10 Must-Have free tools for the .NET developer
Well, there are a lot more than 10, but here are some of my favorite free tools
that I think every .NET developer should be using.
1: Nant
What is it?
Namt is a build tool. Build
scripts are written that can perform tasks
on your build server. Tasks are a-plenty, but typical tasks include the ability
to build .NET solutions, run unit tests, copy files, make and delete
directories and many more. In fact, with the ability to write custom takss for
Nanr, there are plenty of possibilities.
Where can I find it?
Nant can be found at:
http://nant.sourceforge.net/
2: CruiseControl.NET
What is it?
CruiseControl.NET is an Automated Continuous Integration server for .NET.
CruiseControl.NET will monitor your source control repository and run your
build scripts at set intervals, or whenever a file is checked in.
CruiseControl.NET also provides a dashboard web application to view logs and
status, plus a system tray application for all developers to install. This way,
everyone knows who broke the build!
Where can I find it?
CruiseControl.NET can be found at:
3: Nunit
What is it?
If you're not already unit testing your code, then you certiainly should be.
Nunit allows you to write unit tests in your .NET language against your code.
The GUI is easy to use and gives a developer confidence to make changes to
code. Nunit can be integrated into your build (Nant) so tests can be automated.
Where can I find it?
Nunit can be found at:
http://www.nunit.org/
4: TestDriven.NET
What is it?
TestDriven.NET is a free add-in for Visual Studio that piggy-backs on Nunit. It
adds quick access, right mouse click functionality to run your unit tests,
showing the results in the output window. You can even debug your tests from
the right mouse button.
Where can I find it?
TestDriven.NET can be found at:
http://www.testdriven.net/
5: RegEx Designer.NET
What is it?
If you've written validation for your .NET sites, regular expressions can be a
pain to get to grips with. The RegExDesigner allows you to test out your
regular expressions and even generate .NET code from your regular expressions.
Where can I find it?
RegExDesigner.NET can be found at:
http://www.sellsbrothers.com/tools/#regexd
6: FxCop
What is it?
FxCop is a code analysis tool that checks your code for standards conformance.
GUI and command line is available and again can be automatically run via your
build script.
Where can I find it?
FxCop can be found at:
http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/fxcop/
7: NDoc
What is it?
NDoc generates class library documentation from .NET assemblies and the XML
documentation files generated by the C# compiler Ndoc allows you to produce
HTML or MSDN Style documentation.. Using Ndoc is as simple as filling in your
.NET XML Comments.
Where can I find it?
Ndoc can be found at:
http://ndoc.sourceforge.net/
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8: NunitASP
What is it?
Like Nunit, NunitASP is for unit testing.But in the case of NunitASP, this is
an Nunit extension that is used to test the code-behind pages o your ASP.NET
applications. You can program tests to click buttons, select an array of web
controls and other useful features.
9: The MONO Project
What is it?
Mono is not just free software. The mono project attempts to
make the .NET platform not only language interoperable, but platform
independent. The mono website reads: Mono provides the necessary software to
develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris,
Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix. Sponsored by
Novell, the Mono open source project has an active and enthusiastic
contributing community and is positioned to become the leading choice for
development of Linux applications.
Mono isn't for everyone, but if you are targeting (for example) a unix system
and wanting to stay with .NET. then this is the way to go.
10: NCover
What is it?
It's all very well unit testing your code, but how much of it
are you really testing? NCover highlights the areas of your code that are not
being tested.
I hope that this has helped to hightlight a few of the great
tools that are out there that are available for free. There are plenty others,
including servers, charting tools and O/R Mappers. Have a look at:
http://csharp-source.net/ for more.
Cheers
Rich