Chapter 2

Part C – More on the Help System and The Object

Browser(scan quickly for future reference)

Slide 2

Objectives

Learn more about the parts of the Help system and how to access them

Use the Visual Studio Object Browser Learn about Types of Visual Studio

Applications(This is a continuation of Lecture Set 2B)

Slide 3

Class Help Pages (Inheritance Hierarchy Section)

All types inherit from the superclass named System.Object

The inheritance hierarchy section shows the inheritance hierarchy for a particular type

For example, System.Console inherits directly from System.Object

Slide 4

Console Class Help Page – Inheritance Section

Slide 5

Class Help Pages (Other Sections)

The Thread Safety section describes how a type works with multiple processes

The Platforms section describes which versions of Windows support the class or other type

The Version Information section describes which versions of Visual Studio and the .NET Framework support the class or other type

Slide 6

Navigating Through the Help System

The Help system can be navigated in the following ways: Using a table of contents Using an index Searching by keyword Task-based Help using the How Do I tab Dynamic Help Favorites

Slide 7

Introduction to Help Filters

The Help system is quite complex and voluminous In all, the Help system is over 3 gigabytes

in size Help filters restrict the Help displayed

to a functional group of topics The available Help filters differ based on

the Visual Studio or Visual Basic edition installed

Slide 8

Common Help Filters

The .NET Framework filter displays topics related to the .NET Framework class library

The Visual Basic filter restricts topics to both Visual Basic and the .NET Framework

Other filters apply to other .NET languages The Web Development (.NET) filter includes

documentation for Web development The Windows Forms development filter

includes documentation for desktop applications

The Visual Basic filter includes these topics too

Slide 9

Using the Table of Contents

The Help table of contents works similar the table of contents in a book

Drill-down folders can be expanded or collapsed

Help topics are organized along functional boundaries

Use the Table of Contents for tutorial-based learning

Slide 10

Selected Contents Topics

The Development Tools and Languages folder describes how to use Visual Studio and Visual Basic

The .NET Development folder and .NET Framework SDK folders contain the reference to the .NET Framework itself

Slide 11

Contents Window

Slide 12

Using the Help Index

The Help index works like an alphabetical book index

Select a filter as desired Type the name of the desired Help topic

Matching entries appear in the list box in the lower part of the window

Double-click a topic to select it The search for topics is made in a case-insensitive

way Many topics appear organized by namespace,

class, and member name

Slide 13

Help Index Window

Slide 14

The Help Search Window

Selected words in the Help pages are marked as keywords

The same keyword can appear in several Help pages

Custom filters can be applied to the search The Help Search window contains two sections

The top section contains search parameters The bottom section displays matching topics

Click a topic to display the matching Help page

Slide 15

Help Search Window

Slide 16

Using “How Do I” Help

How Do I Help is task-based rather than feature-based

Help topics are organized hierarchically Each topic contains a hands-on tutorial Most examples are introductory

Slide 17

“How Do I” Help Window

Slide 18

Introduction to the Object Browser

The Object Browser is used to examine the types that make up the .NET Framework class library and the types in developer-created applications

The Object Browser has a drill-down interface Namespaces and types appear in the left

pane Members appear in the top right pane Syntax appears in the lower right pane

Slide 19

Object Browser – My Solution Component Selected

Slide 20

Types of Visual Studio Applications

Templates are used to create different types of applications The supported templates vary based on the

installed Visual Studio edition Common templates

Console Application project Windows Application project (what we will

use) Class Library project ASP.NET Web Application project (see CIS

4342, 4344) Web Service project (CIS 3309 (intro), 4342)

Slide 21

Applications Templates