Visual Web Developer slow to load

[aharrisreid]

I am using Visual Web Developer to help me learn ASP.net 2.0, but I am finding it extremely slow loading (about 40 seconds), even when there is no default page or project to load. After closing VWD, then restarting it, it appears to load in no-time (well, a few seconds, but I can live with that) - is this a caching thing?

I have a reasonably spec'd machine, XP Pro with 512Mb RAM (nothing else running at the time). Does VWD really need 1Gb?

BTW, I am using the express version, but I have read elsewhere the problem also applies to the full VS version.

If anyone has any ideas how I can speed-up the loading I would be grateful.

TIA

Alan

[BuezaWebDev]

It has to load all the libraries for (C#/VB) .NET, and in general, they're very heavy. Having more ram would speed it up, but why use VWD when you can use a regular text editor?

[aharrisreid]

Hi BuezaWebDev, thanks for the reply.

... but why use VWD when you can use a regular text editor?

Because I am completely new to ASP.net 2.0 and it is a great way to get-going fast, especially with complicated controls like the gridview or detailsview. I am slowly becoming familiar with the code generated 'behind the scenes'. Maybe in a couple of years time I'll be confident enough to ditch VWD, but right now it's a wonderful tool to work with.

Unless you can suggest some better tools for beginners? ;)

Regards,
Alan

[BuezaWebDev]

Hi BuezaWebDev, thanks for the reply.



Because I am completely new to ASP.net 2.0 and it is a great way to get-going fast, especially with complicated controls like the gridview or detailsview. I am slowly becoming familiar with the code generated 'behind the scenes'. Maybe in a couple of years time I'll be confident enough to ditch VWD, but right now it's a wonderful tool to work with.

Unless you can suggest some better tools for beginners? ;)

Regards,
Alan

Heh, I'm a PHP man myself, so I don't know much about the Microsoft side of things for Web Development. :p

Visual Web Developer was made for business people to create web applications on the fly, so, I'm guessing that's your best bet to learn from there. I guess you'll also have to deal with that excruciating 40 second load time. :p

[aharrisreid]

Heh, I'm a PHP man myself, so I don't know much about the Microsoft side of things for Web Development. :p

As a newbie to web development (my main thing is networked database applications) it's only recently that I made the decision to go down the ASP.net 2.0 route instead PHP.

I liked the look of PHP as a language, but I found a distinct lack of developer tools to create some of the more complicated aspects of data-binding, grids, editing forms, etc.. I'm sure they are out there, but I only have a limited amount of reseach time.

Much as I want to gradually move away from MSFT products, Visual Web Developer is a great tool for beginners, and it doesn't take long to get going creating nice-looking web-pages. All the asp and C# scripting stuff can come later as I get into it more.

Also, since I rely on this stuff for my income, I had a look at what skills are more in demand and/or pay better here in the UK. PHP certainly came-out well, but it looks like (at the moment), the combination of ASP.net and C# skills may be a better bet for the future. It's a gamble - if only I had the time to learn both!

If you want to, persuade me that I have made the wrong decision and that PHP is the way to go!

Regards,
Alan

[BuezaWebDev]

A language is a language--choose whatever you want to develop web applications. As for "nice looking" webpages--VWD doesn't produce semantic code, which is a big deal when you're trying to conform the W3C standards.

With PHP, you grow accustomed to typing out all the (x)html and css instead of having a gui let you drag and drop input boxes. Most web development jobs require you to know how to code (x)html/css/scripting language by hand without code generation through a gui.

Where I am located (West Canada), there's far more PHP/MySQL jobs vs ASP.NET jobs--reason why is because it's a cheaper business solution. As far as code flexibility, PHP5 is OOP, so depending on how efficient your developer(s) are, your application can be very flexible.

Also, C# is contained in ASP.NET (you can also script in VB)/

As for knowing both languages--that's always a good way to go, but that'll definitely take more time.

[taMaule]

I run VWD on a very fast machine and it still takes forever to load compared to other programs.

As for which solution to learn -- MS has been relentless in their push of .NET and I don't expect that to stop any time soon. I use it because the software house I work for decided on it. You should check out the prospective job ops in your area and learn whatever is most marketable. That could be PHP, .NET even ColdFusion who knows... I have seen a number of very good sites created in all three.

If I were doing this as a way of self-employment I would also consider the price and availability of hosting services for your prospective customers. You can build a great product and if you can't sell it your target audience, well...

Hope this helps and good luck.

[BuezaWebDev]

ASP.NET 3.0 should be intersting.

[sirpelidor]

If anyone has any ideas how I can speed-up the loading I would be grateful.



change the mode from "Debug" to "Deploy", it'll load somewhat faster

[aharrisreid]

Hi BuezaWebDev, thanks for the reply.

...VWD doesn't produce semantic code
What do you mean by semantic code?

With PHP, you grow accustomed to typing out all the (x)html and css instead of having a gui let you drag and drop input boxes. Most web development jobs require you to know how to code (x)html/css/scripting language by hand without code generation through a gui.
Point taken. Do you know of any good drag'n'drop WYSIWIG software which generates 'true' html code for input boxes, grids, etc., and also allows easy insertion of PHP code?

Where I am located (West Canada), there's far more PHP/MySQL jobs vs ASP.NET jobs--reason why is because it's a cheaper business solution.
That's what I would have expected, but my research so far shows the opposite. Maybe it's because the larger companies that can afford to advertise via. agencies and websites are more 'corporate' in their nature, and therefore more likely to follow the MSFT route than open-source. Either that or ASP.net skills are far more scarce than PHP.

As far as code flexibility, PHP5 is OOP, so depending on how efficient your developer(s) are, your application can be very flexible.
My background is database stuff with Visual Foxpro, which has had OOP for a long time now, so I will be interested to see how it is implemented in PHP5.

Regards,
Alan

[aharrisreid]

Hi taMaule, thanks for the reply.

I run VWD on a very fast machine and it still takes forever to load compared to other programs.
I bet its that .net framework that's causing the delay.

If I were doing this as a way of self-employment I would also consider the price and availability of hosting services for your prospective customers. You can build a great product and if you can't sell it your target audience, well...
That's a dilemma I have considered, but come to no definitive answer. Asp.net has more advertised jobs (at the moment in the UK), and pays more, but is limited to larger companies (which means self-employment is less likely), but is more expensive to deploy. PHP, however, is much easier and less-expensive to deploy, and is probably used more by the sort of companies that I would normally deal with, but finding those companies may be harder, especially as I would probably not want a full-time position with any one company.

Regards,
Alan

[aharrisreid]

ASP.NET 3.0 should be intersting.

Is this going to be vastly different from 2.0? When is 3.0 likely to be released? In other words, is it worth holding-off learning 2.0 and go for the PHP route instead, then look at 3.0 once it is released?

Just thinking out loud...

Regards,
Alan

[aharrisreid]

Hi, sirpelidor, thanks for the reply.

change the mode from "Debug" to "Deploy", it'll load somewhat faster

Where do I change the mode? I've looked in Tools/Options, but cannot find it anywhere.

TIA
Alan

[sirpelidor]

change <compilation debug=”true”/> to false from ur web.config, ur code will run a little bit faster. (I suggest only do it when your project is completed)

[rplcmint]

Thanks for the tip. I think I saw that in the Karl Moore book. :D :D

I'm new to ASP.NET, so I bought the ASP.NET 2.0 Unleased book on Amazon. It had good reviews.

[sirpelidor]

if anyone who uses VS.net 2005 and wants to fine tune performance, check out this link:

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2006/09/22/Tip_2F00_Trick_3A00_-Optimizing-ASP.NET-2.0-Web-Project-Build-Performance-with-VS-2005.aspx