Theres been a lot of blogging about this recently, but, I though't i'd ask llblgen users:

What are you development "cool tools" - what software can't you live without?

My own personal list:

• Snippet Compiler
• NotePad2, nice editor
• VS.NET, obviously
• SharpReader
• Oh....and LLBLGen of course

VS.Net SQL Server Enterprise Manager SQL Query Analyzer Resharper NUnit LLBLGen

in no particular order...

• XmlDocViewer
• VS.Net
• Notepad++
• TOAD
• LLBLGen
• cmd
• iisreset (most important!!)

and don't forget google, couldn't get thorugh the day without it

Not sure cmd counts

Oh, and if you're a big fan of iisreset, then don't ever use tools like regfixer - they stop it from working, I found out the hard way !!

and don't forget google, couldn't get thorugh the day without it

As an aside, I'll mention a banking firm that wanted me to do a six month contract. They were so afraid of the internet they didn't allow it to people's desks, but instead had two machines with dial-up that you could walk over to (not even chairs at the machines!) and "visit" the internet if you must. I told them to blow.

Without a doubt, Google is my most important development tool.

I'll also mention - skipping things previously mentioned - Paul Wilson's MasterPages for templating web pages, SourceGear Vault, Reflector, and, of course, http://www.developerfood.com (yes, it's shameless self promotion.)

But don't forget, your most important tool and most valuable asset is your vast array of accumulated mistakes.

I'm a rich man...

Hmm tools, skipping VS.NET and LLBLGen...

sqlIDEPro (Intellisense SQL editor, and source control management of Procs) CodeRush (Cross between resharper and assist-x)

SOme old stand by's: FXCop NDoc

Others are already listed here =)

John

Nunit LLBLGen CodeRush & Refactor Infragistics Telerik NDoc CodeSmith OnTime

swallace wrote:

As an aside, I'll mention a banking firm that wanted me to do a six month contract. They were so afraid of the internet they didn't allow it to people's desks, but instead had two machines with dial-up that you could walk over to (not even chairs at the machines!) and "visit" the internet if you must. I told them to blow.

A couple of mates of mine work for a very large global software company that adopts this same policy in their glasgow office. I'm constantly getting emails to look something up for them

I'm constantly getting emails to look something up for them  

Ha!

hehe The internet fobic approach is not new, a friend of mine working at the rabobank also had the same thing, so they are sure the two networks are completely separated. Apparently they never heard of tools to accomplish that, but hey that's new stuff these people most of the time run big iron NEC machines from the late 70'ies.

About fav. tools... hmm. Just notepad.

Notepad2 rocks, I have it as my default notepad. That aside, in no particular order: - rss bandit - outlook - sqlserver - vs.net (no add-ons except ghostdoc) - query analyzer - subversion - tortoisesvn - firefox and google - openoffice - cmd

oh and wimamp of course and my collection of metal music

netclectic wrote:

I'm constantly getting emails to look something up for them

http://www.icerocket.com has a cool feature where you email your query to them and they email the results back. Very nice.

My fav/must have tools:

Free (as in beer):

• Firefox w/web developer extension (and ieview extension)
• Notepad2
• Filezilla
• Google

• Copernic Desktop Search (full text indexing of all my source code, built in file preview, I didn't think of this as a developer tool when I installed it but it is now)

• Reflector

• Snippet Compiler

Not free but worth it:

• LLBLGen Pro
• VS.NET
• Photoshop
• SourceGear Vault
• SQL Ent Manager and Query Analyzer
• ActiveWords (I swear, this may be the greatest software/tool for windows ever)

I am a bit depressed that I can't add Flash to this list because of the fact that I haven't opened it 3 times in the last 9 months.

sirshannon wrote:

netclectic wrote:

I'm constantly getting emails to look something up for them

http://www.icerocket.com has a cool feature where you email your query to them and they email the results back. Very nice.

heh, remembers me of the good old days back in 1990 when we had FTP by email. You first used Archie (THE ftp search engine ) by email, and then mailed your ftp query to a server which did the actual ftp and mailed you the goods back. Often you made a typo and the ftp command failed, and because email was slow, it took all day to get a file!

My fav/must have tools: Free (as in beer): Copernic Desktop Search (full text indexing of all my source code, built in file preview, I didn't think of this as a developer tool when I installed it but it is now)

Interesting. I'll have a look at it.

Reflector Snippet Compiler

Ah yes, forgot those. And I also forgot testdrive.net/nunit

ActiveWords (I swear, this may be the greatest software/tool for windows ever)

Cool stuff! I'm too impatient to learn it I think, but it sounds like a great tool for the less computer-savvy person (i.e.: your average parent/friend/brother/sister )

Otis wrote:

ActiveWords (I swear, this may be the greatest software/tool for windows ever)

Cool stuff! I'm too impatient to learn it I think, but it sounds like a great tool for the less computer-savvy person (i.e.: your average parent/friend/brother/sister )

That is a common misconception. ActiveWords isn't really something you learn. There is a 3 or 4 minute tutorial but from there you are basically teaching, not learning. By the time you finish the tutorial, there are only 2 or 3 ActiveWords set up (your name, your preferred word processor, and "close"). From that point on, you add words that you want. I have try/catch blocks, my address, property/get/set blocks, 2-5 letter shortcuts to every program I listed above (and a few others). I set up an ActiveWords script so that "imdb" is an activeword that triggers a dialog box, I type my query in the box and the search results page at IMDB is opened with my query sent. Sure, my sister could copy and paste that script into an activewords installation on her PC but power users will use the power much moreso than my sister will. The fact that I can open programs with 2 or 5 keystrokes without moving from the keyboard to the mouse or using keyboard navigation to open the program via the start menu is a huge timesaver. The "text replace" functionality is the best code snippet tool ever because I can use it in this text box, in VS.NET, in Notepad, in an email, etc, etc.

ActiveWords is kinda like having a completely configurable commandline under your fingers at all times and almost feels like there is a cable plugged into my brain sometimes because the path from "thought" to "result" is so much shorter and easier for so many things.

whoa, indeed sounds impressive. I'll give it a try!

Thats a pretty convincing sales pitch, I'll take a look too....

heh

I have tried it, and it's very impressive. I do run into a problem though, but that's perhaps me, as I also have this same problem with all those vs.net plugins with shortcut snippets: I can't remember the exact words. For a few, it's ok, but when you have 20 or more, it's hard to use THESE instead of your old habbits: it's easier to click an icon on the quicklaunch bar than to think about the word you assigned to vs.net. Also, the predefined actions are not always what I liked: I don't use open folder, I use explore folder, but perhaps that's tweakable.

All in all: looks great, but not for me, but that's not the fault of the application

Otis wrote:

I do run into a problem though, but that's perhaps me, as I also have this same problem with all those vs.net plugins with shortcut snippets: I can't remember the exact words. For a few, it's ok, but when you have 20 or more, it's hard to use THESE instead of your old habbits:

I don't really have that many, mostly just the programs I listed above, my working folders, some snippets, spell check, and some web stuff. But remembering isn't a problem for me with the ones I use. ps launches photoshop. sql launches Sql Ent Manager. qa launches SQL Query Analyzer. Word launches MS Word. I use the word that I think in my head when I decide I want to launch the program. When I want to launch Jeff Key's ruler, I think "ruler", and so that is the word I use to launch it.

I don't have activewords for everything, I don't have them set up for Snippet Compiler or Reflector, for instance, because I don't use them often enough. There are a ton of addins and functions for Outlook but I just don't use Outlook that much anymore and so I don't bother with those because, as you said, it is hard to remember things that you have to "remember". The program is most useful when you don't have to remember anything at all. I'm too damn lazy to remember things like that.

For any amiga fans out there, it sounds like the "alias" command for workbench

Sorry, I had to get that in

Almost forgot one of my favorites:

ILDASM

Great tool for those of us that like to know how things really work and what type of performance differences various code is.

John

MattWoberts wrote:

For any amiga fans out there, it sounds like the "alias" command for workbench

Sorry, I had to get that in

Workbench? You really used that? Or did you have a harddisk?

Hehehe, I shelled out £299 for a 80meg hard disk crammed into my amiga 1200, so yeah, workbench was cool

MattWoberts wrote:

Hehehe, I shelled out £299 for a 80meg hard disk crammed into my amiga 1200, so yeah, workbench was cool

whoa 300 pounds for 80MB haha those were the days. I was a poor student back then, so all I had was an A500 and a bunch of floppydisks but! also second floppy drive heh Booting workbench took forever on that thing

I saved a long time for it !! It took so long to get upto speed when you turned on the amiga, that you had to turn it on, wait a minute, and then soft-reset to boot the harddisk

Anyway, thats enough reminnising about amiga's for one week

MattWoberts wrote:

Anyway, thats enough reminnising about amiga's for one week

Gee, i'll say

Codewright.