Product Reviews
Total .NET SourceBook: One Place for Everything
Nifty new Code Webservice keeps growing with more useful code (as long as you're connected).
I'll probably review this one "for real" in a few months, but since there's
a public preview version out, it's worth talking about a bit now. TN Sourcebook
is a source code library product for Visual Studio .NET. It runs in two modes:
there's a standalone Code Explorer as well as a VS .NET add-in. Both give you
access to a library of hundreds of code samples in both VB .NET and C# (the
main limitation of the product preview is that most of the code isn't included).
You can drag code from the SourceBook to your applications, or vice versa,
so you can expand the library by adding snippets that you find useful. You can
add notes to any bit of code you like (though, oddly, the notes do not seem
to be searchable). Everything is organized in a tree by subject, and stored
in local Jet databases (you can add additional databases to keep things even
more organized if you like).
One of the most interesting features here is the Code Webservice. FMS promises
to add new code on a continuing basis, and when you launch the product while
connected to the Internet, it will automatically be available to add to your
copy. This could end up being one of the most useful parts of the product, depending
on how much attention they pay to it after release. FMS's support track record
is good, so I have high hopes.
Previous SourceBook products from FMS have been very useful, and this looks
like another fine addition to the line.
About the Author
Mike Gunderloy, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, is a former MCP columnist and the author of numerous development books.