Visual Studio IronPython Integration Deep Dive

By Michael Foord -
The Visual Studio SDK demonstrates how to customize Visual Studio, providing IronPython integration as an example of how to use many of the advanced features. code.msdn.microsoft.com nows has a 'deep dive' document that explores the SDK through the IronPython integration.
The IronPython Visual Studio SDK example provides, among other things, a full implementation of the Python programming language. The IronPython integration into Visual Studio, included as part of the SDK, provides not only a full IDE experience for Python developers interested in exploring this Python implementation, but also a useful framework from which to dissect a non-trivial Visual Studio language service and development environment. While the VS SDK provides some documentation on the subject, along with the source code of the IronPython Visual Studio Integration itself, it can be overwhelming to attack such a large source base without some kind of guide to point out purpose, direction, and salient roadmarks within the code.

This Deep Dive will explore a variety of topics dealing with the IronPython Visual Studio integration, such as:
  • MSBuild integration with the Visual Studio environment
  • A custom tool window to display the IronPython console
  • Code snippets
  • Project template support

And so on.

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