Code Snippet Functions

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There are three functions available to use with Visual C# code snippets. Functions are specified in the Function Element (IntelliSense Code Snippets) element of the code snippet. For information on creating code snippets, see Creating and Using IntelliSense Code Snippets.

Functions

The following table describes the functions available for use with the Function element in code snippets.

Function

Description

Language

GenerateSwitchCases(EnumerationLiteral)

Generates a switch statement and a set of case statements for the members of the enumeration specified by the EnumerationLiteral parameter. The EnumerationLiteral parameter must be either a reference to an enumeration literal or an enumeration type.

Visual C#

ClassName()

Returns the name of the class that contains the inserted snippet.

Visual C#

SimpleTypeName(TypeName)

Reduces the TypeName parameter to its simplest form in the context in which the snippet was invoked.

Visual C#

Example

The following example shows how to use the GenerateSwitchCases function. When this snippet is inserted and an enumeration is entered into the $switch_on$ literal, the $cases$ literal generates a case statement for every value in the enumeration.

<CodeSnippets xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet">
    <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0">
        <Header>
            <Title>switch</Title> 
            <Shortcut>switch</Shortcut> 
            <Description>Code snippet for switch statement</Description> 
            <Author>Microsoft Corporation</Author> 
            <SnippetTypes>
                <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
            </SnippetTypes>
        </Header>
        <Snippet>
            <Declarations>
                <Literal>
                    <ID>expression</ID> 
                    <ToolTip>Expression to switch on</ToolTip> 
                    <Default>switch_on</Default> 
                </Literal>
                <Literal Editable="false">
                    <ID>cases</ID> 
                    <Function>GenerateSwitchCases($expression$)</Function> 
                    <Default>default:</Default> 
                </Literal>
            </Declarations>
            <Code Language="csharp">
                <![CDATA[
                    switch ($expression$)
                    {
                        $cases$
                    }
                ]]>
            </Code>
        </Snippet>
    </CodeSnippet>
</CodeSnippets>

The following example shows how to use the ClassName function. When this snippet is inserted, the $classname$ literal is replaced with the name of the enclosing class at that location in the code file.

<CodeSnippets xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet">
    <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0">
        <Header>
            <Title>Common constructor pattern</Title> 
            <Shortcut>ctor</Shortcut> 
            <Description>Code Snippet for a constructor</Description>
            <Author>Microsoft Corporation</Author> 
            <SnippetTypes>
                <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType>
            </SnippetTypes>
        </Header>
        <Snippet>
            <Declarations>
                <Literal>
                    <ID>type</ID> 
                    <Default>int</Default> 
                </Literal>
                <Literal>
                    <ID>name</ID> 
                    <Default>field</Default> 
                </Literal>
                <Literal default="true" Editable="false">
                    <ID>classname</ID> 
                    <ToolTip>Class name</ToolTip> 
                    <Function>ClassName()</Function> 
                    <Default>ClassNamePlaceholder</Default> 
                </Literal>
            </Declarations>
            <Code Language="vjsharp" Format="CData">
                <![CDATA[ 
                    public $classname$ ($type$ $name$)
                    {
                        this._$name$ = $name$;
                    }
                    private $type$ _$name$;
                ]]>
            </Code>
        </Snippet>
    </CodeSnippet>
</CodeSnippets>

This example shows how to use the SimpleTypeName function. When this snippet is inserted into a code file, the $SystemConsole$ literal will be replaced with the simplest form of the Console type in the context in which the snippet was invoked.

<CodeSnippets xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/2005/CodeSnippet">
    <CodeSnippet Format="1.0.0">
        <Header>
            <Title>Console_WriteLine</Title> 
            <Shortcut>cw</Shortcut> 
            <Description>Code snippet for Console.WriteLine</Description> 
            <Author>Microsoft Corporation</Author> 
            <SnippetTypes>
                <SnippetType>Expansion</SnippetType> 
            </SnippetTypes>
        </Header>
        <Snippet>
            <Declarations>
                <Literal Editable="false">
                    <ID>SystemConsole</ID> 
                    <Function>SimpleTypeName(global::System.Console)</Function> 
                </Literal>
            </Declarations>
            <Code Language="csharp">
                <![CDATA[ 
                    $SystemConsole$.WriteLine();
                ]]>
            </Code>
        </Snippet>
    </CodeSnippet>
</CodeSnippets>

See Also

Concepts

Code Snippets Schema Reference

Reference

Function Element (IntelliSense Code Snippets)