Skip to main content

What tools do software developers use? (My Current Setup - Jan 2016 Edition)

What tools a developer will use will greatly vary based on what kind of projects they do. With that said, many new software developers have asked me about my setup so they could have an example. So here's what I'm currently using.

     Main Work     
Visual Studio Professional 2015 - This is the main area where you write your code.

 SQL Server Management Studio - For working with the database.

     Comparison Tools     
I use Araxis for comparing code, Redgate for comparing databases.

Araxis Merge: My current favorite merge/diff utility. I've tried quite a few. Overall the UI is much more pleasant and can display more data at a time. It's not cheap, but I tried out just about every free or cheap merge/diff utility and nothing came close to the 1-click merging abilities of Araxis. A good diff/merge utility is priceless and can save you a lot of time, so take the time to learn it well.

Redgate Tools  - I use their database tools to compare and map out databases. I didn't do much comparison with other tools, but Redgate's Toolbelt is top notch.

     Miscel.     

Turtoise SVN - Version control. This is chosen by the company. It keeps track of the history of all the changes to the code. It has a lot of features that allow you to work easily with a team and stay organized.

Sublime Text - I  primarily use this for taking notes, but I will also sometimes write code in this.

 Pulover's Macro Creator - Super easy Record & Play macros. I use this to save time when testing.

Epic Pen - I use this to draw on the screen. This is great for when I'm explaining things to people, or to help me visually navigate complicated code.

     Graphics/PDF     

GIMP - A great free program for editing images. (Many people use Photoshop, but I haven't ever needed anything too complex.)

 DeskPDF - Editing PDFs.

 CutePDF Writer - Easy PDF creation.

      Websites     
Major browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari - for testing.
Trello & Google Calendar - These two are my favorite organizational tools. Staying organized makes life less stressful and anything you produce higher quality. I use it for work and for personal things.

Stack Overflow
Hacker News

     Company Specific Programs     
There are some company specific programs I've had to learn on the job. I think it's worth mentioning it's likely you'll have to learn a few.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to solve print_bits on the 42 Exam

How to solve print_bits on the 42 Exam This is a walkthrough of how to do the print_bits assignment for the 42 exam. Assignment name : print_bits Expected files : print_bits.c Allowed functions: write -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Write a function that takes a byte, and prints it in binary WITHOUT A NEWLINE AT THE END. Your function must be declared as follows: void print_bits(unsigned char octet); Example, if you pass 2 to print_bits, it will print "00000010" 1.) Make sure you have a good understanding of bits and bytes with the video above. 2.) Then you need to understand bit shifting. It’s a simple concept and Jamie Dawson has a great short tutorial on it here: Basic Bit Shifting Guide 3.) Understanding Bitwise Operators: I found the Swift guide on bitwise operators to be the best. https://docs.swift.org/swift-book/LanguageGuide/AdvancedOperators.html 4.) Solving Print Bits // solu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Preparing for the 42 Piscine

You can come to the 42 Piscine with no programming experience but if you would like something to study ahead of time here are my 2 suggestions. All this content is free 1.) Learning how to learn on Coursera. This will help you develop the good study habits you will need during the piscine.  https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn 2.) C Programming Tutorials by Caleb Curry I haven't used this series myself but I have had it recommended a lot, many people have told me it helped them during the piscine so if you'd like to try your hand at C before the piscine you can follow along with these tutorials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPjZKsUYSXg&list=PL_c9BZzLwBRKKqOc9TJz1pP0ASrxLMtp2 3.)  Khan Academy Brush up on your math skills fore free with Khan Academy. They have both the instructions as well as exercises for practice. Mostly you'll be working with more basic arithmetic for the piscine, but you'll have a few exercises that require more math ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is a Pointer in C?

Create a variable Let's create a variable and give it a value of 3. int a; a = 3 ; Variable  a 's info Name a Value 3 Data Type The data type  of a variable tells you what kind of data it will hold. We can see in the code above that variable a is an int. int = holds an integer (aka a whole number) char = holds a single character pointer = holds a memory address Variable  a 's info Name a Data Type int Value 3 Memory Address The  a  variable is stored somewhere in your computer's memory. Just like humans have an address, variables have an address too. ( 0x00008130 is just an example address, your variable will probably have a different address) Pointers A pointer holds this memory address-- so basically it POINTS to where a variable is located. Let's create a pointer that will point to where our a variable is located. To create a pointer, we need the data type of the variable we will...
Post a Comment
Read more