Recommended TDD / Agile / Source Control Plugins for Visual Studio 2008

Question

I am looking for a set of nice plugins to use when developing software. I am currently developing a project where I am experimenting with TDD at the same time as I look at the project. Recently, I was quite bloated regarding agiles and wondered how I could further integrate tools that would help my task both to complete the project and to study TDD. Next, I study integration with SVN or other version control repositories. I would also like to include version information in the assembly, as publicly publish the stages of publication, for feedback. My desire is to finally learn how to create reliable and supported software, and take the leap out of the world of cowboy coding that I have stayed for so long.

I'm a little worried about getting too many plugins at first, because I feel that I can do more harm than good if I get lost or don't use them for their intended purpose. Some of them come to my mind: Style Cop / Fx Cop for supporting coding standards, Visual SVN for integrating SVN, Testdriven with NUnit (and possible Moq, but this is only because I did not look at the mocking library in NUnits). I have not tried tools like resharper yet, but I am going to try this as I have heard a lot of good things about it.

I code exclusively in C # by writing a class library for use in Unity3D, a free game engine with .NET 2.0 support. However, the tests themselves can be any version of .NET supported by my installation. I heard something about automated tests that could lead to a fix failure, and I am very happy to get my fingers immersed in it as soon as I can, because in my opinion it will make me better study TDD.

If you know any other plugins that would suit my needs, or if you think I should choose one by one, please let me know.

Since I'm completely new to plugins, I wouldn’t mind if you could motivate why and when to use them. I am very happy to have a good environment to hone my skills.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope you have something to add :)

Edit

Now I understand that some of them play with Steve Cope, but this is not the best TDD plugin and flexible approaches with default settings. Although I really think that the code that I produce has a very high standard using it, I feel that many of the rules (e.g. strict documentation) are less than flexible, because you have to pay for it. In TDD, the tests themselves serve as documentation and specifications. Thinking that you should not do what you do not need to do.

In my particular case, I do not need additional documentation, because this library is not intended for sharing between other developers. In the future, this may happen, and then we will land in another park. I have little doubt overriding these rules. I suppose, on the one hand, I want clean and reliable code to practice “good coding,” on the other hand, I want to narrow it down a bit in TDD, and in the end I want to get production value.

I wanted to publish my idea of ​​using Style Cop with default settings if a new developer reads the original article and decides to blindly use it because it was listed here only to find it more cumbersome than appropriate. I think the key is to understand your needs and determine if a particular feature affects your production values.

Answer 1

Test Driven.NET

Includes a free version for personal development. A good simple plugin, not expensive in terms of memory usage, or the time you need to devote to learning how to use it.

For testing-based development, running tests inside the IDE is mandatory. You will be surprised at how much time you save without having to switch to an external runner for every test you want to run.

I heard something about automatic tests that could cause a commit failure

Note build automation - MSBuild or NAnt to name a few. In fact, if the build process is not successful, you will not pass your code to your repository. For example, if you break some code, the build process will fail. If it passes, you can safely commit your code.

For .NET users, MSBuild (Visual Studio uses it internally) would be a good start. Check out the official MSDN website and do some searching for additional articles on why build automation is a good idea.

Other tools

Your question asks about using FxCop, StyleCop, etc. Instead of running them from the outside, you can link them as part of the build process. This will require some effort, but the time saved by using them and integrating them into the assembly process is massive. On the other hand, your code will improve using them no matter when you use them.

Free resharper

Resharper is expensive for personal development. If your company provides it, be sure to use it. Can I justify buying it for personal development? No chance. Instead, check out CodeRush Express . It looks like and less hunger than Resharper. I believe that it does not block Visual Studio permanently. Plus, some of its features are pretty nice.

Answer 2

The sound is very dependent on plugins and tools, and of course, tools can be a big help, but I would focus on the actual materials that you want to learn, and not on the tools and infrastructures.

What you definitely need:

• SVN (TortoiseSVN OK)
• Testdriven.Net to run your tests
• Teamcity or equivalent for continuous integration

You do not yet need all kinds of plugins and frameworks to improve these basics. Focus on TDD and build history, and possibly release management, and as you study this, you will find what tools you need.

Answer 3

I think the pluggins you are interested in are all right.

Resharper is nice and powerful, but it takes a lot of memory.

As some others have said, TestDriven.Net is almost a prerequisite. It allows you to run tests from the VS IDE. It works great if your tests are in NUnit.

Finally, I would recommend NCover keep track of your test coverage. It has a community version and can be run from the IDE using TestDriven.Net too.

And, of course, nAnt and / or MSBuild for automatic builds. I would recommend nAnt better.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

You might want to explore NDepend , which will help you analyze your code base and keep it clean. (Otherwise, I am the second tip for TestDriven.Net and ReSharper).