When working with Visual Studio, you will encounter various types of files in your project directory. Among these files are the .suo (Solution User Options) and .user files. Understanding whether these files should be included in source control is critical for maintaining a streamlined and effective team development environment.

Understanding .suo and .user Files

• .suo Files: The .suo file is a binary file that stores user-specific settings, including which files are open, which documents are expanded in solution explorer, bookmarks, breakpoints, and more. This file sits alongside the .sln (solution) file. Each user has their .suo file, which Visual Studio generates and maintains automatically.
• .user Files: The .user files are also user-specific and generally store debugging and project state settings for individual projects. They might include start-up project configurations like command line arguments or custom start actions.

Should You Add .suo and .user Files to Source Control?

The main question revolves around whether or not including these files in version control brings value to the development process. Here are the general guidelines and considerations:

1. Privacy and User-Specific Settings

Both .suo and .user files contain user-specific options and settings. If these files are added to source control, conflicts could arise as different developers may have individual preferences and setups, causing unnecessary complications in the version control process.

2. Reusability and Environment Differences

These files may include absolute paths and configurations applicable only to a specific development environment. Sharing these via source control can lead to build and configuration errors on a collaborator's machine, which are difficult to troubleshoot.

3. Binary Nature of .suo Files

The binary format of .suo files presents additional challenges in source control. Binary files can bloat the repository size over time and cannot be easily merged like text-based configuration files. This limitation often leads to conflicts and manual interventions during merges.

Best Practices

Given these considerations, the recommended practice is not to add .suo and .user files to source control. Excluding these files can help avoid unnecessary conflicts and keep the repository clean from personal configurations that may not be relevant to other developers. Instead, settings that need to be consistent across environments can be controlled through shared settings and configuration files that are designed to be part of the version control system.

Technical Implementation of Exclusions

Most version control systems, like Git, allow you to specify files to exclude from tracking using a .gitignore file. Here's how you typically exclude .suo and .user files:

1# Ignore Visual Studio temporary files, build results, and
2# Files generated by popular Visual Studio add-ons.
3
4# User-specific files
5*.suo
6*.user
7*.userosscache
8*.sln.docstates

Alternatives and Additional Best Practices

If there are settings and configurations crucial to be shared among the team, consider creating structured configuration files in a non-binary format which can be edited and tracked easily. XML, JSON, or YAML files are commonly used for this purpose and are easy to integrate into a version control strategy.

Summary

In summary, it is best practice not to include .suo and .user files in source control due to their user-specific and environment-dependent nature. The table below outlines the key reasons for their exclusion:

By following these guidelines, teams can maintain a clean and effective source control environment, reducing conflicts and ensuring that all members have the flexibility to maintain their development preferences locally.