Lecture 2
Creating an Application
with Visual Studio
Solutions, Projects, Files
Objectives
(Much of this Lecture Set should be read with Visual Studio open in
another window)
Slide 2
Introduction to Console and Windows
Applications
Understand basic terminology Solutions
Projects, Applications, etc.
See how to create new Solutions, new
Applications/Projects
General navigation around a Windows
Application and the Solution Explorer and
other windows in the Visual Studio IDE
BIG WARNING
Name everything you create with a
meaningful name
Slide 3
more on this to come
do not let the system name things for you
we will discuss naming conventions later
from the creation of you application to the
smallest of buttons use meaningful
names!!
Console Applications
Visual Studio supports the creation of a
number of different types of Applications
Each different type of Application has a
different structure and automatically
provides support for different applications
code
Types of Applications we will work with in
this course
Slide 4
Console Applications
Windows Applications
Types of Applications
Slide 5
The Console Class
Console is System class (it is in the System
Namespace) it is part of the mscorlib library
which as we have seen is one of the library
DLLs that is automatically loaded with the
execution of ALL VS applications.
Slide 6
(review)
mscorlib is discussed in the Chapter 1 Lecture
Set B (around slide 25). We will discuss
References a little later in this slide set.
This Console class supports a number of
methods, including methods performing
actions related to keyboard input (Read and
ReadLine) and screen output (Write and
WriteLine)
Comments re Console Applications
(optional)
Recall that Visual Studio 2005 provides us with a
convenient interface for applications
development.
We now examine the VS 2005 interface for a
Console Application
The Console Application provides a Module for
you to write code (a Windows App provides by
default a Form for the insertion of tools) You
have a minimal set of referenced namespaces
(classes from the FCL)
Slide 7
There are no classes to support Forms or Drawing,
etc
VS Interface - Console Application
(optional)
Slide 8
Windows Applications
We now move on to examine (more thoroughly)
Windows Applications
We begin with a look at the Visual Studio 2005
interface for a sample Windows Application
Note the default list of References and the Form
(as distinguished from what we saw in the
Console interface)
Slide 9
To get full views of information )all files, etc. click on
Show All Files (top of Solution Explorer window)
More solution information shows up after you do a
Build
VS 2005 Interface for Windows
Application
Slide 10
Solution with Two Projects
Slide 11
Solutions and Applications
Look again at the VS 2005 Interface for a
Windows Application (one slide back)
What do we see?
Slide 12
Applications?
Solutions
Projects
Other stuff
Look at the files associated with solution
What are these things?
Solution
Each Application that you create is
organized by Visual Studio into a Solution
The Solution file is the heart of an
Applications structure
A Solution in turn consists of numerous files
and folders, including one or more Projects
Multiple folders look at slide 10
The is also a Solution File (.sln)
Slide 13
(not to be monkeyed with)
A Visual Studio Solution
Slide 14
Solution Explorer
Slide 15
A Solution As Seen in Your Files
System
Slide 16
Project Characteristics
Again, refer back to Slide 11
A project contains one or more namespaces
Every project has a type (Console, Windows, etc.)
Each project gets compiled into an Assembly
Every project has an entry point
Slide 17
Every project has one root namespace
But projects can have many other Namespaces
A Sub procedure named Main or a form
Forms apply only to Windows Application projects
A Project
Slide 18
(continued)
Project References
Slide 19
A project has references to .NET
Framework class library namespaces
(next 2 slides)
.NET automatically adds references to
commonly used namespaces based on
the type of project template
Use the References tab of the project
property page to add additional
namespace references
Project Property Page References
Tab
Slide 20
Some FCL Namespaces That Can Be
Referenced
Slide 21
Creating a New Solution
(you did this
already)
Click on VS 2005 Icon on your desktop.
Click on Create New Project to display
the New Project dialog box
Slide 22
Specify the project template and the project
file name
OR pull down the File menu and follow
the same directions
Different templates appear based on the
installed Visual Studio edition
New Project Dialog Box
Slide 23
Creating a New Project
A new project does not exist in a vacuum it
must be part of an application
In VS, you begin with the application you wish
to create, and VS organizes everything you do
into a Solution (with one or more Projects)
The Application, and everything related to it is
encapsulated in a Visual Studio solution
Slide 24
There may be multiple projects inside a solution
The solution takes on the name of the first Project
created
View of a new project (in a
solution)
Slide 25
Solution with Three (related) Projects
Solutions and Projects
HangmanGame is the name of the solution it is at
the heart of your application and controls
everything
A new solution is created from a project template
This solution contains three Projects (Note pick
your solution, projects, and components names
carefully.)
Each allows you to rename DO IT in a meaningful
way before you do your first save.
The solution file has a suffix .sln.
Do not change this extension
Template Application Solution
projects)
Slide 26
(with one or more
Saving a Visual Studio Project
Click File, Save All to save the solution
the first time
Specify the solution name and the folder
where the solution will be created
Slide 27
By default, a new folder is created for a new
solution
Again pick all names carefully
Save Project Dialog Box
Slide 28
Organization of a Visual Studio
Solution
The Solution Explorer is used to manage the
elements of a solution
Slide 29
The folder named My Project contains
configuration information common to all projects
The file [Link] contains assembly
metadata
The References folder contains references to
other assemblies
The bin folder contains the executable file
produced as a result of compiling the application
A project contains one or more parts
Solution Explorer with All Folders
Expanded
Slide 30
Solution Files Appearing in Windows
Explorer
Slide 31
Using the Solution Explorer
The Solution Explorer is a tool window as
opposed to a document window
Use the drill-down interface to expand and
collapse folders
Icons appear to identify different file types
File names appear to the right of the file
type icon
Use the Solution Explorer to rename files
rather than Windows Explorer
(Again look at an example with Visual Studio open and focused
on items such as the options menu, the toolbox, and the
solution explorer.)
Slide 32
The Solution Explorer Toolbar
The Properties button displays the Properties
window
The View Code button displays the Code Editor for
a module
The View Designer button displays a visual
designer
Slide 33
The visual designer varies based on the files contents
Not all files have an associated visual designer
The Refresh button synchronizes files
The Show All Files button displays all folders and
files
The View in Diagram button displays a class in a
hierarchical view
Windows of the Visual Studio IDE
Windows are of two types
Tool windows are common to all applications
Slide 34
Tool windows are used for development in all
Visual Studio languages
Document windows are used to create the
visual interface and code for an application
Tool Windows
The Solution Explorer groups the elements
of a solution
The Properties window is used to set
properties for objects
The Toolbox contains controls that are
created on a form
Several tool windows exist for debugging
Slide 35
Refer to Appendix A
The Error List window displays syntax errors
The Output window displays information as
a project is compiled
Displaying Tool Windows
Tool windows can be anchored along an
edge of the IDE
The process is called docking
Docked windows can be Auto Hidden
Slide 36
Auto Hidden windows appear when the mouse
is positioned over the hidden window tab
Floating windows appear anywhere on the
desktop
Some tool windows can be configured to
appear as document windows
The Appearance of Tool Windows in the
Visual Studio IDE
Slide 37
