This week I will be one of the speakers at BASTA On Tour in Munich. One of the topics I am going to speak about is the Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF). In this blog post I want to share my slides and summarize the hands-on labs that I am going to go through with the participants.

• Download Slides (PDF)

Hands-On Lab 1: Directory Catalog Sample

Prerequisites:

• Visual Studio 2010
• Download and install the latest version of the Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 Training Kit

Lab step by step description:

• Open ContosoAutomotive.sln. You can find this solution in the installation folder for the training kit under Demos\ContosoAutomotive\Source\C#.
• Run the application to get familiar with it's functionality.
• Solution and projects:
  • Take a look at the soluction's project structure using the Solution Explorer.
  • Open the solution file in a text editor and take a look at it's structure.
  • Unload the project ContosoAutomotive.Common using the Solution Explorer.
  • Launch editor for ContosoAutomotive.Common.csproj using the Solution Explorer and take a look at it's structure.
  • Reload the project ContosoAutomotive.Common using the Solution Explorer.
• Navigation:
  • Use the Navigate To feature to open the definition for class CohoQuery
    • Try the different features of Navigate To (e.g. case insensitive search, pascal casing, search for file names, etc.)
  • Try outlining features using mouse and keyboard commands.
  • Use the Find in files feature to look for ICarQuery.
    • Try the different navigation features available for search results (e.g. F8, Ctrl + "-", etc.)
  • Open ICarQuery.cs, put the cursor on the interface's name, try the Find Symbol Result feature (Shift + F12)
  • Use the Find in files feature to find all files (file names) that contain the word Query.
  • Open CohoQuery.cs, put the cursor on the class's base class (CarQueryBase), try the Go To Definition feature (F12)
  • Use the Go To Definition feature for a class defined in the .NET class library (e.g. INotifyPropertyChanged).
  • Try at least one of the find scenarios from above using the Find/Command Box.
  • Use the Navigate To feature to open the definition for the method Generate
  • Try the Call Hierarchy feature for this method (Ctrl+K, R)
  • Open the Code Definition Window, put the cursor on different variables, class names, etc. and watch how the Code Definition Windows changes.
  • Add a //TODO: comment and see if the comment appears in the task list.
  • Open CashMaker.xaml and try the Document Outline feature inside the XAML file.

Hands-On Lab 2: IntelliSense

Prerequisites:

• Visual Studio 2010

Lab step by step description:

• Open the existing code snippet for the C# for statement ( C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC#\Snippets\1033\Visual C#\for.snippet)
  • You can find out the location of the snippet file using the Code Snippets Manager feature.
• Take a look at how the snippet is implemented.
• Create an empty solution IntelliSenseDemo.
• Add a new class library project Utilities.
• Rename class1.cs to MathUtilities.cs.
• Change the MathUtilities class to static.
• Add a new test projectUtilitiesTest to your solution.
• Add a reference to the Utilities class library project to the newly created test project.
• Change the name of the generated test method TestMethod1 to TestIsEven.
• Implement the method TestIsEvenas follows:
  • Tip: Use for snippet to generate the loop's code.

[TestMethod]
public void TestIsEven()
{
 for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
 {
  bool isEven = MathUtilities.IsEven(i);
  Assert.AreEqual(i % 2 == 0, isEven);
 }
}

• Resolve the missing using statement by setting the cursor on MathUtilities and pressing Ctrl + .
• Generate the code for IsEven by setting the cursor on IsEven and pressing Ctrl + .
• Navigate to the generated code by using the Go To Definition feature (F12).
• Implement the IsEven method: return i % 2 == 0;
• Remove unused usings and sort usings (Visual Studio can do that for you).
• Run unit tests and see if you get a green check in the test result window.
  • Test / Debug / All Tests in solution
• Try to add additional method / test methods and test the differences between IntelliSense completion and suggestion mode.
• Optional (if you are fast): Try to add and use you own custom snippet file. 

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