Lazy Programming for Smarties

As a programmer, I can honestly say that I am lazy. Forget the menial job of repeating tasks... if it takes me an hour to complete an iteration, I would rather spend 3 hours automating the process. You never know when you might need to do it again, and the click of a button is much more satisfying than an hour of processing data. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way either, otherwise Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas wouldn’t have codified the DRY principle in The Pragmatic Programmer…. Don’t Repeat Yourself.

 Visual Studio makes it easy to be a lazy coder. Out of the box, you get the Extension Manager in the Tools menu. Open it up and you should immediately install the other tool every lazy developer loves: NuGet. If you want to automate your tests so you’re not spending hours fixing bugs, simply add the NuGet package for a unit testing framework and you’re on your way. Need to test without dependencies? There’s a NuGet package for JustMock. NuGet is simple, sweet, and eliminates the need to download and compile other people’s projects.

 When it comes to writing code, Visual Studio provides a lot of time saving shortcuts: refactorings, code snippets, and a myriad of other tools. However, it doesn’t do everything, and you may find yourself desiring so much more. Luckily, you don’t have to automate these processes yourself. If you truly want to save time while coding, return to the Extension Manager and search for Telerik JustCode (or save time by clicking the link).

JustCode integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio without slowing it down no matter the size of your solution. Since it’s unobtrusive, you may not realize it’s there… until you use another developer’s machine and wonder what’s missing.

1 – Find Errors Before You Compile

The first thing you will notice after installing JustCode is the code analysis. Issues with your codebase are detected in real time and out of process for blazing fast speed. There are no hourglasses as errors and warnings are detected, and you can quickly navigate through them through them using the colored gutter markers. A green light is displayed if everything checks out. Found a problem? The quick fix option will take care of it for you. JustCode also inspects for improvements to code readability, and displays them under quick hints.

2 – Change Code Without Writing It

Everyone modifies their code to improve readability and maintainability, and JustCode simplifies the process by providing contextual refactorings and code fixes for common code changes. It will also generate members to fill in your classes with needed functionality, such as Equals() and GetHashCode() to compare for equality.

What developer likes writing code? All of us, of course, but who likes writing the same code over and over? JustCode provides configurable code templates to insert what couldn’t be abstracted away. There are two types: insert and surround templates, and JustCode is smart enough to help complete them if an appropriate variable is in scope.

3 – Find What You’re Looking For

Before JustCode, I had a tendency to perform a Find in Files. Wading through tons of irrelevant search results is a waste of time… if I’m looking for a class; take me to its definition! Now, it’s easy to find exactly what I’m looking for by specifying files, members, types and symbols. You can also find usages, extended usages, and even unused members to see what can be culled. If you happen to navigate to a class defined in an assembly, it’s decompiled immediately within Visual Studio.

4 – Eliminate the Hassle of Testing Frameworks

Nearly every testing framework comes with a test runner, but most require you to leave Visual Studio to run your tests. If that wasn’t bad enough, these test runners won’t take you to a broken test. JustCode’s test runner is integrated with Visual Studio, provides many filtering options, and most importantly, will help you navigate your tests. It also supports a ton of .NET testing frameworks, in addition to two JavaScript testing frameworks. If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of moving to a different testing framework, there is no need to do a major overhaul. JustCode will simultaneously support MSTest, xUnit, NUnit 2.5, MbUnit 2.4, MbUnit 3, MSpec, Gallio, QUnit, and Jasmine. There is no need to do a major overhaul.

5 – Play Well With Others

It is frustrating when working with other developers who use different code formatting settings. With JustCode, these settings can be shared for the entire project to ensure a consistent programming experience. The hardest part is getting the team to agree on the settings. Once everything is set, the code cleaning feature will wipe away all traces of peevish coding tics and funny formatting. If you have teammates who consistently use odd naming styles, JustCode will give you a warning and recommend a name that fits the defined convention.

Back to Coding

It’s okay to be a lazy developer. After all, coders just want to code, and with JustCode you will get more coding done. Try it out for 30 days with dedicated support, videos, and an awesome community of JustCode fans!

Happy Coding!

Chris Eargle