Is there a support tool to make the code review task more interesting?

Question

I'm so bored with the way I have to open my colleague's changesets and right click on a specific file and select "compare with previous/latest version" - only here will I reach the compare dialog !

I want this dialog as a side-by-side pane when viewing the changeset so that I can see quickly what changes my colleagues have made to the files.

Do you know any of the tools to support this?

Answer 1

Check out Code Collaborator by SmartBear Software.

http://smartbear.com/code-collaborator/

Seems like quite a nice tool (I'm not using it myself, however).

Answer 2

Install the TFS powertool. Then go to history, select two changesets and click compare. A dialog like this would appear that show all the changed files. Double click and view the differences.
In this example I only ticked the "show items that are different'

Answer 3

We have a proprietary tool here at work that simply:

1. Zips up the local changed file(s) in the changelist, and the file(s) at the top of the depot in Perforce.
2. Saves the zip file on a shared server somewhere (Could also be attached as an email item)

Then the reciever/reviewer simply clicks on the link in the email, and a certain client app (very minimal) simply unzips the file(s), and diffs each one in our favorite diff'ing tool.

so you could probably write your own.

As for smartbear. It's ok, but it sure has a horrid GUI. Whoever wrote the UI for it was NOT a UI designer.

Answer 4

You can use ReviewBoard (http://www.reviewboard.org, free, os)

It works great because it allows you (and your fellow team members) to go through the review process just with some clicks in a centralized web system. Of course, this requires a minimal setup in a server, but this payoffs if you consider that you won't need any client installation.

How it works: basically,

1. You commit your work in branch,
2. You create a review request,
3. Any peer can browse the tool, select any review, and he will automatically see the diff.
4. Finally, he can write inline comments and return it to the author.

.. as you see, no need to download or unzip anything. The tool will connect to your SCM system and visually display the diff. It support other workflows, too.. you can browse the docs and the live demo to see if it is a good fit for you.

I highly recommended it.