[Note: to use the Visual Studio Servers, you must first send your NetId to one of the TA's, Kevin Yip or Yitong Yin.]

We will be using Microsoft's Visual Studio.NET (VS.NET) integrated development environment (IDE) for C# programming.  It's what is usedin the textbook, it's what I will demonstrate in class, and it's what you will use to develop your own programs and turn in homework assignments.

You are welcome to purchase VS.NET on your own, but a simpler approach is to use one of the VS Servers, which you can do remotely from the comfort of your own computer.  See instructions below.  You can also download a free version to your own computer -- see below.

Once you are on the server, you can run VS.NET as follows:
Start | All Programs | Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2003 | Microsoft Visual Studio .Net 2003

More detailed instructions on running VS.NET can be found in the textbook.

Running RDC (Remote Desktop Connection) on your PC

For Windows XP:

1. If you are running Windows XP, click your way over to:
   Start | All Programs | Accessories | Communications | Remote Desktop Connection
2. Type in "cs112-a.cs.yale.edu" where it says "computer".  Alternatively, type in "cs112-b.cs.yale.edu" or "cs112-c.cs.yale.edu" (there are three servers, all identical).
3. Click "Ok" on the "Advisory" window.
4. Type your NetId and Password where it says "User Name" and "Password", respectively, and then select "Yale" where is says "Log on to".
5. You will now see a normal-looking Windows desktop, except that it is the desktop of the server, not your computer!  If you want to move things between the server and your computer, the next time you do step (1) above, click on "Options" and then "Local Resources", and check off the box that says "Disk Drives".

For Mac:

1. Go to the link below to download and run RDC on a Mac.
2. Then follow steps (2)-(5) above.

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx?pid=remotedesktopclient

Free Version of VS.NET for Windows

For those interested in downloading a free copy of VS.NET to your own machine, go to www.yale.edu/msdnaa, click on "Sign Up," and follow the directions. I would recommend downloading "Visual Studio.NET 2003 Professional" (rather than 2005), since the 2003 version is the one that we're using on the servers.

I have not tried this, so let me know how it goes. Also remember that you still need to figure a way to copy your solutions back up the server, since that's where the TA's are expecting to find them.