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  4. how to read MSDN documentation??

how to read MSDN documentation??

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  • A AmbiguousName

    hello guys....well im not master on reading the msdn documentation. Can you plz tell me how to find the right topic(i mean, where it is located)...am i the only one in this universe to ask this question??

    L Offline
    L Offline
    Lost User
    wrote on last edited by
    #3

    Just go to the MSDN Home Page[^] and use the search facility. However, you will find that many search items will return multiple 'hits' so you sometimes need to review more than one link before finding the correct one. For example when searching for CheckMenuItem I got this page[^], but since I know I'm searching for a Windows function I can fairly easily trust that the first hit is the correct one. Try the same thing with a .NET function and its a little more difficult. The only way to get really comfortable with it is to use it as much as possible and you will soon grow to love(???) it. Don't forget to customize it to your own requirements in terms of country and view type.

    It's time for a new signature.

    B 1 Reply Last reply
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    • M Maximilien

      MSDN is a bitch to use. 1. use google to search MSDN, prefix your searches with "site:msdn.microsoft.com". for example, type this in google "site:msdn.microsoft.com CWnd" ... 2. if the links do not work inside the "offline" MSDN, goto 1.

      Watched code never compiles.

      T Offline
      T Offline
      Tomz_KV
      wrote on last edited by
      #4

      I also prefer google search for MSDN. If searching at MSDN site directly, the results generally are not in the order of importance that I expect. It could be my misconception.

      TOMZ_KV

      E 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • M Maximilien

        MSDN is a bitch to use. 1. use google to search MSDN, prefix your searches with "site:msdn.microsoft.com". for example, type this in google "site:msdn.microsoft.com CWnd" ... 2. if the links do not work inside the "offline" MSDN, goto 1.

        Watched code never compiles.

        T Offline
        T Offline
        Thomas Vanderhoof
        wrote on last edited by
        #5

        Just Bing it! :laugh:

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        • A AmbiguousName

          hello guys....well im not master on reading the msdn documentation. Can you plz tell me how to find the right topic(i mean, where it is located)...am i the only one in this universe to ask this question??

          C Offline
          C Offline
          cruest
          wrote on last edited by
          #6

          Just don't. No good can come of it. All you'll get from MSDN is an impeneterable generic entry, nonfunctional "example" code and a restatement of the parameters that you already got from intellisense. Do yourself a favor, search with google and open the first NON-MSDN link returned. The only thing I ever got from MSDN was hypertesion and a nervous tick.

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          • T Tomz_KV

            I also prefer google search for MSDN. If searching at MSDN site directly, the results generally are not in the order of importance that I expect. It could be my misconception.

            TOMZ_KV

            E Offline
            E Offline
            ely_bob
            wrote on last edited by
            #7

            I Also avoid Bing in MSDN, and Use Google... Sorry Bing. :omg: Results are closer to what i'm looking for, however I user a search such as: MSDN C# System.Core...etc.. this will give a little more info (IMO) because it will give you context, and a dash of outside perspective (Lower on the gage).. and I usually iterate between MSDN and Web until I hone in on what Exactly I'm looking for on msdn.. I've found that the MSFT blogger5s usually have better info on their blogs then the Documentation and the links to the documentation are often in the blog.. a Great example of this is if you try to figure out how/when to use a spin lock....I spend 4 hours on Sunday until I found a random comment on some MSFT blog that actually explained the intricacies of it. If your interested I think it is an great example of how the documentation is worthless...(actually says that you shouldn't use it really ever).. whereas one blog says it will cause a serious performance hit, and the final one an article about memory management says that it is faster before a threshold....

            I'd blame it on the Brain farts.. But let's be honest, it really is more like a Methane factory between my ears some days then it is anything else...

            T 1 Reply Last reply
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            • E ely_bob

              I Also avoid Bing in MSDN, and Use Google... Sorry Bing. :omg: Results are closer to what i'm looking for, however I user a search such as: MSDN C# System.Core...etc.. this will give a little more info (IMO) because it will give you context, and a dash of outside perspective (Lower on the gage).. and I usually iterate between MSDN and Web until I hone in on what Exactly I'm looking for on msdn.. I've found that the MSFT blogger5s usually have better info on their blogs then the Documentation and the links to the documentation are often in the blog.. a Great example of this is if you try to figure out how/when to use a spin lock....I spend 4 hours on Sunday until I found a random comment on some MSFT blog that actually explained the intricacies of it. If your interested I think it is an great example of how the documentation is worthless...(actually says that you shouldn't use it really ever).. whereas one blog says it will cause a serious performance hit, and the final one an article about memory management says that it is faster before a threshold....

              I'd blame it on the Brain farts.. But let's be honest, it really is more like a Methane factory between my ears some days then it is anything else...

              T Offline
              T Offline
              Tomz_KV
              wrote on last edited by
              #8

              Good experience to share. I remember several years ago, Microsft had an invitational meeting for developers in New York to collect feedbcks to improve the search for MSDN documentation. That was before BING time. Then the BING took over. As a result, whatever BING does is what we get. No particular search improvement on MSDN could be seen.

              TOMZ_KV

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • L Lost User

                Just go to the MSDN Home Page[^] and use the search facility. However, you will find that many search items will return multiple 'hits' so you sometimes need to review more than one link before finding the correct one. For example when searching for CheckMenuItem I got this page[^], but since I know I'm searching for a Windows function I can fairly easily trust that the first hit is the correct one. Try the same thing with a .NET function and its a little more difficult. The only way to get really comfortable with it is to use it as much as possible and you will soon grow to love(???) it. Don't forget to customize it to your own requirements in terms of country and view type.

                It's time for a new signature.

                B Offline
                B Offline
                Bob1000
                wrote on last edited by
                #9

                Good to see that the art of sarcasm is alive and well !

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • A AmbiguousName

                  hello guys....well im not master on reading the msdn documentation. Can you plz tell me how to find the right topic(i mean, where it is located)...am i the only one in this universe to ask this question??

                  H Offline
                  H Offline
                  HenryChilvers
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #10

                  I Agree with everyone else. Ever since they revamped the layout earlier this year, the easiest way to find something on MSDN is to use Google (and then probably use a non-MSDN link).

                  -------------- Henry Manager, Software Engineering and Professional Angry Monkey Slayer

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                  0
                  • A AmbiguousName

                    hello guys....well im not master on reading the msdn documentation. Can you plz tell me how to find the right topic(i mean, where it is located)...am i the only one in this universe to ask this question??

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #11

                    Well despite all the negative comments and Bob1000's suggestion that I was being sarcastic, I'm sorry to say that I find MSDN extremely easy to use. It usually finds the function I'm looking for on the first search, and the answer is generally within the first three hits. Only when searching for something really obscure is Google a better choice.

                    It's time for a new signature.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • A AmbiguousName

                      hello guys....well im not master on reading the msdn documentation. Can you plz tell me how to find the right topic(i mean, where it is located)...am i the only one in this universe to ask this question??

                      P Offline
                      P Offline
                      phicho
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #12

                      I have the same problem, why there isn't something like Java API Documentation for Visual Studio?

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                      • A AmbiguousName

                        hello guys....well im not master on reading the msdn documentation. Can you plz tell me how to find the right topic(i mean, where it is located)...am i the only one in this universe to ask this question??

                        W Offline
                        W Offline
                        W Balboos GHB
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #13

                        Using it is so easy I can do it with my eyes closed . . . and that is my recommendation to you. If that's not working out well, you can also turn off your monitor.

                        /xml>

                        "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

                        "As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert

                        "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek dissappointment. If you are searching for perfection in yourself, then you seek failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010

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