Developer Assistant Adds 21 Millions Samples of C++ to the Mix -- Visual Studio Magazine

Developer Assistant Adds 21 Millions Samples of C++ to the Mix

Microsoft's Bing-powered code searching tool now adds contextually aware coding help for those writing C++ code.

By Michael Domingo
07/21/2016

Microsoft's Developer Assistant claims to provide access to, at the very least, 64 million code samples with a few keystrokes. That's because a recent update added another 21 million C++ code samples to the assistant with a recent update.

Developer Assistant is a productivity tool for developers who'd rather not continue reinventing the wheel in their code. It uses Bing's search capabilities to scour a number of developer resources for coding samples, including Stack Overflow, GitHub and MSDN. What makes Developer Assistant especially unique is that it provides contextually aware searches, so that the code you're searching for will often match the language you're using.

In the C++ update, Bing searches a number of C++-specific references: cppreference.com, cplusplus.com. The tool, after it's installed as a plug-in, can be called up from within the IDE with a Ctrl+Shift+F1 key combo anytime, which brings up a Bing Search box. Otherwise, it'll usually come up through IntelliSense while coding.

Also available for getting help for any keyword or compile error is Bing Contextual Search. Jus. However, Anuj Jain, Program Manager for Bing Tech Experiences, notes in a blog that "Currently in VS2015 the feature works only in the IDE Editor and not for compiler errors."

Developer Assistant is also available for VS versions 2013 and 2012, which can be obtained here.

About the Author

Michael Domingo is a long-time software publishing veteran, having started up and managed several developer publications for the Clipper compiler, Microsoft Access, and Visual Basic. He's also managed IT pubs for 1105 Media, including Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine and Virtualization Review before landing his current gig as Visual Studio Magazine Editor in Chief. Besides his publishing life, he's a professional photographer, whose work can be found by Googling domingophoto.

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