Develop Reference

Visual Studio 2013 C# Interactive Window

Is there C# interactive window for VS 2013, or any other similar way, without installing VS 2012.
I tried C# Repel, C# Snippet Compiler and Mono Command Prompt, but, all of them don't provide the features of C# interactive window packed with Roslyn for VS 2012.

UPDATE: Found a total better alternative!!! Try CShell, it is free and open source! "A simple, yet powerful, C# scripting IDE" as they promote it.
Check my tweet which was also favorited by Scott Hanselman :)
My old recommendation was: LINQPad

Best way is to install VS 2012 and use C# interactive window provided with its Roslyn. While doing that, wait Microsoft to release C# interactive to VS 2013.

This is taken from one of the links above:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/vstudio/en-US/0da45fe7-fbe2-4074-b52f-dc8d7c4b2ba3/c-interactive-in-vs-2013
It worked for me, so hopefully this will help the next person :)
Hi SpencerGR,
I just got upgraded to VS 2013 and wanted C# Interactive, and this is
the first hit when I searched for it, so I figured I would place my
answer here...
Didn't make sense to me that the extension from VS 2012 wouldn't work;
so I hunted down the Roslyn keys in my registry for VS 2012 and was
able to kinda figure out what was going on. After a bit of futzing
around, I finally got it working, so here's the instructions for
whoever might care to try [be warned, I'm sure this isn't supported by
MS, I take no responsibility if something happens to mess up your
computer, and so forth ;)].
Basically it was a matter of
copying some registry keys with slight modification copying some files
and this one is annoying but oh, well] there's a file you have to
change the datestamp on (I did it by opening the file in Notepad++ and
saving it out.) If you don't already have VS 2012 or you don't have
the Roslyn CTP installed you'll need to get the files somehow, and I'm
not sure if there are other registry settings needed or not, but I
imagine if you just manage to get the files out of the CTP distro it
would be enough... No guarantees of course.
Not-Instructions-Just-An-Explanation-Of-What-I-Did-I-Am-A-Trained-Professional-...-Or-Something
;)
copying some registry keys with slight modification; I replaced '11.0' with '12.0' in the keys and values, you might need to change
the paths too if you didn't install Visual Studio in it's default
location. (also posted to pastebin.com/XeP5ai8F )
Save this as a .reg file and open it to import the new keys easily:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0\InteractiveWindows\0] "ContentType"="Roslyn C#"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0_Config\InstalledProducts\Roslyn] ""="Microsoft Roslyn CTP" "ProductDetails"="Microsoft Roslyn CTP"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0_Config\Packages\{c5edd1ee-c43b-4360-9ce4-6b993ca12897}] "Class"="Roslyn.VisualStudio.CSharp.Repl.CSharpReplPackage" "CodeBase"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio
12.0\\Common7\\IDE\\Extensions\\Microsoft\\Roslyn C# Interactive Window\\1.2.20906.1\\Roslyn.VisualStudio.CSharp.Repl.dll"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0_Config\Packages\{f5199a4e-6a60-4f79-82e9-fc92a41c4610}] "Class"="Roslyn.VisualStudio.InteractiveWindow.InteractiveWindowPackage" "CodeBase"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio
12.0\\Common7\\IDE\\Extensions\\Microsoft\\Roslyn Components\\1.2.20906.1\\Roslyn.VisualStudio.InteractiveWindow.dll"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0_Config\ToolWindows\{2d0a56aa-9527-4b78-b6e6-ebe6e05da749}] "Name"="Roslyn.VisualStudio.InteractiveWindow.VsInteractiveWindow"
copying some files; basically just need to copy the files mentioned above to the locations mentioned above; I just copied the
'Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\Roslyn C# Interactive Window' and
'Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\Roslyn Components' folders from my
11.0 install to my 12.0 install. easy peasy.
and yeah... there's a file in the aforementioned 'Common7\IDE\Extensions' directory called
'extensions.configurationchanged'; I couldn't get things to take, then
I noticed that file. so, as mentioned, I just opened in Notepad++ and
saved back out; I think I had to make a change to the file, so I added
a space. kinda felt kludgy, but I guess it beats VS taking longer to
load due to having to scan the Extensions every time you open it up.
So, that's it! Worked for me, I hope someone else may find this
useful, as it probably took longer to post this than it did to
actually get it working in the first place. ;) It's possible I missed
a step in here somewhere, since I had made a few other attempts before
I found the 'changed' file, so I could have possibly twiddled another
bit somewhere that was necessary that I don't remember. Should be a
good start tho.
I haven't tested it out fully by any means but it shows up in the
'View > Other Windows' list, it opens up just find, and it looks like
Intellisense is working too. Good luck and great code to all! :)
--- Chelle L.

You could also use LinqPad. You can use it to test C# code. It has built in support for loading DLLs and Nuget Packages. Its what I use personally and I love it.
It has a free version, but the paid version has intellisense and debugger

C# interactive finally arrived to VS 2015... You may need to install vs2015.1 to get it..
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/archive/2015/10/08/visual-studio-2015-update-1-ctp.aspx
Good luck... and happy interactive coding!

IWIH describes how to install it and which prerequisites you need.
Let me give you some
Additional information:
After you have installed VS 2015 and its updates (update 3 KB3165756 patch has just arrived) you can bring C# interactive to your screen as follows:
Either via the menu
View -> Other Windows -> C# Interactive
Or press Ctrl + Q and type into the quick launch box:
C# interactive
which allows you to click on View -> Other Windows -> C# Interactive with the mouse.
Afterwards, you have the C# Interactive beneath the error list. Here is an example how you can use it:
Quickstart:
To get help in this window, type #help and press enter.
To execute a statement, simply press ENTER. To type in multiple lines, press SHIFT+ENTER for each line, and for the last line press ENTER to execute the entire statement.
To print the values of a variable, type its name and press enter (in the screen shot, I have done this for variable q)

Show unbuilt changes in Visual Studio 2012

I am looking for a plugin for VS 2012 that would show me which lines of code have been modified or created since the last build. Anyone know of something for this?

You could use a Visual Studio SVN plugin to view changes visually within Visual Studio.
EDIT: as mentioned in my comment below, the next closest thing to what you seek is change tracking. As you bring up in your comment it will only work for your purposes if the only time you save is when you build. I tend to save as often as possible though.
And yes, the default behavior of VS is to automatically save when you build.

VS2010 extensibility: how to do custom actions on pressing F5

I need to achieve some kind of extensibility for a custom project template.
Having a C# code file opened, if...:
...current project has some specific type id.
...code file is a class and inherits some concrete base class.
...user pressed F5.
...I'd like to...:
...start an arbitrary program (a console application).
...attach Visual Studio to the process of the arbitrary program.
...debug.
Actually I'm absolutely lost and I don't know how to do so. I know I need Visual Studio 2010 SDK, but I don't know how to create an extension doing what I need to achieve.
Thank you in advance.
UPDATE
I'm doing some research in Stackoverflow Q&A and I'll be adding questions related to my own one:
Visual Studio 2010 Extensibility - Override Build Action without effecting cproj file
"Attach to Process" as a post-build event (This seems fine, but I don't like the approach. I prefer a full Visual Studio integration. Anyway, it gives a hint).

I guess the best way to try is VS addin that will catch the Run (F5) command and handle it as you wish. See this article as a starting point for catching command from VS addin: How to: Add and Handle Commands. And these for attaching to process from VS addin Attach to process for lazies and Visual Studio Add-In To Automatically Attach to Development Server
Hope that helps to find a solution for your needs.

Do you consider the use of third-party extensions, for example, the free DXCore Visual Studio Extensibility Framework? It can do what you need.

First of all, thank you everyone for the info, it has been useful.
Basically I got the way to do what I'm looking to achieve.
Because I want to assist others in a similar situation, I'd like to share what I'm using to solve everything:
NRefactory as C# code parser. It works like a charm! You can get a lot of info from a code file.
VSPackage Visual Studio 2010 SDK project template.
In order to attach to a process I'm going to look forward for Dmitry Pavlov's suggestions.
Interesting links:
VSPackage how-to: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb164715.aspx
As soon as I got everything working, I'm going to edit this answer and give more detailed info.

My project in Visual Studio is Read Only. What did I do?

I must have done something wrong. I have a C# project in Visual Studio 2008. All of a sudden I see a lock on my classes and when I hover the class names on the top tab I see the class name as : C:\Myprojects\Oder.cs[Read Only] !
Has something weird like that happened to you before?

In my case it was a ReSharper 9.0/9.1 related issue. After clearing the ReSharper cache, I was able to edit files in my solution again.
Clearing the ReSharper cache can be done here: ReSharper -> Options -> Environment -> General and click: Clear Caches and restart your visual studio.
(The image is contained within the first of the linked JetBrains articles).
JetBrains instructions:
Ultimate Guide to Speeding Up ReSharper (and Visual Studio) - Performance degradation after ReSharper upgrade
ReSharper Online Documentation

A couple of possibilities spring to mind:
Have you added the project to source control?
Have you marked the project folder (and all it's sub folders) as read only?
Of course, someone else may have done either of these things if they have had access to your machine.

One Possible stupid thing.
Your project is still running and you forgot that. Stop debugging (CTRL + F5)
How do I know. Guess..

Restarting my computer worked for me. My project became read only in between compiles - suddenly I couldn't save changes to files, Visual Studio started presenting me with 'save as' dialog boxes, and SVN couldn't commit or clean the project because "sqlite could not write to readonly database." Checking the file properties on the files in Windows Explorer showed that none of them were marked read-only. I was able to make a backup copy of the project, then I restarted and it was fine.

Restart your Visual Studio and add the project again. Worked for me.

Close, then reopen the file.
Still a pain, but at least it's less costly than completely closing visual studio.

You can try: file -> Source Control -> Go online

IDE-integrated source control?

Sounds like your source files are or have been under source control. Many source control systems will set files to read-only when they haven't been checked out for editing.
Total Commander makes it really easy to change file attributes recursively, but most likely Windows can also do this :)

Much in line with what Morten Mertner said, (if you by chance are using TFS Source Control like I am) I did a manual checkout of the file and it resolved the issue for me.

For me the problem is that the files are locked while the application is running.
In this state, Visual Studio 2013 displays the lock icon in the file tab and when you try to edit the file, a dialog box with this message appears:
Changes are not allowed for this module as it was not built for changes while debugging or the target .NET runtime version does not support it.
In Visual Studio 2015 as well, the lock icon appears in the file tab when the application is running. but the dialog box and message are not displayed.
Stopping the application causes the file to become unlocked.

Visual Studio 2008 crashes when opening solutions in a TortiseSVN directory? How do I fix this?

I'm using TortiseSVN for my subversion client on a Windows Server 2008 box and I've got a folder with code checked out into it.
When I go to open the solution file that's under source control Visual Studio 2008 starts and before it can even finish loading the solution from what I can tell Visual Studio crashes. I'm trying to open a solution that has VB code in it. It gives no error messages or warnings. It's just gone.
I have checked the files and they all seem fine. The solution file seems fine when I look at it with a text editor.
This is also Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and I've got all the latest .NET service packs installed.
Has anyone else seen this before and know how to fix it?
Edit: I just did an SVN export to a new directory and it still crashes in the exported directory where there is no longer any SVN attached to it.
Additionally, it crashes EVERY time I try to open the project that came from SVN.

You should be looking at the solution file with an xml editor, at least then you will get some help for subtile flaw's in the formatting or something like that.
You can also submit feedback to Microsoft on the VIsual Studio Connect site, if the bug turns out to be real.
Some commonsense things todo however would be, goto your visual studio command prompt, start off with "devenv /ResetSettings", that often helps isolate any weirdo add-on or something lke that.
Also, try to build clean with msbuild or vcbuild, then build fully with either one (i.e. if vcbuild can not build your solution, use msbuild). That can help by laying out the symbols and such and maybe clear out some corrupted file or something.
You also may have .suo files from your subversion, those are binary files that do contain some settings, it's common for people to accidentially check them in, but they are usually better off being kept on a per-developer basis (not in the source tree). The /resetsettings will likely clear these out also, but you may want to make sure.
You can also double check the path's to all of the assemblies referenced, that your not going from a 32/64 bit host, and the CLR DLL's are in different path's now etc...
One last thing, if your really stuck, you can get a stack trace and debug the crash a bit ;), see where the fault is occuring and search that module online, your'll often find that somebody may have a specific solution.
Oh yeah, also, hooker's can be trickey. Don't trust them for a minute. Make sure you set tsvn's "only load in windows exlporer" option and configure it specifically for what folders on your system have local-svn working directories, this will greatly reduce the working set for their shell extension. On most any system, over time, one program or another (apple irw.exe or adobe pdf-preloader.exe sort's of ad-ware) will try to work it's way into your shell. You should try to make sure your dev box is rather clean from anything hook's, simular to what VladV was saying...

I had a similar problem and I fixed it and afterwards I wasn't quite sure how I managed it.
It basically involved going to the tools/options menu and setting the source control plugin to none. However, I obviously had to have had the solution open in Visual Studio if doing this was to fix the solution, but yet I thought the problem was I could not open the solution.
The only possible scenario would be if I was able to open the solution, but not open any of the projects inside it, hence able to change the source control settings immediately after opening the solution.
Does that make sense?

Try opening your solution and projects files in a text editor, and looking for anything strange.
I once heard of a similar problem: a solution contained SVN bindings created by AnkhSVN, but Visual Studio had no AnkhSVN installed, and failed to open the solution without giving any meaningful error information.