Microsoft introduces uniform search engine for code examples

Microsoft has added a whole new experience especially for developers on docs.microsoft.com. It is a uniform search engine for examples of code.

With the new search engine, Microsoft is trying to make it easier for developers to discover relevant examples of code, no matter what Microsoft product or service they use. This should make it easier to start using that service or product. That’s what MS Poweruser reports.

Developers can not only view the code, but also contribute to the code and fix errors in the implementation of Microsoft, because all examples are hosted on GitHub.

So if someone finds an error in an example, they can open an issue in a repository and the Microsoft team can look at it.

Direct deployment

The search engine not only contains examples to look at. Several examples also have built-in Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates. Developers can use these examples directly in Azure. This can be done with one click from the page where the examples are shown.

It is also possible to download the relevant code without having to clone the entire repository. The page contains a function called Download ZIP, which downloads the latest version of the specific example of GitHub.

The Browse Code function also makes it possible to go directly to the location of the example within the GitHub source. This way, developers don’t have to find out exactly where the example is in the repository if they want to take a closer look at it.

Quick search results

The search engine lets developers search for code on the page using both keywords and filters. Everything is in a single view, and the results are displayed immediately when a selection is made.

Microsoft has also promised to constantly improve the repository of examples. New examples must also continue to be added, and developers are also allowed to provide examples of code themselves.