VSALM Library Updates on MSDN for September 2010

Patrick-MSFT

September 27th, 20100 0

A couple of exciting additions to the Application Lifecycle Management documentation this month: The complete guide to the Best Practices Analyzer Tool for Team Foundation Server (BPA) is now in the MSDN Library. BPA is a Team Foundation Server Power Tool that diagnoses a large number of issues with your Team Foundation Server configuration and state. And we’ve added VB samples to over 150 Code Analysis for Managed Code Warnings reference topics.

Well, I think they are exciting 🙂

In any case, here’s the complete list of updates. And remember, most of these updates are in direct response to your requests and comments. Respond to this post if there is something that you want to see in the VSALM docs.

Patrick – MSFT

Modeling the Application

Modeling the Application

How to: Link from Model Elements to Work Items

In Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate, a link between a model element and a work item points in one direction only, from the element to the work item. To enable bidirectional links, install the Visualization and Modeling Feature Pack. This means that when you create a link from a UML model element to a work item, a link from the work item to the model element will also be created. To see this link in the work item, open the work item and refresh it manually. Bidirectional links are not supported when you create a link from a layer element to a work item. To create a bidirectional link between a layer element and a work item, create the link from the work item.

When you remove a link from a model element, the link from the work item to the element is also removed. However, when you remove a linked model element from the work item, you must manually remove the linked work item from the model element.

Visualization and Modeling Feature Pack

How to: Link Work Items to Model Elements

When you remove linked model elements from work items, you must manually remove linked work items from model elements.

Other Improvements

Streamlined tables and added new inline video links:

Streamlined external resources tables and added new video links:

Visualization and Modeling SDK – Domain-Specific Languages

Customizing Copy Behavior

Enable users to copy and paste groups of shapes, preserving their layout and appearance. You can also let them copy elements by using drag and drop.

Extend your DSL by using MEF

You can allow third parties to write extensions for your DSL. They can add commands, gestures, validation rules, and define additional properties for element types. Users can opt to install the extensions after installing your DSL.

Customizing Tools and the Toolbox

Modifying Toolbox tabs; customizing element tools; creating groups of elements from a tool; customizing connection tools and connection builders.

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Developing the Application

Code Analysis

VB Warning Samples Everywhere!

(Almost 🙂 Through collaboration with the Visual Studio Pro team, Visual Basic samples have been added to more than 150 managed code warning topics. And there are more to come.

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Building the Application

Control Where the Build System Places Your Binaries

The default build process, as defined in , drops the compiled binaries from all code projects into a single directory. However, you might want to organize the binaries into a more granular and organized directory structure.

This topic shows you not only how to create a custom build process to accomplish this specific goal, but also teaches techniques that are generally useful when you are creating many kinds of customized build processes. Some typical customization patterns on both the Windows Workflow and the MSBuild sides of the fence are explained.

Testing the Application

Testing the User Interface with Automated UI Tests

Walkthrough: Creating, Editing and Maintaining a Coded UI Test

New walkthrough which demonstrates creating a simple WPF application and creating a coded UI test for it. The Coded UI test is altered to demonstrate some common editing and maintenance issues. The alterations include refactoring of a control and using the UITestControl.ControlWaitForEnabled() method to force the test to wait on a control to be enabled before proceeding to the next step in the test.

Making Coded UI Tests Wait For Specific Events During Playback

New topic that provides information on all the various UITestControl.WaitForControlXXX() methods that you can use to avoid common coded UI test playback issues.

How to: Add UI Controls and Validation Code Using the Coded UI Test Builder

Updated the topic with screenshots to help clarify the steps used with the Coded UI Test Builder tool.

Defining Your Testing Effort Using Test Plans

Guidance for Creating Test Plans and Test Suites

This topic provides guidance about how to setup your test plans and test suites for your project based on your methodology.

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Using a Virtual Lab for Your Application Lifecycle

Integrated Lab backup and restore content into TFS backup and restore topics. We have merged topics where possible to make navigation easier.

Added more information about Lab Management service account and permissions

Added type information and object descriptions to Lab Activities topic.

Added information about moving network-isolated environments

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Administering Team Foundation

Best Practices Analyzer Tool for Team Foundation Server

The complete guide to the Best Practices Analyzer Tool (BPA) is now in the MSDN Library. BPA is a Team Foundation Server Power Tool that diagnoses a large number of issues with your Team Foundation Server configuration and state. It has a graphical user interface that you can use to perform the following actions:

  • Verify that the deployment for Team Foundation Server is configured according to recommended best practices
  • Identify the source of problems in an unhealthy deployment.
  • Take a snapshot of the configuration of a deployment.
  • Obtain usage data about the volume of data stored or accessed in the past 14 days. Includes specific information about database tables that have a tendency to grow and that may need to be reduced in size.

Installing Team Foundation

Administering Team Foundation

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!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>!–>

Patrick-MSFT

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