Visual Studio Hacks 
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Author James Avery
Publisher O'Reilly & Associates
Length 478 pages
vbRad Rating: 5 fingers up. (5 out of 5)
Reviewed by Robert Gelb

Related: Top 10 .NET Tips & Tricks

I am always looking for ways to allow me to be more effective, code faster, design more efficiently. Addins/plugins/code generators/custom toolbars, you name it - I got it. To that end, this book is simply awesome. In terms of programmer productivity and overall .NET coolness, it contains everything you need to go from zero to hero in the time it takes you to read this book.

Everytime I get into a new environment, the first thing I do is try to figure out what I can do faster and better than the average guy using the tools of the new environment. .NET was no different. So many of the hacks I knew, some I didn't know and I am grateful to the author for providing them.

Anyway, what's in the book? Essentially 100 hacks covering VS 2002,2003,2005. These hacks range from customizing visual studio's editor to auto-generating help files from your assemblies. The book reads very easy because it seems to have been written in an easy going conversational style. In a way, it is similar to a Clive Cussler novel: you just can't wait to get to the next chapter to find out what happens to Dirk Pitt. Of course, in this case, we want to find out what happens to Visual Studio.

Anyway, to be an A player, you must have this book on your bookshelf. We rarely give 5 fingers out of 5, because most books lack a needed component to be great. Some have great technical info, but is written in a very dry manner. Others are great to read, but I've read it before in the online help, only it wasn't so amusing. This book has it all: the technical know how and the nice readable style. Thus it gets the highest grade.


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