Software Development Tools List

Whenever I am building a new PC I always forget to install some of the tools that I love.  When I remember that I forgot, I then sometimes struggle to remember what that little tool that does some tiny little thing that I love, but has a weird name is called.

No more.  They will now be collated here and perhaps one day, when I grow up, I will have a tools list as big as Hanselman's Tools List.

My .NET Life Would Not be Worth Living Without

  • ReSharper - Does it make you 10 times better or 100?  The argument rages.
  • Reflector - Lutz Roeder's baby, now with redgate.
  • GhostDoc - Spooky how it makes your code look better.
  • Visual Studio - What good is a sexy add-in, without a something to add it to?
  • Subversion - Source control I trust.  Made me forget VSS and (so far) ignore TFS.
  • TortoiseSVN - Explorer GUI for Subversion.  Will my head be turned by Visual SVN?
  • Google - Yeah I know.  But when did you last hit F1 in Visual Studio and NOT smash your monitor?
  • Firefox Add-ons - I wonder if there is a tool to do XYC?  Yep, someone built it.  See my faves below.

The Rest...

  • 7-Zip - Especially now WinZip want to charge me for something every 10 minutes.
  • TrueCrypt - The last line between my key chain flash drive and MI5... (this is a joke, packet sniffers)
  • RoboForm2Go - The only thing that knows all my passwords.
  • Send To Toys - Lets me do things like "Send to Command Prompt".  Although not on Vista right now (for me).
  • PlainTextClipboard - Takes all the fancy formatting that other apps put on the clipboard and plaintextifies it.
  • JkDefrag - Simple and mesmerising defrag.  Look into my clusters...
  • Workrave - Sheep that keeps my ulna nerve healthy.  Reminds me that 12 hours non-stop coding is bad.
  • Ultramon - A must have for the multi-monitor warrior (I am only a 2 panel man).
  • Fiddler2 - Who doesn't like to sniff HTTP?  It's all the rage and Fiddler is still my fave.

...and Firefox

Firefox - Mainly because of the following extensions:

Updated:  26/08/2008 with Firefox section and some other minor edits.