VS03 or VS05 | The Coffeehouse

UlsterFry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_fry

Which IDE do you prefer?

For me it's 2003.

The new controls, project options, intellisence, formatting to name a few are better in 2005 but there are several things that really bug me:

1: Click on a control and sometimes the property window doesn't update, focus is stuck on the first selected control.

2: On more than one occation I've had the editor act really weird when editing sitemap files (copy/paste/delete does work right etc)

3: Form designer is so slooow to update.

4: Documentation takes an age to load even when local is checked first.

Which do you prefer?

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

You don't get annoyed with VS2005 always wanting to keep non-pinned windows open? That's my biggest niggle.

UlsterFry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_fry

blowdart wrote:
You don't get annoyed with VS2005 always wanting to keep non-pinned windows open? That's my biggest niggle.

tru tru.. that annoys the hell out of me.. especially when I'm using the trackpad on the laptop.

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

blowdart wrote:
You don't get annoyed with VS2005 always wanting to keep non-pinned windows open? That's my biggest niggle.

I found VS2003's UI more "solid" and better-built than VS2005. 05's UI is full of gradient effects and fiddly controls that don't scale well (like the variable info popup when debugging), I can't say I'm keen on the way VS2005 handles exceptions either.

blowdart
Peek-a-boo

W3bbo wrote:

blowdart wrote:You don't get annoyed with VS2005 always wanting to keep non-pinned windows open? That's my biggest niggle.

I found VS2003's UI more "solid" and better-built than VS2005. 05's UI is full of gradient effects and fiddly controls that don't scale well (like the variable info popup when debugging), I can't say I'm keen on the way VS2005 handles exceptions either.

Oh the first catch thing? I like that. And I'd miss the hover and watch data types expand stuff too.

(I am so bad at remembering the proper names)

Ideas Man

UlsterFry wrote:
Which IDE do you prefer?

For me it's 2003.

The new controls, project options, intellisence, formatting to name a few are better in 2005 but there are several things that really bug me:

1: Click on a control and sometimes the property window doesn't update, focus is stuck on the first selected control.

2: On more than one occation I've had the editor act really weird when editing sitemap files (copy/paste/delete does work right etc)

3: Form designer is so slooow to update.

4: Documentation takes an age to load even when local is checked first.

Which do you prefer?

Wait hold on, don't judge ALL of VS2005 by that behaviour. I found that and yes it's annoying as hell, it does load the properties, just takes absolutely AGES to do it, but it only seems to do it for ASP.NET for me. I use Visual Basic and they change instantly as expected, it's the ASP.NET team's stuff that needs some fixing, not VS as a whole IMO (Although, there are little issues that are there, but they're usually language specific anyway), and yes, I've experienced everything you say there.

StephenN

I just installed Jetbrains resharper demo to VS 2005 and I must say it makes it a lot more usable. Better intellisense. Clean-up of using statements. Refactoring. It really is what VS2005 should be out-of-the-box. I paid for VS 2005 professional out of my own pocket and to tell the truth I am not overly impressed by it.

I don't want to start a flamewar but using Java/Eclipse web tools in my day job and I have to say I think it is far advanced of VS2005 for a number of things including debugging, searching, and (with a sufficient amount of RAM) speed. Never thought I would say that a Java-based IDE is faster than a native one but somehow it is.

UlsterFry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_fry

When is the VS05 service pack due out, is it around the 3rd quarter of 2006?

I'm nit-picking but here are some other UI gripes:

I don't find these annoying but do you think because VS is used by developers that MS thinks we won't mind these visual niggles, whereas more time would be spent on getting the UI for office perfect because it's used by non-techies?

Pace
In The Mix...

I think the exception handling is great... providing you code something that will let you interperet whats happening. I just love VS, it gets better with every release IMHO

I thought that 2k3 increased my productivity but boy 2005 just rocks. Its subtle things like snap lines which makes things quick... ive spent many an hour in Access ctrl+arrowing controls and running the form to get them exactly lined up. When you have complex forms with say 50+ controls honestly this can be a nightmare.

My only niggle is that if you use a datagrid view and bind it in the designer and lay your colums out... at some point, it will randomly change the way you layed them out. It can be frustrating to re-do work you have already done though to be honest im moving away from doing my binding from the designer to just hard coding it... it just seems smoother and I have more control.

Say I was making a like for like application;

If it takes me in Access - 40 min

It would take me approx 25 min -VS2K3

It would take me approx - 10 min - VS2K5

Added with ClickOnce VS2005 is IMO the most comprehensive IDE to date...

Gotta add though, I have never used Java so I cant really comment on a speed comparison with an IDE from another platform...

UlsterFry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_fry

Yeah.. I think VS05 has improved a lot for winForms, but for webForms it's got a lot of bugs to iron out. Don't get me wrong, when I go back to 03 I miss a lot of the new features of 05.. I just wish they'd hurry up and fix these damn annoyances!

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

UlsterFry wrote:
When is the VS05 service pack due out, is it around the 3rd quarter of 2006?

I'm nit-picking but here are some other UI gripes:

...where in VS2005 is that dialog?

StephenN

UlsterFry wrote:
Yeah.. I think VS05 has improved a lot for winForms, but for webForms it's got a lot of bugs to iron out. Don't get me wrong, when I go back to 03 I miss a lot of the new features of 05.. I just wish they'd hurry up and fix these damn annoyances!

Yeah, just to qualify my gripe - I only use VS2005 for ASP.NET development so can't really comment on how the IDE performs for WinForms.

UlsterFry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_fry

W3bbo wrote:

UlsterFry wrote:When is the VS05 service pack due out, is it around the 3rd quarter of 2006?

I'm nit-picking but here are some other UI gripes:

...where in VS2005 is that dialog?

That is a dataview edit columns and a datasource config dialog.. no they don't display at the same time.. that's gonna be a feature in Orcas Tongue Out

lorad
Lorad

All those items are a PITA, but since I want generics from .NET 2.0 I am stuck with 2005 (unless you can tell me how to debug 2.0 apps in 2003 then I will be your bestest friend)

I have now become so accustomed to the issues you brought up they don't faze me any more. (Ok well the Copy/Paste not always copying is a PITA)

I do hope they address some of the issues with a patch at some point soon.

JohnAskew
9 girl in pink sweater

lorad wrote:
All those items are a PITA, but since I want generics from .NET 2.0 I am stuck with 2005 (unless you can tell me how to debug 2.0 apps in 2003 then I will be your bestest friend)

I have now become so accustomed to the issues you brought up they don't faze me any more. (Ok well the Copy/Paste not always copying is a PITA)

I do hope they address some of the issues with a patch at some point soon.

I like VS2005 more anyway, but what I really like most are generics and anonymous methods in .NET 2.0 -- totally worth it.