Design Patterns

Design Patterns

Design patterns are recurring solutions to software design problems you find again and again in real-world application development. Patterns are about design and interaction of objects, as well as providing a communication platform concerning elegant, reusable solutions to commonly encountered programming challenges.

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Creational Patterns
Abstract Factory -Creates an instance of several families of classes
Builder -Separates object construction from its representation
Factory Method -Creates an instance of several derived classes
Prototype -A fully initialized instance to be copied or cloned
Singleton -A class of which only a single instance can exist

Structural Patterns
Adapter -Match interfaces of different classes
Bridge -Separates an object’s interface from its implementation
Composite -A tree structure of simple and composite objects
Decorator -Add responsibilities to objects dynamically
Facade -A single class that represents an entire subsystem
Flyweight -A fine-grained instance used for efficient sharing
Proxy -An object representing another object

Behavioral Patterns
Chain of Resp.- -A way of passing a request between a chain of objects
Command -Encapsulate a command request as an object
Interpreter -A way to include language elements in a program
Iterator -Sequentially access the elements of a collection
Mediator -Defines simplified communication between classes
Memento -Capture and restore an object's internal state
Observer -A way of notifying change to a number of classes
State -Alter an object's behavior when its state changes
Strategy -Encapsulates an algorithm inside a class
Template Method -Defer the exact steps of an algorithm to a subclass
Visitor -Defines a new operation to a class without change

Optimising Code for Faster Processors

Whenever a new processor is launched, the issue of optimising software applications for that processor arises. In fact, many times, lack of optimised software harms the chances of a new processor in the market. It can even happen in the case of Intel's Pentium 4.

In many ways, the computer industry is a fast lane, where software is the fuel, running cars (read computers) equipped with faster and better engines (processors). If there is no optimised fuel for the cars to run on, then the performance improvement in successive engines can never be gauged.
When the cost of a system is the driving factor behind its purchase, the method of choice for number-crunching applications often turns out to be writing optimised software. Although slower than the customised chip, the software solution has the advantage of being modifiable and reusable. A few simple modifications will allow the user to use its programme for other needs.
To solve the lack of upgradability of many imaging systems, many people call for an "open system" approach to designing these tools. Most of the materials used to build the equipment would be "off the shelf" components. The system's operation is now determined by in-house software and not by the unmodifiable custom-built hardware chip that was the heart of the system until recently. The hardware costs for the open system approach are lower than for custom-built components, and the software can be created relatively quickly using the vast amount of software libraries available to programmers.
An advantage of this technique is that whenever the system is not in use, it can be used for other applications such as word-processing. Another advantage is that what took two different specialised machines earlier can be done on a single computer, simply by using two different software components, and peripherals.

As long as one follows the open system approach, the hardware can be replaced as the old one becomes obsolete. The software can be easily ported from the old station to the new one, or recompiled to fit the architecture of the new host machine.

Writing your own software also has the advantage of fostering code reusability. The code is also easily modifiable if it doesn't fit the needs anymore.

The problem with having people write their own software is that the results will vary a lot depending on the level of knowledge of the programmer. The run-time of a programme is highly dependent on the skills of the programmer and the optimisation techniques used. It can make the difference between a system being too slow for some applications and the same system (with different software) being acceptable for the task at hand.
Code optimisation and data prefetching are two of a multitude of techniques that can enhance the performance of software.

What is Code Optimisation?
It can be defined as writing code so it runs as fast as possible on its host computer. The best way to achieve this goal is to write the code in a low-level language, such as assembly. Assembly language is a non-intuitive way of writing code. In other words, its structure is less "language-like" than high-level languages. Because it is non-intuitive, the development time is longer, which drives up the costs of developing the software. Also, very few people are familiar with assembly language. The best of both worlds is to embed assembly language instructions in high-level code. The programmer can then programme most of the code in an intuitive high-level language and then use assembly for small parts of the code, where code optimisation would be required to improve the programme run-time.

Most high-level language compilers offer options as to what type of code to generate at compile time. A few options are optimisation for run-time or for code size. An action as simple as checking the "optimise for time" option box could generate notable improvements in the processing time of a programme.

Golden Rules of Code Optimisation
Don't optimise as you go: Write your programme without regard to possible optimisations, concentrating instead on making sure that the code is clean, correct, and understandable. If it's too big or too slow when you've finished, then you can consider optimising it.

Remember the 80/20 rule: In many fields, you can get 80% of the result with 20% of the effort (also called the 90/10 rule - it depends on whom you talk to). Whenever you're about to optimise code, find out where that 80% of execution time is going, so you know where to concentrate your effort.

Always run "before" and "after" benchmarks: How else will you know that your optimisations actually made a difference? If your optimised code turns out to be only slightly faster or smaller than the original version, undo your changes and go back to the original, clear code.

Use the right algorithms and data structures: For example, don't use an O(n2) bubblesort algorithm to sort a thousand elements when there's an O(n log n) quicksort available. Similarly, don't store a thousand items in an array that requires an O(n) search when you could use an O(log n) binary tree.

Use efficient loops: Since loops repeat themselves, any efficiency will be compounded. An error as simple as initialising a variable inside the loop when it would have worked just fine outside the loop can increase the run-time dramatically.

Define variables that are used at the same time sequentially: Computers must fetch data from memory. That memory is sometimes brought into the cache in blocks. If the variables are defined sequentially, there is a good chance that one data fetch will be sufficient to bring the data into memory. See the next topic - data prefetching - for more information.

Do only the necessary input/output: Input/output to peripherals take time and should be limited to a minimum. A counter that says "XX% complete" is inefficient and should not be used inside a loop. Increase in run-time of one order of magnitude can be expected with such messages. If a warning to the user is required, use a general form like "please wait while this processes."
These are not a panacea, but are a good indication of how well a programme will perform.

Data Prefetching
During the past decade, CPU performance has outpaced that of dynamic RAM, the primary component of main memory. It is not now uncommon for scientific programmes to spend more than half their run-time stalled on memory requests.

Data prefetching is one of the techniques used to reduce or hide the large latency of main-memory accesses. With data prefetching, memory systems call data into the cache before the processor needs it, while processor computation takes place.

As an example, if a programme executes a FFT of an image of size 300 by 400 pixels, 120 Kbytes of data is required to store the image alone. Now suppose the result of the FFT is multiplied with a filter of the same size and the result is stored in a different array. It becomes obvious that most caches will not be enough to store that data and that the computer will require the main memory to store the data required for that calculation.

The processor will execute the calculations, getting the necessary information from the cache until such time as the information cannot be found in the cache. When the information is not found, the processor requests the data to the cache controller, which fetches it from main memory. While this fetch is being executed, the processor is wasting precious memory cycles, thereby increasing the total programme run-time. If it were possible to always have the required data in the cache, the run-time of the programme would be improved.

One has to use caution when using data prefetching since when one block of data is brought in the cache after a prefetching request, it is likely that one block will need to be evicted. If the data evicted is the data that is currently required, the processor will have to wait for it to be brought back into memory.

Because of this, the programme might actually run slower than it would have without the prefetching instruction. Prefetch timing is critical for prefetching to actually show notable improvements in the run-time of a programme. Done too late, the computer will wait for data, too early, required data might be evicted from memory.

Of the prefetching techniques available, let's discuss only software-initiated prefetching. Obviously, one other prefetching technique is "hardware initiated", which we won't discuss because it doesn't involve programmer or compiler intervention.

With software prefetching, before the processor requires the data, a fetch instruction specifies the required address to the memory system, which forwards the word to the cache. Because the processor does not need the data yet, it can continue computing while the memory system brings the requested data to the cache.

Before you plan to use data prefetching in your next programme, you need to know if your microprocessor contains a fetch instruction. Also, some compilers have optimization schemes that include prefetching statements. If you want to include your own prefetching statements, you should limit yourself to loops. Predicting the memory access patterns for code other than loops is unreliable and could even result in longer execution time since a fetch instruction does utilise processor time.

If the compiler you are using doesn't include prefetching optimisation, designing for data prefetching might not be the best solution. It is likely not a technique that will be profitable. Too much time will be spent designing the code, for only marginal improvements in run-time. Finally we take a look at general guidelines of optimising computer code:

Planning

• Determine the magnitude of the effort required for the port. Gauge how much work is involved by identifying the following items:
• Identify problem 32-bit code. Compile your 32-bit code with the new optimised compiler. Say, for example, Visual C++ 6.0 has a compiler which can be downloaded from the Microsft website which is customised for Pentium IV.
• Identify shared components or dependencies. Determine which components in your application originate from other teams and whether those teams plan to develop 32-bit versions of their code.
• Identify legacy or assembly code. 16-bit Windows-based applications do not run on 32-bit Windows and must be rewritten.
• Port the entire application, not just portions of it. Although it is possible to port pieces of an application or to limit code to 2G with /LARGEADDRESSAWARE:NO, this strategy trades short-term gain for long-term pain.
• Find substitutes for technologies that will not be ported. Some technologies, including DAO (Data Access Object) and the Jet Red database engine, will not be ported to 64-bit Windows.
• Treat your customised software as a separate product release. Even though your Pentium 4 optimised code product may share the same code base as your Pentium I, II or III based product, it needs additional testing and may have other release considerations.

Development

• Ensure that your code can be compiled by PIII and P4 processors. The new data model was designed to allow applications to be built from a single code base with few modifications.
• Use the compiler's new optimisation features for best performance. Code optimisation for IA-32 processors is more important than it was for the x86. The compiler assumes many of the optimisation functions previously handled by the microprocessor. You can maximise the performance of a 32-bit application by using two new optimisation features of the compiler: Profile Guided Optimisation and Whole Program Optimisation. Both features result in longer build times and require the early development of good test scenarios.
• Profile Guided Optimisation involves a two-step compile process. During the first compile, the code is instrumented to capture the execution behaviour. This information is used during the second compile to guide all optimisation features.
• Whole Program Optimisation analyses the code in all application files, not just a single one. This approach increases performance in several ways, including better inlining, as well as improved side-effect analysis and custom calling conventions.

Testing

• Determine whether you'll test 64- or 32-bit code running in WOW64. Some applications include both native 64-bit code and 32-bit code running in WOW64. Investigate this closely while developing a test plan, and decide whether your test tools should be 64-bit, 32-bit, or a combination. You will often need to test both the 64- and 32-bit versions of your application on 64-bit Windows.
• Test frequently-used 32-bit components. First, recompile your code to 64-bit and test. Second, fix problems, recompile in 32-bits, and then test. Third, recompile to 64-bit and test.
• Test COM and RPC components. Make sure that both 32- and 64-bit COM and RPC components communicate correctly. You may also have to test communications with 16-bit components over a network.
• Test your 32-bit version on 64-bit Windows. Customers can continue to use 32-bit applications on 64-bit Windows where performance and memory issues are not major considerations.
• Test different memory configurations. Adding large amounts of memory on the server sometimes exposes previously unnoticed problems in either the application or the operating system.
  

ASP .net Page Life Cycle

Visual Studio Shortcut keys

General

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-X or Shift-Delete	Cuts the currently selected item to the clipboard
Ctrl-C or Ctrl-Insert	Copies the currently selected item to the clipboard
Ctrl-V or Shift-Insert	Pastes the item in the clipboard at the cursor
Ctrl-Z or Alt-Backspace	Undo previous editing action
Ctrl-Y or Ctrl-Shift-Z	Redo the previous undo action
Ctrl-Shift-V or Ctrl-Shift-Insert	Pastes an item from the clipboard ring tab of the Toolbox at the cursor in the file and automatically selects the pasted item. Cycle through the items on the clipboard by pressing the shortcut keys repeatedly
Esc	Closes a menu or dialog, cancels an operation in progress, or places focus in the current document window
Ctrl-S	Saves the selected files in the current project (usually the file that is being edited)
Ctrl-Shift-S	Saves all documents and projects
Ctrl-P	Displays the Print dialog
F7	Switches from the design view to the code view in the editor
Shift-F7	Switches from the code view to the design view in the editor
F8	Moves the cursor to the next item, for example in the TaskList window or Find Results window
Shift-F8	Moves the cursor to the previous item, for example in the TaskList window or Find Results window
Shift-F12	Finds a reference to the selected item or the item under the cursor
Ctrl-Shift-G	Opens the file whose name is under the cursor or is currently selected
Ctrl-/	Switches focus to the Find/Command box on the Standard toolbar
Ctrl-Shift-F12	Moves to the next task in the TaskList window
Ctrl-Shift-8	Moves backward in the browse history. Available in the object browser or Class View window
Alt-Left Arrow	Go back in the web browser history
Alt-Right Arrow	Go forward in the web browser history

Text navigation

Shortcut	Description
Left Arrow	Moves the cursor one character to the left
Right Arrow	Moves the cursor one character to the right
Down Arrow	Moves the cursor down one line
Up Arrow	Moves the cursor up one line
Page Down	Scrolls down one screen in the editor window
Page Up	Scrolls up one screen in the editor window
End	Moves the cursor to the end of the current line
Home	Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line. If you press Home when the cursor is already at the start of the line, it will toggle the cursor between the first non-whitespace character and the real start of the line
Ctrl-End	Moves the cursor to the end of the document
Ctrl-Home	Moves the cursor to the start of the document
Ctrl-G	Displays the Go to Line dialog. If the debugger is running, the dialog also lets you specify addresses or function names to go to
Ctrl-]	Moves the cursor to the matching brace in the document. If the cursor is on an opening brace, this will move to the corresponding closing brace and vice versa
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-N	Moves to the next bookmark in the document
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-P	Moves to the previous bookmark
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-I	Displays Quick Info, based on the current language
Ctrl-Down Arrow	Scrolls text down one line but does not move the cursor. This is useful for scrolling more text into view without losing your place. Available only in text editors
Ctrl-Up Arrow	Scrolls text up one line but does not move the cursor. Available only in text editors
Ctrl-Right Arrow	Moves the cursor one word to the right
Ctrl-Left Arrow	Moves the cursor one word to the left
Ctrl-Shift-1	Navigates to the next definition, declaration, or reference of an item. Available in the object browser and Class View window. Also available in source editing windows if you have already used the Edit.GoToReference (Shift-F12) shortcut
Ctrl-Shift-2	Navigates to the previous definition, declaration, or reference of an item

Text manipulation

Shortcut	Description
Enter	Inserts a new line
Delete	Deletes one character to the right of the cursor
Insert	Toggles between insert and overtype insertion modes
Tab	Indents the currently selected line or lines by one tab stop. If there is no selection, this inserts a tab stop
Shift-Tab	Moves current line or selected lines one tab stop to the left
Backspace or Shift-Backspace	Deletes one character to the left of the cursor
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-C	Marks the current line or selected lines of code as a comment, using the correct comment syntax for the programming language
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-U	Removes the comment syntax from the current line or currently selected lines of code
Ctrl-T or Shift-Enter	Swaps the characters on either side of the cursor. (For example, AC|BD becomes AB|CD.) Available only in text editors
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-L	Removes all unnamed bookmarks in the current document
Ctrl-M, Ctrl-O	Automatically determines logical boundaries for creating regions in code, such as procedures, and then hides them. This collapses all such regions in the current document
Alt-Right Arrow or Ctrl-Spacebar	Displays statement completion based on the current language or autocompletes word if existing text unambiguously identifies a single symbol
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-\	Removes horizontal whitespace in the selection or deletes whitespace adjacent to the cursor if there is no selection
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-F	Applies the indenting and space formatting for the language as specified on the Formatting pane of the language in the Text Editor section of the Options dialog to the selected text.
Ctrl-L	Cuts all selected lines or the current line if nothing has been selected to the clipboard
Ctrl-Shift-L	Deletes all selected lines or the current line if no selection has been made
Ctrl-Enter	Inserts a blank line above the cursor
Ctrl-Shift-Enter	Inserts a blank line below the cursor
Shift-Alt-T	Moves the line containing the cursor below the next line
Ctrl-J	Lists members for statement completion when editing code
Ctrl-U	Changes the selected text to lowercase characters
Ctrl-Shift-U	Changes the selected text to uppercase characters
Ctrl-Shift-Spacebar	Displays a tooltip that contains information for the current parameter, based on the current language
Ctrl-M, Ctrl-U	Removes the outlining information for the currently selected region
Ctrl-M, Ctrl-P	Removes all outlining information from the entire document
Ctrl-R, Ctrl-P	Swaps the anchor and endpoint of the current selection
Ctrl-M, Ctrl-L	Toggles all previously marked hidden text sections between hidden and display states
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-K	Sets or removes a bookmark at the current line
Ctrl-M, Ctrl-M	Toggles the currently selected hidden text section or the section containing the cursor if there is no selection between the hidden and display states
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-H	Sets or removes a shortcut in the tasklist to the current line
Ctrl-R, Ctrl-R	Enables or disables word wrap in an editor
Ctrl-R, Ctrl-W	Shows or hides spaces and tab marks
Ctrl-Delete	Deletes the word to the right of the cursor
Ctrl-Backspace	Deletes the word to the left of the cursor
Ctrl-Shift-T	Transposes the two words that follow the cursor. (For example, |End Sub would be changed to read Sub End|.)

Text selection

Shortcut	Description
Shift-Left Arrow	Moves the cursor to the left one character, extending the selection
Shift-Alt-Left Arrow	Moves the cursor to the left one character, extending the column selection
Shift-Right Arrow	Moves the cursor to the right one character, extending the selection
Shift-Alt-Right Arrow	Moves the cursor to the right one character, extending the column selection
Ctrl-Shift-End	Moves the cursor to the end of the document, extending the selection
Ctrl-Shift-Home	Moves the cursor to the start of the document, extending the selection
Ctrl-Shift-]	Moves the cursor to the next brace, extending the selection
Shift-Down Arrow	Moves the cursor down one line, extending the selection
Shift-Alt-Down Arrow	Moves the cursor down one line, extending the column selection
Shift-End	Moves the cursor to the end of the current line, extending the selection
Shift-Alt-End	Moves the cursor to the end of the line, extending the column selection
Shift-Home	Moves the cursor to the start of the line, extending the selection
Shift-Alt-Home	Moves the cursor to the start of the line, extending the column selection
Shift-Up Arrow	Moves the cursor up one line, extending the selection
Shift-Alt-Up Arrow	Moves the cursor up one line, extending the column selection
Shift-Page Down	Extends selection down one page
Shift-Page Up	Extends selection up one page
Ctrl-A	Selects everything in the current document
Ctrl-W	Selects the word containing the cursor or the word to the right of the cursor
Ctrl-=	Selects from the current location in the editor back to the previous location in the navigation history
Ctrl-Shift-Page Down	Moves the cursor to the last line in view, extending the selection
Ctrl-Shift-Page Up	Moves the cursor to the top of the current window, extending the selection
Ctrl-Shift-Alt-Right Arrow	Moves the cursor to the right one word, extending the column selection
Ctrl-Shift-Left Arrow	Moves the cursor one word to the left, extending the selection
Ctrl-Shift-Alt-Left Arrow	Moves the cursor to the left one word, extending the column selection

Project related

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-Shift-B	Builds the solution
Ctrl-N	Displays the New File dialog. Note: files created this way are not associated with a project. Use Ctrl-Shift-A to add a new file in a project
Ctrl-Shift-N	Displays the New Project dialog
Ctrl-O	Displays the Open File dialog
Ctrl-Shift-O	Displays the Open Project dialog
Shift-Alt-A	Displays the Add Existing Item dialog
Ctrl-Shift-A	Displays the Add New Item dialog
Ctrl-Alt-Insert	Allows you to override base class methods in a derived class when an overridable method is highlighted in the Class View pane

Window manipulation

Shortcut	Description
Shift-Alt-Enter	Toggles full screen mode
Ctrl-+	Goes back to the previous location in the navigation history. (For example, if you press Ctrl-Home to go to the start of a document, this shortcut will take the cursor back to wherever it was before you pressed Ctrl-Home.)
Ctrl-Shift-+	Moves forward in the navigation history. This is effectively an undo for the View.NavigateBackward operation
Ctrl-F4	Closes the current MDI child window
Shift-Esc	Closes the current tool window
Ctrl-F2	Moves the cursor to the navigation bar at the top of a code view
Ctrl-Tab	Cycles through the MDI child windows one window at a time
Ctrl-F6, Ctrl-Shift-Tab	Moves to the previous MDI child window
Alt-F6, Ctrl-Shift-F6	Moves to the next tool window
Shift-Alt-F6	Moves to the previously selected window
F6	Moves to the next pane of a split pane view of a single document
Shift-F6	Moves to the previous pane of a document in split pane view
Ctrl-Pagedown	Moves to the next tab in the document or window (e.g., you can use this to switch the HTML editor from its design view to its HTML view
Ctrl-PageUp	Moves to the previous tab in the document or window

Control editor (designer)

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-Down Arrow	Moves the selected control down in increments of one on the design surface
Down Arrow	Moves the selected control down to the next grid position on the design surface
Ctrl-Left Arrow	Moves the control to the left in increments of one on the design surface
Left Arrow	Moves the control to the left to the next grid position on the design surface
Ctrl-Right Arrow	Moves the control to the right in increments of one on the design surface
Right Arrow	Moves the control to the right into the next grid position on the design surface
Ctrl-Up Arrow	Moves the control up in increments of one on the design surface
Up Arrow	Moves the control up into the next grid position on the design surface
Tab	Moves to the next control in the tab order
Shift-Tab	Moves to the previous control in the tab order
Ctrl-Shift-Down Arrow	Increases the height of the control in increments of one on the design surface
Shift-Down Arrow	Increases the height of the control to the next grid position on the design surface
Ctrl-Shift-Left Arrow	Reduces the width of the control in increments of one on the design surface
Shift-Left Arrow	Reduces the width of the control to the next grid position on the design surface
Ctrl-Shift-Right Arrow	Increases the width of the control in increments of one on the design surface
Shift-Left Arrow	Increases the width of the control to the next grid position on the design surface
Ctrl-Shift-Up Arrow	Decreases the height of the control in increments of one on the design surface
Shift-Up Arrow	Decreases the height of the control to the next grid position on the design surface

Search and replace

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-F	Displays the Find dialog
Ctrl-Shift-F	Displays the Find in Files dialog
F3	Finds the next occurrence of the previous search text
Ctrl-F3	Finds the next occurrence of the currently selected text or the word under the cursor if there is no selection
Shift-F3	Finds the previous occurrence of the search text
Ctrl-Shift-F3	Finds the previous occurrence of the currently selected text or the word under the cursor
Ctrl-D	Places the cursor in the Find/Command line on the Standard toolbar
Alt-F3, H	Selects or clears the Search Hidden Text option for the Find dialog
Ctrl-I	Starts an incremental search—after pressing Ctrl-I, you can type in text, and for each letter you type, VS.NET will find the first occurrence of the sequence of letters you have typed so far. This is a very convenient facility, as it lets you find text by typing in exactly as many characters as are required to locate the text and no more. If you press Ctrl-I a second time without typing any characters, it recalls the previous pattern. If you press it a third time or you press it when an incremental search has already found a match, VS.NET searches for the next occurrence.
Alt-F3, C	Selects or clears the Match Case option for Find and Replace operations
Alt-F3, R	Selects or clears the Regular Expression option so that special characters can be used in Find and Replace operations
Ctrl-H	Displays the Replace dialog
Ctrl-Shift-H	Displays the Replace in Files dialog
Ctrl-Shift-I	Performs an incremental search in reverse direction
Alt-F3, S	Halts the current Find in Files operation
Alt-F3, B	Selects or clears the Search Up option for Find and Replace operations
Alt-F3, W	Selects or clears the Match Whole Word option for Find and Replace operations
Alt-F3, P	Selects or clears the Wildcard option for Find and Replace operations

Help

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-Alt-F1	Displays the Contents window for the documentation
Ctrl-F1	Displays the Dynamic Help window, which displays different topics depending on what items currently have focus. If the focus is in a source window, the Dynamic Help window will display help topics that are relevant to the text under the cursor
F1	Displays a topic from Help that corresponds to the part of the user interface that currently has the focus. If the focus is in a source window, Help will try to display a topic relevant to the text under the cursor
Ctrl-Alt-F2	Displays the Help Index window
Shift-Alt-F2	Displays the Index Results window, which lists the topics that contain the keyword selected in the Index window
Alt-Down Arrow	Displays the next topic in the table of contents. Available only in the Help browser window
Alt-Up Arrow	Displays the previous topic in the table of contents. Available only in the Help browser window
Ctrl-Alt-F3	Displays the Search window, which allows you to search for words or phrases in the documentation
Shift-Alt-F3	Displays the Search Results window, which displays a list of topics that contain the string searched for from the Search window.
Shift-F1	Displays a topic from Help that corresponds to the user interface item that has the focus

Debugging

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-Alt-V, A	Displays the Auto window to view the values of variables currently in the scope of the current line of execution within the current procedure
Ctrl-Alt-Break	Temporarily stops execution of all processes in a debugging session. Available only in run mode
Ctrl-Alt-B	Displays the Breakpoints dialog, where you can add and modify breakpoints
Ctrl-Alt-C	Displays the Call Stack window to display a list of all active procedures or stack frames for the current thread of execution. Available only in break mode
Ctrl-Shift-F9	Clears all of the breakpoints in the project
Ctrl-Alt-D	Displays the Disassembly window
Ctrl-F9	Enables or disables the breakpoint on the current line of code. The line must already have a breakpoint for this to work
Ctrl-Alt-E	Displays the Exceptions dialog
Ctrl-Alt-I	Displays the Immediate window, where you can evaluate expressions and execute individual commands
Ctrl-Alt-V, L	Displays the Locals window to view the variables and their values for the currently selected procedure in the stack frame
Ctrl-Alt-M, 1	Displays the Memory 1 window to view memory in the process being debugged. This is particularly useful when you do not have debugging symbols available for the code you are looking at. It is also helpful for looking at large buffers, strings, and other data that does not display clearly in the Watch or Variables window
Ctrl-Alt-M, 2	Displays the Memory 2 window
Ctrl-Alt-M, 3	Displays the Memory 3 window
Ctrl-Alt-M, 4	Displays the Memory 4 window
Ctrl-Alt-U	Displays the Modules window, which allows you to view the .dll or .exe files loaded by the program. In multiprocess debugging, you can right-click and select Show Modules for all programs
Ctrl-B	Opens the New Breakpoint dialog
Ctrl-Alt-Q	Displays the Quick Watch dialog with the current value of the selected expression. Available only in break mode. Use this command to check the current value of a variable, property, or other expression for which you have not defined a watch expression
Ctrl-Alt-G	Displays the Registers window, which displays CPU register contents
Ctrl-Shift-F5	Terminates the current debugging session, rebuilds if necessary, and then starts a new debugging session. Available in break and run modes
Ctrl-Alt-N	Displays the Running Documents window that displays the set of HTML documents that you are in the process of debugging. Available in break and run modes
Ctrl-F10	Starts or resumes execution of your code and then halts execution when it reaches the selected statement. This starts the debugger if it is not already running
Ctrl-Shift-F10	Sets the execution point to the line of code you choose
Alt-NUM *	Highlights the next statement to be executed
F5	If not currently debugging, this runs the startup project or projects and attaches the debugger. If in break mode, this allows execution to continue (i.e., it returns to run mode).
Ctrl-F5	Runs the code without invoking the debugger. For console applications, this also arranges for the console window to stay open with a "Press any key to continue" prompt when the program finishes
F11	Executes code one statement at a time, tracing execution into function calls
Shift-F11	Executes the remaining lines of a function in which the current execution point lies
F10	Executes the next line of code but does not step into any function calls
Shift-F5	Available in break and run modes, this terminates the debugging session
Ctrl-Alt-V, T	Displays the This window, which allows you to view the data members of the object associated with the current method
Ctrl-Alt-H	Displays the Threads window to view all of the threads for the current process
F9	Sets or removes a breakpoint at the current line
Ctrl-F11	Displays the disassembly information for the current source file. Available only in break mode
Ctrl-Alt-W, 1	Displays the Watch 1 window to view the values of variables or watch expressions
Ctrl-Alt-W, 2	Displays the Watch 2 window
Ctrl-Alt-W, 3	Displays the Watch 3 window
Ctrl-Alt-W, 4	Displays the Watch 4 window
Ctrl-Alt-P	Displays the Processes dialog, which allows you to attach or detach the debugger to one or more running processes

Object browser

Shortcut	Description
Alt-F12	Displays the Find Symbol dialog
Ctrl-F12	Displays the declaration of the selected symbol in the code
F12	Displays the definition for the selected symbol in code
Ctrl-Alt-F12	Displays the Find Symbol Results window
Ctrl-Alt-J	Displays the Object Browser to view the classes, properties, methods, events, and constants defined either in your project or by components and type libraries referenced by your project
Alt-+	Moves back to the previously selected object in the selection history of the object browser
Shift-Alt-+	Moves forward to the next object in the selection history of the object browser

Tool window

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-Shift-M	Toggles the Command window into or out of a mode allowing text within the window to be selected
Ctrl-Shift-C	Displays the Class View window
Ctrl-Alt-A	Displays the Command window, which allows you to type commands that manipulate the IDE
Ctrl-Alt-T	Displays the Document Outline window to view the flat or hierarchical outline of the current document
Ctrl-Alt-F	Displays the Favorites window, which lists shortcuts to web pages
Ctrl-Alt-O	Displays the Output window to view status messages at runtime
F4	Displays the Properties window, which lists the design-time properties and events for the currently selected item
Shift-F4	Displays the property pages for the item currently selected. (For example, use this to show a project's settings.)
Ctrl-Shift-E	Displays the Resource View window
Ctrl-Alt-S	Displays the Server Explorer window, which allows you to view and manipulate database servers, event logs, message queues, web services, and many other operating system services
Ctrl-Alt-R	Displays the web browser window, which allows you to view pages on the Internet
Ctrl-Alt-L	Displays the Solution Explorer, which lists the projects and files in the current solution
Ctrl-Alt-K	Displays the TaskList window, which displays tasks, comments, shortcuts, warnings, and error messages
Ctrl-Alt-X	Displays the Toolbox, which contains controls and other items that can be dragged into editor and designer windows

Html editor (Design View)

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl-B	Toggles the selected text between bold and normal
Ctrl-Shift-T	Decreases the selected paragraph by one indent unit
Ctrl-T	Indents the selected paragraph by one indent unit
Ctrl-I	Toggles the selected text between italic and normal
Ctrl-Shift-K	Prevents an absolutely positioned element from being inadvertently moved. If the element is already locked, this unlocks it
Ctrl-G	Toggles the grid
Ctrl-Shift-G	Specifies that elements be aligned using an invisible grid. You can set grid spacing on the Design pane of HTML designer options in the Options dialog, and the grid will be changed the next time you open a document
Ctrl-U	Toggles the selected text between underlined and normal
Ctrl-Shift-L	Displays the Bookmark dialog
Ctrl-J	Inserts in the current HTML document
Ctrl-L	When text is selected, displays the Hyperlink dialog
Ctrl-Shift-W	Displays the Insert Image dialog
Ctrl-Alt-Up Arrow	Adds one row above the current row in the table
Ctrl-Alt-Down Arrow	Adds one row below the current row in the table
Ctrl-Alt-Left Arrow	Adds one column to the left of the current column in the table
Ctrl-Alt-Right Arrow	Adds one column to the right of the current column in the table
Ctrl-Shift-Q	Toggles display of marker icons for HTML elements that do not have a visual representation, such as comments, scripts, and anchors for absolutely positioned elements
Ctrl-Page Down	Switches from design view to HTML view and vice versa
Ctrl-Q	Displays a 1-pixel border around HTML elements that support a BORDER attribute and have it set to zero, such as tables, table cells, and divisions

Macro

Shortcut	Description
Alt-F8	Displays the Macro Explorer window, which lists all available macros
Alt-F11	Launches the macros IDE
Ctrl-Shift-R	Places the environment in macro record mode or completes recording if already in record mode
Ctrl-Shift-P	Plays back a recorded macro