Suggested enhancements for template editing in Visual Studio
Posted: Mon 07 Jul 2014 16:10
System:
Visual Studio 2013.2
Entity Developer 5.7.387
Intel 4960X processor, 4.4GHz, 32GB RAM, Windows 7 Ultimate
After multiple days of editing Entity Developer templates in Visual Studio, I have several suggestions for improvement.
1. Speed up template parsing / validation
I have a very fast system, but often when I am editing a template and have entered partial code that wouldn't 'compile' by itself, the parser goes away and may not respond to further typing for 5+ seconds. This parser should be a background thread. I do editing in an external editor sometimes because of this delay.
2. Automatically detect when template has been changed outside of Visual Studio
Because of #1, I sometimes edit the templates in another editor. The Entity Developer add-in in Visual Studio does not detect this. In fact, when the model file is opened, it apparently caches a copy of the template. As long as the model is open, I can close and reopen the template multiple times, but no changes to the template that I have made outside of VS will show up. I have to close the model first.
3. Add a way to invoke the template stand-alone
As far as I can tell, in order to be able to run the template and generate code, the model has to be opened. Is it possible to have a context option on the template files in the solution explorer to generate code when desired?
4. Add documentation of the Entity Developer template classes
Adding to the help file the classes used in templates would help a lot in editing, since Intellisense help is often unavailable.
5. Add debug support
It's possible to debug a standard T4 template. Can this be added for Entity Developer templates as well?
Visual Studio 2013.2
Entity Developer 5.7.387
Intel 4960X processor, 4.4GHz, 32GB RAM, Windows 7 Ultimate
After multiple days of editing Entity Developer templates in Visual Studio, I have several suggestions for improvement.
1. Speed up template parsing / validation
I have a very fast system, but often when I am editing a template and have entered partial code that wouldn't 'compile' by itself, the parser goes away and may not respond to further typing for 5+ seconds. This parser should be a background thread. I do editing in an external editor sometimes because of this delay.
2. Automatically detect when template has been changed outside of Visual Studio
Because of #1, I sometimes edit the templates in another editor. The Entity Developer add-in in Visual Studio does not detect this. In fact, when the model file is opened, it apparently caches a copy of the template. As long as the model is open, I can close and reopen the template multiple times, but no changes to the template that I have made outside of VS will show up. I have to close the model first.
3. Add a way to invoke the template stand-alone
As far as I can tell, in order to be able to run the template and generate code, the model has to be opened. Is it possible to have a context option on the template files in the solution explorer to generate code when desired?
4. Add documentation of the Entity Developer template classes
Adding to the help file the classes used in templates would help a lot in editing, since Intellisense help is often unavailable.
5. Add debug support
It's possible to debug a standard T4 template. Can this be added for Entity Developer templates as well?