Click here to Skip to main content
15,867,488 members
Articles / Desktop Programming / Windows Forms

Code Snippet: Step by Step Guideline from Creation to Installation of a Snippet

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.91/5 (43 votes)
21 Sep 2009CPOL12 min read 122.2K   682   120   34
This article is to encourage you to take advantages of code snippets to make development easy and faster.

Contents

  1. Introduction: What is Code Snippet??
  2. Can we create our own code snippet ??
    • Create a .snippet file (Step by Step)
  3. How to  Manage Code Snippets inside VS Editor ??
    • Add/Register a snippet
    • Remove a snippet
    • Modify an existing snippet
  4. Code Snippet Functions 
    • GenerateSwitchCases( EnumerationLiteral )
    • ClassName()
    • SimpleTypeName( TypeName )
  5. Is it possible to share it with all of my team mates ??
    • Create a vsi installer (Step by Step)
  6. An example
    • Singleton Pattern Example: 1
    • Singleton Pattern Example: 2

A. Introduction: What is Code Snippet??

Code snippets are ready-made snippets of code we can quickly insert into our code.

We can use code snippets to type a short alias, and then expand it into a common programming construct.

For example, the prop code snippet creates an empty property block.

Benefits

  • Write once use anywhere: Reduce the repeatable writing of code effort.
  • Define/Maintain a Coding Standard to be used for any Project/Organization.
  • Provide easier way to write/define a group of code. Like a code snippet can generate a Switch case statement only through its shortcut (as myswitch)
  • Easy to use as well as create and also easily maintainable.
  • Share management with other developers

How to Use

Step 1. In the Code Editor by typing a short name for the alias or a code snippet shortcut

Image 1

Step 2.  Press two times Tab key. It will generate a Property block automatically

Step 3.  Once a code snippet has been chosen, the text of the code snippet is inserted automatically at the cursor position. At this point, any editable fields in the code snippet are highlighted in light green, and the first editable field is selected automatically.

Image 2

When a field is selected, users can type a new value for the field. Pressing TAB cycles through the editable fields of the code snippet; pressing SHIFT+TAB cycles through them in reverse order. Clicking on a field places the cursor in the field, and double-clicking on a field selects it.

Only the first instance of a given field is editable; when that field is highlighted, the other instances of that field are outlined. When you change the value of an editable field, that field is changed everywhere it is used in the code snippet.

B. Can we create our own code snippet ??

Yes we can create and utilize custom code snippets, in addition to the code snippets that are included with Visual Studio by default.

IntelliSense Code Snippets are XML files with a .snippet file name extension that adhere to the IntelliSense Code Snippet XML schema.

To create a .snippet file

  1. Go to File - New - File.
  2. From Template select XML File and then click Open, it will open a blank XML file for editing.
  3. On the File menu, click Save <XMLFileName>.
  4. In the Save as type box, select All Files (*.*).
  5. In the File name box, enter a file name with the .snippet file name extension.
  6. Click Save.

Writing the Code

Now we have an XML file, we need to write the XML code that makes up our code snippet.

  1. Below the automatically generated line of XML, add a CodeSnippets element with the proper xmlns attribute value, and a CodeSnippet element to create an individual code snippet. For example:
    XML
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 
    
    <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
    
       <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
    
       </CodeSnippet> 
    
    </CodeSnippets>

    Note : This is the standard defined by VS that every snippet file must start with the CodeSnippets tag, identifying the namespace that defines the code snippet schema. Within these tags, each snippet is defined using the CodeSnippet tag, which will in turn contain the definition of the snippet itself:

  2. Add a header section to the code snippet. Each code snippet has a header area and a body area, known as the Header and Snippet, respectively. The Header area mainly contains three tags:
    • Title: The name of the snippet
    • Description: The description of the snippet
    • Shortcut: Shortcut names provide a way for us to insert IntelliSense Code Snippets into our code by typing a shortcut name and then pressing Tab.

    Apart from these Tags we can also use Author , SnippetTypes tags like:

    XML
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 
    
    <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
    
       <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
    
          <Header> 
    
             <Title>Property</Title> 
    
             <Shortcut>propcs</Shortcut> 
    
             <Description>Code snippet to define a property .</Description> 
    
             <Author>Anand Ranjan</Author> 
    
             <SnippetTypes> 
    
                <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
    
             </SnippetTypes> 
    
          </Header> 
    
       </CodeSnippet> 
    
    </CodeSnippets>

    Image 3

    What is what : A snapshot of  Code Snippet Manager – Uses of Header Tag elements

    Image 4

    What is what : A snapshot of  VS Editor – Uses of Header Tag elements

  3. Add the elements that define the code snippet itself. For example:
    XML
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 
    
    <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
    
       <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
    
          <Header> 
    
             <Title>Property</Title> 
    
             <Shortcut>propcs</Shortcut> 
    
             <Description>Code snippet to define a property .</Description> 
    
             <Author>Anand Ranjan</Author> 
    
             <SnippetTypes> 
    
                <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
    
             </SnippetTypes> 
    
          </Header> 
    
          <Snippet> 
    
             <Code Language="csharp"> 
    
             </Code> 
    
          </Snippet> 
    
       </CodeSnippet> 
    
    </CodeSnippets>
  4. Inside the Code element of Snippet Tag, add the C# code for the snippet. All snippet code must be placed between <![CDATA[ and ]]> brackets. For example

    XML
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 
    
    <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
    
       <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
    
          <Header> 
    
             <Title>Property</Title> 
    
             <Shortcut>propcs</Shortcut> 
    
             <Description>Code snippet to define a property .</Description> 
    
             <Author>Anand Ranjan</Author> 
    
             <SnippetTypes> 
    
                <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
    
             </SnippetTypes> 
    
          </Header> 
    
          <Snippet> 
    
             <Code Language="csharp"> 
    
                                                     <![CDATA[ 
    
                       /// <summary> 
    
           /// Property to set a $property$ 
    
           /// </summary> 
    
                       private $type$ $defaultValue$; 
    
                       public $type$ $property$ 
    
                       { 
    
                                      get 
    
                                      { 
    
                                                     return $defaultValue$; 
    
                                      }       
    
                                      set 
    
                                      { 
    
                                                     $defaultValue$ = value; 
    
                                      } 
    
                       } 
    
       $end$]]> 
    
             </Code> 
    
          </Snippet> 
    
       </CodeSnippet> 
    
    </CodeSnippets>
  5. We may have portions of code snippets that we want to be replaced by the person inserting them. Code Snippets provide this ability with the Literal and Object elements.

    The Literal element is used to identify a replacement for a piece of code that is entirely contained within the snippet, but will likely be customized after it is inserted into the code. For example, literal strings, numeric values, and some variable names should be declared as literals. The optional <Declarations> section is used to define replaceable sections in the snippet. Replaceable sections are denoted with $name in the <Code> section and are the sections displayed green and configurable by the developer using the snippet.

To Create a Literal Replacement

  1. Locate the Snippet element of the code snippet.
  2. Add a Declarations element as a child of the Snippet element. The Declarations element is used to group replacement declarations.
  3. Add a Literal element as a child of the Declarations element. The Literal element specifies an individual literal. A code snippet may have more than one literal replacement.
  4. Add an ID element as a child of the Literal element. The text value of this element specifies the name that you will use to reference the literal in the Code element.
  5. Add a Default element as a child of the Literal element. The text value of the Default element specifies the default value of the literal when you insert the code snippet.
  6. Optionally, add the Function and/or ToolTip elements.

XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 

<CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 

   <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 

      <Header> 

         <Title>Property</Title> 

         <Shortcut>propcs</Shortcut> 

         <Description>Code snippet to define a property .</Description> 

         <Author>Anand Ranjan</Author> 

         <SnippetTypes> 

            <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 

         </SnippetTypes> 

      </Header> 

      <Snippet> 

         <Declarations> 

            <Literal> 

               <ID>type</ID> 

               <ToolTip>Property type</ToolTip> 

               <Default>int</Default> 

            </Literal> 

            <Literal> 

               <ID>property</ID> 

               <ToolTip>Property name</ToolTip> 

               <Default>Value</Default> 

            </Literal> 

            <Literal> 

               <ID>defaultValue</ID> 

               <ToolTip>The default value for this property.</ToolTip> 

               <Default>intValue</Default> 

            </Literal> 

         </Declarations> 

         <Code Language="csharp"> 

                                                 <![CDATA[ 

                  /// <summary> 

       /// Property to set a $property$ 

       /// </summary> 

                   private $type$ $defaultValue$; 

                   public $type$ $property$ 

                   { 

                                  get 

                                  { 

                                                 return $defaultValue$; 

                                  }      

                                  set 

                                  { 

                                                 $defaultValue$ = value; 

                                  } 

                   } 

   $end$]]> 

         </Code> 

      </Snippet> 

   </CodeSnippet> 

</CodeSnippets>

Image 5

What is what : A snapshot of  VS Editor – Generated code using snippet

Creating an Object Replacement

The Object element is used to identify an item that is required by the code snippet but is likely to be defined outside of the snippet itself. For example, Windows Forms controls, ASP.NET controls, object instances, and type instances should be declared as objects. Object declarations require that a type be specified.

To create an object replacement

  1. Locate the Snippet element of the code snippet.
  2. Add a Declarations element as a child of the Snippet element. The Declarations element is used to group replacement declarations.
  3. Add an Object element as a child of the Declarations element. The Object element specifies an individual object. A code snippet may have more than one object replacement.
  4. Add an ID element as a child of the Object element. The text value of this element specifies the name that you will use to reference the object in the Code element.
  5. Add a Type element as a child of the Object element The text value of the Default element specifies the type of the object.
  6. Add a Default element as a child of the Object element. The text value of the Default element specifies the default value of the object when you insert the code snippet.
  7. Optionally, add the Function and/or ToolTip elements.

Example :

XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 

<CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 

  <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 

    <Header> 

      <Title>Property</Title> 

      <Shortcut>getcustomer</Shortcut> 

      <Description>Code snippet to interact with database .</Description> 

      <Author>Anand Ranjan</Author> 

      <SnippetTypes> 

        <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 

      </SnippetTypes> 

    </Header> 

    <Snippet> 

      <!-- Add additional Snippet information here --> 

      <Declarations> 

        <Literal> 

          <ID>SqlConnString</ID> 

          <ToolTip>Replace with a SQL connection string.</ToolTip> 

          <Default>"SQL connection string"</Default> 

        </Literal> 

        <Object> 

          <ID>SqlConnection</ID> 

          <Type>System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection</Type> 

          <ToolTip>Replace with a connection object in your application.</ToolTip> 

          <Default>dcConnection</Default> 

        </Object> 

      </Declarations> 

      <Code Language="CSharp"> 

        <![CDATA[ 

                    daCustomers = new SqlClient.SqlDataAdapter(); 

                    selectCommand = new SqlClient.SqlCommand($SqlConnString$); 

                    daCustomers.SelectCommand = selectCommand; 

                    daCustomers.SelectCommand.Connection = $SqlConnection$; 

                ]]> 

      </Code> 

    </Snippet> 

  </CodeSnippet> 

</CodeSnippets>

C. How to  Manage Code Snippets inside VS Editor

The Code Snippets Manager allows us to set the directories and individual snippets that we want available to insert into your code.

To Access the Code Snippets Manager

  • On the Tools menu, click Code Snippets Manager or alternately we can use

Key Ctrl + KB

Image 6

This will open a code snippet manager dialog box like

Image 7

To add a directory to the Code Snippet Manager

  1. In the Language list, select the language that you want to add a directory to.
  2. Click Add. This opens the Code Snippets Directory window.
  3. Select the directory that we want to add to the Code Snippets Manager and click OK.The directory will now be used to search for available code snippets.

Image 8

Image 9

To Remove a Directory from the Code Snippet Manager

  1. Select the directory that you want to remove.
  2. Click Remove.

To import a code snippet into the Code Snippet Manager

  1. In the Language list, select the language that you want to add the code snippet.
  2. Select the existing folder that you want to place the imported code snippet into.
  3. Click Import. This opens the Code Snippets Directory window.
  4. Select the code snippet file that you want to add to the Code Snippets Manager and click OK.The code snippet is now available for insertion into the code editor.

Image 10

Select the location for code snippet and click on finish

Image 11

Image 12

To Modify an Existing Snippets 

IntelliSense Code Snippets are XML files with a .snippet file name extension that can be easily modified using any XML editor, including Visual Studio 2005.

To modify an existing IntelliSense Code Snippet

  • Use the Code Snippets Manager to locate the snippet that you want to modify.

    Image 13

  • On the File menu, click Open, and click File.

    Image 14

  • Modify the snippet.
  • On the File menu, click Save.

    D. Code Snippet Functions

    There are three functions available to use with Visual C# code snippets,

    1. GenerateSwitchCases( EnumerationLiteral )

      Generates a switch statement and a set of case statements for the members of the enumeration specified by the EnumerationLiteral parameter. The EnumerationLiteral parameter must be either a reference to an enumeration literal or an enumeration type.

      For example:

      XML
      <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
      
      <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
      
        <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
      
          <Header> 
      
            <Title>myswitch</Title> 
      
            <Shortcut>myswitch</Shortcut> 
      
            <Description>Code snippet for switch statement</Description> 
      
            <Author>Microsoft Corporation</Author> 
      
            <SnippetTypes> 
      
              <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
      
            </SnippetTypes> 
      
          </Header> 
      
          <Snippet> 
      
            <Declarations> 
      
              <Literal> 
      
                <ID>expression</ID> 
      
                <ToolTip>Expression to switch on</ToolTip> 
      
                <Default>switch_on</Default> 
      
              </Literal> 
      
              <Literal Editable="false"> 
      
                <ID>cases</ID> 
      
                <Function>GenerateSwitchCases($expression$)</Function> 
      
                <Default>default:</Default> 
      
              </Literal> 
      
            </Declarations> 
      
            <Code Language="csharp"> 
      
              <![CDATA[ 
      
                          switch ($expression$) 
      
                          { 
      
                             $cases$ 
      
                          } 
      
                      ]]> 
      
            </Code> 
      
          </Snippet> 
      
        </CodeSnippet> 
      
      </CodeSnippets>

      Usage example:

      Image 15

      What is what : A snapshot of  VS Editor – To select a snippet

      Image 16

      Replace swich_on ( Highlighted in green) with our enum and press two times enter.

      Image 17

      What is what : A snapshot of  VS Editor  – End result using snippet

    2. ClassName()

      Returns the name of the class that contains the inserted snippet.

      For example to write a constructor for a class with an input parameter,

      XML
      <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
      
      <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
      
        <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
      
          <Header> 
      
            <Title>Common constructor pattern</Title> 
      
            <Shortcut>myconstructor</Shortcut> 
      
            <Description>Code Snippet for a constructor</Description> 
      
            <Author>Anand Ranjan Pandey</Author> 
      
            <SnippetTypes> 
      
              <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
      
            </SnippetTypes> 
      
          </Header> 
      
          <Snippet> 
      
            <Declarations> 
      
              <Literal> 
      
                <ID>type</ID> 
      
                <Default>int</Default> 
      
              </Literal> 
      
              <Literal> 
      
                <ID>name</ID> 
      
                <Default>field</Default> 
      
              </Literal> 
      
              <Literal Editable="false"> 
      
                <ID>classname</ID> 
      
                <ToolTip>Class name</ToolTip> 
      
                <Function>ClassName()</Function> 
      
                <Default>ClassNamePlaceholder</Default> 
      
              </Literal> 
      
            </Declarations> 
      
            <Code Language="CSharp" Kind="CData"> 
      
              <![CDATA[ 
      
                          public $classname$ ($type$ $name$) 
      
                          { 
      
                              this._$name$ = $name$; 
      
                          } 
      
                          private $type$ _$name$; 
      
                      ]]> 
      
            </Code> 
      
          </Snippet> 
      
        </CodeSnippet> 
      
      </CodeSnippets>

      Usage Example :

      Image 18

      Image 19

      What is what : A snapshot of  VS Editor  – End result using snippet

    3. SimpleTypeName( TypeName )

      It reduces the TypeName parameter to its simplest form in the context in which the snippet was invoked.

      For example : below example shows how to use the SimpleTypeName function. When this snippet is inserted into a code file, the $SystemConsole$ literal will be replaced with the simplest form of the Console type in the context in which the snippet was invoked.

      XML
      <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
      
      <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
      
        <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
      
          <Header> 
      
            <Title>Console_WriteLine</Title> 
      
            <Shortcut>mycw</Shortcut> 
      
            <Description>Code snippet for Console.WriteLine</Description> 
      
            <Author>Anand Ranjan Pandey</Author> 
      
            <SnippetTypes> 
      
              <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
      
            </SnippetTypes> 
      
          </Header> 
      
          <Snippet> 
      
            <Declarations> 
      
              <Literal Editable="false"> 
      
                <ID>SystemConsole</ID> 
      
                <Function>SimpleTypeName(global::System.Console)</Function> 
      
              </Literal> 
      
            </Declarations> 
      
            <Code Language="csharp"> 
      
              <![CDATA[ 
      
                          $SystemConsole$.WriteLine(); 
      
                      ]]> 
      
            </Code> 
      
          </Snippet> 
      
        </CodeSnippet> 
      
      </CodeSnippets>

      Usage example :

      Image 20

      Image 21

      What is what : A snapshot of  VS Editor  – End result using snippet

    E. Is it possible to share it with all of my team mates ?

    Yes, To get a code snippet to appear in the code editor, it must be placed on a user's computer and imported with the Code Snippet Manager. To make this process easier, we can place our snippet file inside of a Visual Studio Installer (.vsi) file and use the Visual Studio Content Installer to place the file in the correct location. The .vsi file can then be easily shared with other developers throughout the community.

    Steps to create a .vsi file :

    Visual Studio Content Installer (.vsi) files are used to exchange Visual Studio content in the developer community. A .vsi file is a renamed .zip file that contains these components:

    • An XML .vscontent file that describes the content.
    • The content files.

    Step 1:   File - New - File

    Step 2:   Select XML file type from Template

    Step 3:   Add the files/files inside the <FileName> Tag as per given Schema. For schema information, see   Visual Studio Content Installer Schema Reference

    In my case the .vscontent file has included all the above examples:

    XML
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
    
    <VSContent xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/vscontent/2005"> 
    
      <Content> 
    
        <FileName>getCustomer.snippet</FileName> 
    
        <FileName>myconstructor.snippet</FileName> 
    
        <FileName>mycw.snippet</FileName> 
    
        <FileName>myswitch.snippet</FileName> 
    
        <FileName>propcs.snippet</FileName> 
    
        <FileName>singletonts.snippet</FileName> 
    
        <FileName>singletontswl.snippet</FileName> 
    
        <DisplayName>Sample Code Snippet</DisplayName> 
    
        <Description>A code snippet created for this example</Description> 
    
        <FileContentType>My Code Snippet</FileContentType> 
    
        <ContentVersion>1.0</ContentVersion> 
    
        <Attributes> 
    
          <Attribute name="language" value="csharp"/> 
    
        </Attributes> 
    
      </Content> 
    
    </VSContent>

    Step 4:   Save the file with extension .vscontent like MyCodeSnippet.vscontent

    Step 5:   keep the .vscontent file in the same directory as the other files that are related to the community component

    Image 22

    Step 6: Select the folder right-click, select Send To, and click Compressed (zipped) Folder. The selected files are compressed into a single .zip file.

    Step 7: Rename the extension of the .zip file to .vsi

    Step 8: Go to C:\...\My Documents\Visual Studio <version>\Addins\

    Step 9: Paste the early created .vsi file into this folder. In my case I am using Visual Studio 2008

    Image 23

    Step 10:  Now your newly created Code Snippets is ready to use inside Visual Studio 2008 Editor.

    F. An example

    Let us take an example of Singleton class which is almost used in every project. In this example I will create a code snippet, which will generate the code using the concept of Singleton class.

    Singleton Example 1

    In this code snippet the implementation is thread-safe. The thread takes out a lock on a shared object, and then checks whether or not the instance has been created before creating the instance. This takes care of the memory barrier issue (as locking makes sure that all reads occur logically after the lock acquire, and unlocking makes sure that all writes occur logically before the lock release) and ensures that only one thread will create an instance (as only one thread can be in that part of the code at a time - by the time the second thread enters it, the first thread will have created the instance, so the expression will evaluate to false). Unfortunately, performance suffers as a lock is acquired every time the instance is requested.

    File name:  singletontswl.snippet

    Code

    XML
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
    
    <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
    
      <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
    
        <Header> 
    
          <Title>Thread safe Singleton Pattern with Lock</Title> 
    
          <Shortcut>singletontswl</Shortcut> 
    
          <Description>Code Snippet for a singleton class : Thread-safe with locks</Description> 
    
          <Author>Anand Ranjan Pandey</Author> 
    
          <SnippetTypes> 
    
            <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
    
          </SnippetTypes> 
    
        </Header> 
    
        <Snippet> 
    
          <Declarations> 
    
            <Literal> 
    
              <ID>instancename</ID> 
    
              <Default>instance</Default> 
    
            </Literal> 
    
            <Literal> 
    
              <ID>instanceobject</ID> 
    
              <Default>Instance</Default> 
    
            </Literal> 
    
            <Literal> 
    
              <ID>lockobject</ID> 
    
              <Default>padlock</Default> 
    
            </Literal> 
    
            <Literal Editable="false"> 
    
              <ID>classname</ID> 
    
              <ToolTip>Class name</ToolTip> 
    
              <Function>ClassName()</Function> 
    
              <Default>ClassNamePlaceholder</Default> 
    
            </Literal> 
    
          </Declarations> 
    
          <Code Language="CSharp" Kind="CData"> 
    
            <![CDATA[ 
    
                        static $classname$ $instancename$ =null; 
    
                        static readonly object $lockobject$ = new object(); 
    
                        $classname$() 
    
                        { 
    
                        } 
    
     
    
                        public static $classname$ $instanceobject$ 
    
                        { 
    
                            get 
    
                            { 
    
                                lock ($lockobject$) 
    
                                { 
    
                                    if ($instancename$==null) 
    
                                    { 
    
                                        $instancename$ = new $classname$(); 
    
                                    } 
    
                                    return $instancename$; 
    
                                } 
    
                            } 
    
                        } 
            
                    ]]> 
    
          </Code> 
    
        </Snippet> 
    
      </CodeSnippet> 
    
    </CodeSnippets>

    Now we register this snippet using Code Snippet Manager and used in our singleton class as

    Image 24

    After pressing Tab the end result is :

    Image 25

    Singleton Example 2

    In this code snippet the implementation is thread-safe without using lock.

    File name:  singletonts.snippet

    Code :

    XML
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> 
    
    <CodeSnippets xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet"> 
    
      <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0"> 
    
        <Header> 
    
          <Title>Thread safe Singleton Pattern</Title> 
    
          <Shortcut>singletonts</Shortcut> 
    
          <Description>Code Snippet for a singleton class : Thread-safe without using locks</Description> 
    
          <Author>Anand Ranjan Pandey</Author> 
    
          <SnippetTypes> 
    
            <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
    
          </SnippetTypes> 
    
        </Header> 
    
        <Snippet> 
    
          <Declarations> 
    
            <Literal> 
    
              <ID>instancename</ID> 
    
              <Default>instance</Default> 
    
            </Literal> 
    
            <Literal> 
    
              <ID>instanceobject</ID> 
    
              <Default>Instance</Default> 
    
            </Literal> 
    
            <Literal Editable="false"> 
    
              <ID>classname</ID> 
    
              <ToolTip>Class name</ToolTip> 
    
              <Function>ClassName()</Function> 
    
              <Default>ClassNamePlaceholder</Default> 
    
            </Literal> 
    
          </Declarations> 
    
          <Code Language="CSharp" Kind="CData"> 
    
            <![CDATA[ 
    
                        static readonly $classname$ $instancename$=new $classname$(); 
    
                        // Explicit static constructor to tell C# compiler 
    
                        // not to mark type as beforefieldinit 
    
                        static $classname$() 
    
                        { 
    
                        } 
    
                        $classname$() 
    
                        { 
    
                        } 
    
     
    
                        public static $classname$ $instanceobject$ 
    
                        { 
    
                            get 
    
                            { 
    
                                return $instancename$; 
    
                            } 
    
                        } 
    
                    ]]> 
    
          </Code> 
    
        </Snippet> 
    
      </CodeSnippet> 
    
    </CodeSnippets>

    Now we register this snippet using Code Snippet Manager and used in our singleton class as

    Image 26

    After pressing Tab the end result is :

    Image 27

    That’s all for Code Snippets. Hope you will enjoy it.

    How to use Code 

    Note: To use the sample example follow these steps:

    1. Unzip the folder MyCodeSnippets.zip any directory you want.
    2. Open Code Snippet Manager and add folder MyCodeSnippets

      Image 28

    3. Now snippets are ready to use.

    Note: All above mentioned examples are included in MyCodeSnippets.zip file.

    Reference

    MSDN : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms165392(VS.80).aspx

    Comments/Queries are most welcome!!!

  • License

    This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


    Written By
    Software Developer (Senior)
    United States United States
    This member has not yet provided a Biography. Assume it's interesting and varied, and probably something to do with programming.

    Comments and Discussions

     
    Question<Assembly> AssemblyName </Assembly> Pin
    Jim Keifer26-Oct-20 8:25
    Jim Keifer26-Oct-20 8:25 
    GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
    Manoj Kumar Choubey16-Jan-13 18:53
    professionalManoj Kumar Choubey16-Jan-13 18:53 
    GeneralRe: My vote of 5 Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey17-Jan-13 3:33
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey17-Jan-13 3:33 
    Questionvote of 5 Pin
    Shravan Sunder13-Jun-12 4:12
    Shravan Sunder13-Jun-12 4:12 
    AnswerRe: vote of 5 Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey13-Jun-12 5:43
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey13-Jun-12 5:43 
    GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
    Prabin Kumar27-Mar-12 20:54
    Prabin Kumar27-Mar-12 20:54 
    Generaleasier way to have common snippets with your team Pin
    Thanos Papathanasiou13-Jan-10 0:40
    Thanos Papathanasiou13-Jan-10 0:40 
    Generalcopy the snippet file to your documents folder and access it. Pin
    rabbani_i4-Jan-10 20:44
    rabbani_i4-Jan-10 20:44 
    GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
    Vicks123421-Oct-09 4:04
    Vicks123421-Oct-09 4:04 
    GeneralGreat article Pin
    Johnny J.29-Sep-09 21:00
    professionalJohnny J.29-Sep-09 21:00 
    GeneralRe: Great article Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey5-Oct-09 22:41
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey5-Oct-09 22:41 
    GeneralFantastic writeup (+5) Pin
    User 246299122-Sep-09 3:44
    professionalUser 246299122-Sep-09 3:44 
    GeneralRe: Fantastic writeup (+5) Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey23-Sep-09 0:59
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey23-Sep-09 0:59 
    GeneralNice article but... Pin
    Qaiser_Iftikhar22-Sep-09 2:12
    Qaiser_Iftikhar22-Sep-09 2:12 
    GeneralRe: Nice article but... Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey23-Sep-09 1:04
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey23-Sep-09 1:04 
    GeneralThanks from a begginner Pin
    Senseicads21-Sep-09 21:32
    Senseicads21-Sep-09 21:32 
    GeneralRe: Thanks from a begginner Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey21-Sep-09 22:30
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey21-Sep-09 22:30 
    GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
    Dinesh Mani16-Sep-09 20:36
    Dinesh Mani16-Sep-09 20:36 
    GeneralRe: My vote of 5 Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey16-Sep-09 22:28
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey16-Sep-09 22:28 
    GeneralRe: My vote of 5 Pin
    ALBERT NISICO17-Sep-09 4:29
    ALBERT NISICO17-Sep-09 4:29 
    Question[My vote of 1] Attribution? Pin
    S. Senthil Kumar12-Sep-09 10:15
    S. Senthil Kumar12-Sep-09 10:15 
    AnswerRe: [My vote of 1] Attribution? Pin
    Brad00714-Sep-09 1:51
    Brad00714-Sep-09 1:51 
    GeneralRe: [My vote of 1] Attribution? Pin
    S. Senthil Kumar14-Sep-09 2:08
    S. Senthil Kumar14-Sep-09 2:08 
    GeneralRe: [My vote of 1] Attribution? Pin
    Anand Ranjan Pandey14-Sep-09 18:44
    professionalAnand Ranjan Pandey14-Sep-09 18:44 
    GeneralWrong Caption Pin
    Andrey Akinshin12-Sep-09 7:15
    Andrey Akinshin12-Sep-09 7:15 

    General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

    Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.