feature is if you select any HTML or ASP markup text in source window automatically corresponding item will be selected in design window.

13. HTML JavaScript warnings, not as errors: VS 2005 mixes HTML errors and C# and VB.NET errors and shows in one window. Now VS 2008 separates this and shows javascript and HTML errors as warnings. But this is configurable feature.

14. Debugging .NET Framework Library Source Code:

Now in VS 2008 you can debug the source code of .NET Framework Library methods. Lets say If you want to debug the DataBind() method of DataGrid control you can place a debugging point over there and continue with debug the source code of DataBind() method.

15. In built Silverlight Library

Earlier we used to install silverlight SDK separately, Now in VS 2008 it is inbuilt, with this you can create, debug and deploy the silverlight applications.

16. Visual Studio LINQ Designer

Already you know in VS 2005 we have inbuilt SQL Server IDE feature. by this you no need to use any other tools like SQL Server Query Analyzer and SQL Server Enterprise Manger. You have directly database explorer by this you can create connections to your database and you can view the tables and stored procedures in VS IDE itself. But now in VS 2008 it has View Designer window capability with LINQ-to-SQL.

17. Inbuilt C++ SDK

Earlier It was so difficult to download and configure the C++ SDK Libraries and tools for developing windows based applications. Now it is inbuilt with VS 2008 and configurable

18. Multilingual User Interface Architecture - MUI

MUI is an architecture contains packages from Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office libraries. This supports the user to change the text language display as he wish.

Visual Studio is now in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Japanese, and Korean. Over the next couple of months. Microsoft is reengineering the MUI which supports nine local languages then you can even view Visual studio in other 9 local languages.

19. Microsoft Popfly Support

Microsoft Popfly explorer is an add-on to VS 2008, by this directly you can deploy or hosting the Silverlight applications and Marshup objects

What do you know about BCL?

The BCL (Base Class Library) is a combination of classes or we can say that it�s a library of functionalities and types available to all languages that used in .NET Framework. To make the programmer job more easier dot net gave a advantage to includes the BCL in order to collect a large number of common functions, just like to read a file and write to file, graphic rendering, database interaction, and XML document manipulation at one place . The scope of this is large and standard libraries for most other languages, including C++, and would be comparable in scope to the standard libraries is just like Java. The BCL is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Framework Class Library (FCL), which is a superset including the Microsoft namespaces.

In Assembly which work as GacBrowser ?

The GACPicker class allows the user to select an assembly from the Global Assembly Cache. It does this by looking at the filesystem representation of the GAC, since there appears to be no actual API in the current .NET environment.

What is purpose of Assembly Linker or define SDK Tool in .NET Framework?

In .NET whole the working should be with the helps of DLLs.So all of Visual Studio .Net compilers gernate assemblies or u can say dll.If we want to create an assembly with manifest of a module.We can also put this assembly in seprate file.This AL tol gernate a file with an assembly manifest from modules or resources fles.The syntax of using Al.exe is���al [sources] [options]
This tool helps in creating multi-file assembly outside Visual Studio .Net .This multi file can contain modules that are written in diffrenet langauage in one application.

Describe the term Channel in .Net Remoting

In .Net Remoting, an application use Channel to send message to another application which is runing in different domain or process. Before sending message, Channel converts message into appropriate format like XML or binary format. The channel that carries message(Mashalled parameter) can use protocal like TCP and HTTP. Channel can be HTTPChannel and TCPChannel. The HTTPChannel use soapFormatter to serialize messages into the XML format using SOAP protocal. Using SOAP method allows the client to call method on the remote object that might not be using .Net framework. The TCPChannel use binaryFormatter to serialize message into binary stream.

Describe the type of remotable objects in .Net Remoting.

Marshal-by-value-objects - When client calls a method on marshal-by-value-object, the remoting system creates a copy of this object and passes the copy to the client application domain. The copy hence received can handle any method call in client domain. Using Marshal-by-value-object reduces resource consuming trip across network.
Marshal-by-reference-object - When client calls a method on Marshal by reference object, the remoting system create proxy object in the caller application that contains the reference of all method and properties of the object.

What are the remotable and non-remotable objects in .Net Remoting.

The remotable objects are the objects which can be distributed accross domains, can be used with domain. The non-remotable objects are the objects which can't be distributed accross domains. In distributed system, if an object is very big, we can make it non-remotable object.

What security measures exist for .NET Remoting in System.Runtime.Remoting?

None. Security should be taken care of at the application level. Cryptography and other security techniques can be applied at application or server level.

What are the consideration in deciding to use .NET Remoting or ASP.NET Web Services?

Remoting is a more efficient communication exchange when you can control both ends of the application involved in the communication process. Web Services provide an open-protocol-based exchange of informaion. Web Services are best when you need to communicate with an external organization or another (non-.NET) technology.

Can you give an example of when it would be appropriate to use a web service as opposed to a non-serviced .NET component?

When to use Web Service:

1. Communicating through a Firewall When building a distributed application with 100s/1000s of users spread over multiple locations, there is always the problem of communicating between client and server because of firewalls and proxy servers. Exposing your middle tier components as Web Services and invoking the directly from a Windows UI is a very valid option.

2. Application Integration When integrating applications written in various languages and running on disparate systems. Or even applications running on the same platform that have been written by separate vendors.

3. Business-to-Business Integration This is an enabler for B2B intergtation which allows one to expose vital business processes to authorized supplier and customers. An example would be exposing electronic ordering and invoicing, allowing customers to send you purchase orders and suppliers to send you invoices electronically.

4. Software Reuse This takes place at multiple levels. Code Reuse at the Source code level or binary componet-based resuse. The limiting factor here is that you can reuse the code but not the data behind it. Webservice overcome this limitation. A scenario could be when you are building an app that aggregates the functionality of serveral other Applicatons. Each of these functions could be performed by individual apps, but there is value in perhaps combining the the multiple apps to present a unifiend view in a Portal or Intranet.

When not to use Web Services:

1. Single machine Applicatons When the apps are running on the same machine and need to communicate with each other use a native API. You also have the options of using component technologies such as COM or .NET Componets as there is very little overhead.

2. Homogeneous Applications on a LAN If you have Win32 or Winforms apps that want to communicate to their server counterpart. It is much more efficient to use DCOM in the case of Win32 apps and .NET Remoting in the case of .NET Apps.