Which are your productivity tools?

Question

What tools do you use to boost up your application development?

Answer 1

Beyond Compare and ReSharper are the top two for me

Answer 2

Caffeine works really well.

Answer 3

I keep a task list in Outlook for each project. Whenever I think of anything that needs to be done, I can quickly add it there.

Whenever I need something to do (and I'm not trolling around on Stack Overflow), I can always find something on my task list.

Answer 4

Resharper

Answer 5

For MSSQL database work SQLPrompt is pretty cool.

Answer 6

CodeRush/Refactor

Answer 7

• Resharper
• Visual SVN
• Toodledo (w/ Outlook Sync)

Answer 8

• Perforce
• Fogbugz
• BeyondCompare
• VisualAssist
• Jam (for build)
• VTune (performance tuning)
• AQTime (memory profiling mainly)
• gDebugger (for OpenGL development)

The first five are everyday tools, the others are more occasional but really handy when needed.

Finally, an automated build system - grown inhouse. This includes a pre-checkin build that will build my changes on multiple configurations & platforms before I submit it to source control.

Answer 9

As I shared in another answer here, I've been using aggiorno a lot lately while doing XHTML code on ASP.NET MVC. It's a little add-in for Visual Studio that refactors markup and automates some tasks in bulk... a total time saver in doing manual XHTML.

Answer 10

<fanboy>

I've been using IDEA for my development since version 1... I'm actually using the Early Access Program right now... it's better than beta quality and introduces some great new features... especially around javascripty stuff.

I use IDEA for Java, Groovy, Grails, Hibernate, Spring, Stripes, Javascript, HTML, XML, SQL, Velocity, ANT, and many other bits and bobs... It's got amazing code completion and refactoring support for all of those! The source control integration/diff/merge tools are second to none. There are a ton of great plugins for it as well.

IDEA isn't just an IDE for me... when they integrate support for new technologies, I instantly get better at that technology.. and if I don't already know it, I usually try it out because I know the IDE will hold my hand without getting in my way... GWT and Spring are good examples of this... I only tried them out after IDEA support was available and was instantly productive with them.

</fanboy>

Answer 11

• Coderush/Refactor
• VisualSVN
• TestDriven.Net

Answer 12

Errr... Is it really appropriate to mark any particular answer as the accepted answer to a question like this?

What's you favourite colour?
- Blue!
You win.

It doesn't make sense.

Really, you need some way of merging all responses into a list, and THAT's your answer.

Answer 13

I use Excel to help with SQL query/script generation all the time. I have to do a good deal of ad hoc reporting, and sometimes I don't have time for a complex SQL script or need to perform a specific operation in bulk on a large number of records.

Answer 14

• Resharper
• Finalbuilder
• VisualSvn (client and server)
• NCover

Answer 15

Command Line
Enso
VEdit
Active PERL
Beyond Compare

Answer 16

In random order

• Coffee/Coke etc etc etc.
• Eclipse and all my plugins which might not make me more produktive per se, but helps me feel some comfort in the code being produced.
• Positive thoughts
• Time or at least time without disturbance
• Active noisereduction headphones
• Meditation / Yoga nidra to help focus when zoning out

Answer 17

tgmdbm, I think it's best to vote up the thread if good answers appear. Yes, one question may be marked as answer but I see that as a secondary issue here.

Answer 18

• Total Commander (and yes, I know it's 2008)
• Slickrun
• 2 screens + reSizer
• TortoiseSVN

Answer 19

Two bits of software that make my life a lot easier:

• goScreen - virtual desktop software
• Launchy - quicksilver-like launcher for windows

Also putty, vim, bash, perl, python, gdb, GNU make and a zillion others.

Answer 20

Clipomatic - a clipboard cache program. Paste several code snippets onto the clipboard and then pull them back out in any order all from the keyboard.

Answer 21

The Brain. Last analysis I did was almost entirely thought out with it, and it helps a lot organizing your ideas and thoughts. Limitless and versatile.

Edit: It's not only for analysis at all -- when I say versatile I mean it.

Answer 22

SQL Prompt gives you intellisense for SQL Server including keyword, table and column names, snippets etc...

Answer 23

• Total Commander, I haven't met something as powerful as Total Commander yet.
• Cygwin (I script everything then make alias (exemple : "build" will build my current project, "log" will tail -f my log files for debug, etc...)
• Ant
• SVN
• VIM
• Eclipse

Answer 24

• Thunderbird + IMAP + Google Calendar + Lightning (I love this combo)
• Resharper/dotTrace
• Notepad++
• TortoiseSVN/TortoiseMerge
• VPN/Remote Desktop
• Visual Studio Command Prompt
• Cygwin
• Evernote for GTD

Answer 25

noise cancelling earphones and ass kicking music to accompany it with.

Answer 26

• Firebug
• BeyondCompare
• PowerGREP
• Editplus
• RedGate SQL tools
• Jetbrains dotTrace
• ProcessExplorer

Answer 27

• The internet (SO, MSDN, CodeProject, Google)
• AtomineerUtils: http://www.atomineer.com/AtomineerUtils.html

Answer 28

On the server FC8 (soon 11) with

• SVN
• OpenVPN
• Hylafax

On an hosted server (solaris)

• Mantis
• webpage
• email
• webdav calendar

On the desktop:

• Delphi 2006
• TortoiseSVN
• cygwin
• notepad++ (not that much used, usually use Delphi editor for everything)
• Componentsoft Diff (csdiff)
• Sunbird calendar with WebDav on the shared hosting account

I've used Beyond Compare and AQTime in the past with previous employers, but not yet here. TortoiseSVN's build in DIFF and FastMM relieved the need a bit. I think I'd rather buy Peganza's analyser as next first thing.

Answer 29

My list is long and most of them will be personal opinion e.g. editors etc so I thought what is single one which is not choice but necessity...

gnu screen

it saved me hours when i work remotely with linux systems.