{"id":222,"date":"2011-05-31T21:36:51","date_gmt":"2011-05-31T20:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.frozax.com\/blog\/?p=222"},"modified":"2015-04-04T20:18:48","modified_gmt":"2015-04-04T20:18:48","slug":"useful-c-visual-studio-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.frozax.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/useful-c-visual-studio-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Useful C# and Visual Studio tips you might not know"},"content":{"rendered":"

While working on my next game, I tried to keep notes of interesting tips I used. They are related to C# and Visual Studio.<\/p>\n

Overriding ToString()<\/h3>\n

When debugging or prototyping, you often need to display complex objects on the screen on in the debugger output. A handy way to do this when dealing with complex classes is to override the ToString() member<\/a>. Here is an example:<\/p>\n

\n
class ComplexClass\r\n{\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0int _number = 0;\r\n   <\/span>string _string = \"My String\";\r\n\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0public ComplexClass( int n, string s )\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0{\r\n      <\/span>_number = n;\r\n      <\/span>_string = s;\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0}\r\n\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0public override string ToString()\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0{\r\n      <\/span>return String.Format( \"{0} \/ {1}\", _number, _string );\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0}\r\n}<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
ToString() is also used by the debugger in the Watch dialog.<\/p>\n
?? operator<\/h3>\n
I discovered the ?? operator<\/a> a few months ago. I don’t use it much but could be useful in some cases. It allows you to replace the following code:<\/p>\n
\n
if( a != null )\r\n   b = a;\r\nelse\r\n   b = c;<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
by<\/p>\n
\n
b = a ?? c;<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
New class template<\/h3>\n
When you create a new class (using the right-click on the project, Add, New Item…), the file created is not empty but already has a template and a few using<\/em> statements. You can edit this template easily. For instance, I added a “using fg;<\/em>” with my own game library to this template. The template is found in the Visual Studio directory: {Program Files}Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0Common7IDEVCSExpressItemTemplatesCache1033class.zip<\/strong>. There are templates for anything and you will probably want to edit a few of them.<\/p>\n
new does not always allocates<\/h3>\n
In C#, even when using the new operator, you might not allocate memory. For instance, the following line:<\/p>\n
\n
Vector2 point = new Vector2( 10, 20 );<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
does not allocate memory, because Vector2 <\/em>is not a class, but a structure. The rule is as simple as that: a class allocates memory (and returns a pointer) and a struct does not allocate memory. It’s simple, but\u00a0often misunderstood, especially if you come from C++.<\/p>\n
Add As Link source file<\/h3>\n
Recently, I re-used source files from a previous project for a new one. I used the Add Existing Item<\/em> option but Visual C# creates a copy of the source file in the current project directory instead of referencing the old file. I want to reference the old file so that it can be modified in both projects. To avoid that, you must select the hidden Add As Link<\/em> option, by clicking the small arrow next to the Add<\/em> button of the dialog box.<\/p>\n
\"add_as_link\"<\/a><\/p>\n
Overloading the [] operator<\/h3>\n
I often have objects containing a list of items. For instance, in Spring Up Harmony<\/a>, I have a Ball<\/em> Manager used to manage and draw the balls. I found it very handy to overload the [] operator<\/em> to access elements of the list inside the manager from the outside directly.<\/p>\n
\n
List<Ball> _balls = new List<Ball>();\r\npublic int Count { get { return\u00a0_balls.Count; } }\r\npublic Ball this[int i] { get { return\u00a0_balls[i]; } }<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n
That’s it!<\/h3>\n
I hope you found some of the tips useful!<\/p>\n
Feel free to share more tips in the comments!<\/p>\n
Follow me on twitter<\/a> or facebook<\/a> to get notified of new posts.<\/p>\n
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