Visual Studio is a reliable C++ solution that offers many advantages and is widely used by developers to create various types of applications. However, there are also a number of challenges that programmers face when using Visual Studio for C++. In this blog, we will talk about the most common developer pain points, as well as how to use Visual Studio for C++ effectively and what tools we need for this.
Table of Contents
What Is Visual Studio?
Visual Studio 2022 is one of the most powerful and popular IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) among .Net and C++ developers. It can be used for the development of various types of software, including websites, web services, mobile, desktop, web apps, games, and so on.
Visual Studio provides many features that speed up and simplify the process of writing and testing code, including a code editor with IntelliSense and code refactoring, an integrated debugger that can work as a source-level and machine-level debugger, tools for creating the user interface, a code profiler, etc.
You can download the Visual Studio installer from the official website.
How To Use Visual Studio For C++?
C++ is a popular low-level, high-performance programming language that can be used to create many different types of applications. Visual Studio has all the tools you need to easily write C++ applications.
Visual Studio supports various versions of the standard for the C++ programming language and allows you to use all its modern features. With Visual Studio C++, you can perform classic Microsoft Windows desktop development or universal Windows applications for HoloLens, Surface Hub, PC, and Xbox development.
In addition, you can use Microsoft Visual C++ for Linux development, mobile, and game development.
What Are The Most Common Visual Studio C++ Pain Points?
Although Visual Studio offers many useful tools and is a great solution for C++ development, there are pain points that developers who use it occasionally run into.
Poor performance
While it is designed for C++, these projects can sometimes be extra complex and Visual Studio may struggle performance-wise. It would require more resources such as disk space and operating system memory. This is especially noticeable when working with large projects.
Long build time and slow compilation
The process of building projects takes a lot of time. The compilation is slow, which greatly complicates and slows down the process of finding and correcting bugs in the source code.
Stutters and freezes during coding
Sometimes there are cases where the machine freezes during coding, which leads to the need to reboot it. In this case, the programmers need to start over the unfinished work should they be unlucky enough to have forgotten to save.
Chaotic file organization
When working with C++ files in Visual Studio, you need to first create folders and files on the computer disk. Then you need to create a project in Visual Studio and add the already created files and folders to it. The project only lists the names and paths of files and folders that should already exist on your drive. This is different from how Visual Studio works with other programming languages and is awkward and confusing, especially on collaborative projects or complex solutions.
Understanding Complex C++ Language
C++ is a complex programming language that supports higher-order types, a standard library for CPU cache line sizing, dimensional analysis, and other functional paradigms. Even experienced C++ developers have to learn hidden features and discover new ways to optimize their development.
So, it’s time to solve the most common Visual Studio pain points.
What Are The Visual Studio Extensions Available In The Market?
Visual Studio Marketplace [1] provides a wide range of extensions to enhance the capabilities of Visual Studio. GitHub Extension for Visual Studio, CodeMaid, and Visual Assist are very popular among the developer community.
By making it simple to connect to and collaborate with your repositories on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise, GitHub Extension improves Visual Studio 2015 and Visual Studio 2017. It creates new repositories or clones existing ones to get working together.
Our C#, C++, F#, VB, PHP, PowerShell, R, JSON, XAML, XML, ASP, HTML, CSS, LESS, SCSS, JavaScript, and TypeScript coding may be cleaned up and made simpler with the help of the open source CodeMaid Visual Studio extension.
More extensions are available in the marketplace to enhance the capabilities of Visual Studio and improve productivity. However, Visual Assist provides solutions for most Visual Studio C++ pain points mentioned earlier. The following section will discuss it in detail.
The Pain Killer You Need – Visual Assist
Visual Assist is a productivity extension for Visual Studio that has many features for refactoring, quick navigation, code generation, and much more. It provides tools for the automatic detection and correction of errors in the code, automatic understanding, and completion of the code, syntax highlighting, and improved debugging functions. Using Visual Assist greatly simplifies the process of coding in Visual Studio C++ and increases development productivity.
Advantages of Using Whole Tomato – Visual Assist
Let’s list the main benefits of using Whole Tomato Visual Assist.
Increase Your Productivity
Visual Assist offers advanced navigation features that let you quickly go to any file, method, reference, or code symbol in your projects or solutions. You can also automate code refactoring activities. Advanced features of automatic code generation make the process of writing code as fast as possible, which significantly increases development productivity.
Fast & Responsive Tooling
All Visual Assist commands and tools are responsive and work quickly, which allows you to use them even when working with large and complex projects.
Helps Optimize Workflows
With Visual Assist tools that make code generation and debugging easier, you can optimize and streamline your project workflows.
Adds Support (Fills Gaps)
If you have any problems with Visual Assist, you can use our knowledge base or search for a solution to your problem in the forum. In addition, there is technical support where you can get answers to all questions about working with the Visual Assist extension.
Everything Becomes Customizable
You can fully customize Visual Assist to your liking. This includes customizing colors and shortcuts.
Final Verdict
Visual Assist is the best extension for Visual Studio C++ development, which has numerous advantages and makes the coding process quick and easy. Give Whole Tomato a spin. Sign up for free.
FAQ
Which Visual Studio is Best for C++?
Visual Studio is a widely used IDE that is excellent for development in C++ and supports various standards of this programming language. Another popular Microsoft product used for C++ coding is Visual Studio Code. It is an open-source, cross-platform code editor that offers “Microsoft C/C++” extensions for C++ programming.
How do I Find Build Errors in Visual Studio?
To find build errors in Visual Studio you should choose View -> Error list or use the shortcut Ctrl+\, E. In addition to errors, you can also view a list of warnings and other messages.
How do I Resolve to Build Errors in Visual Studio?
Select the error message in Visual Studio and press F1. Visual Studio will open the documentation page for this error, where you can find workarounds.
[1] https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/