ReSharper 10: To Use or Not to Use
Resharper is an excellent tool for every professional coder around the world. The abundance of features makes it one of the most used Visual Studio 2013 extensions. In short, this software is crucial for improved productivity, as it revises and corrects the written code as the coder is working. However, since this is a paid piece of software, many wonder what the actual perks that come with it are. In this article, we will be looking into whether this software should actually be used by a person, small organization or even an entire company. First of all, let’s look at an overview of what this software is capable of and exactly how it can help a coder.
General features of ReSharper 10
The extension is designed to help coders in several different programming languages, some of which are C#, JavaScript, CSS, HTML and XML. One of the general features is quality code analysis. Since the system is always active, it checks the code quality as you are typing and it creates suggestions for improving your code.
One of the other features that ReShaper boasts is that the system also eliminates any possible errors as well as code smell. This is a very helpful feature that saves a lot of time, as you are not going to have to manually search through your code looking for a problem that has come up. Refactoring is achieved much easier with the use of ReSharper, because it gives automated solutions that can speed up the whole process. What saves a tremendous amount of time are the navigational options that make it easy to jump to any sort of symbol usage, file, type member, etc.
When it comes to code editing, ReSharper provides an abundance of tools that will ensure that you improve your code in the best, easiest and fastest way possible. The included IntelliSense is rich with numerous instantaneous code transformations and code reorganizations, which greatly increases every coder’s productivity and tremendously lowers the time required to complete these tasks.
Creating a common coding style for your complete team is much easier to achieve with style and formatting options that let you quickly edit your code. All these features promise much higher productivity for all the coders in large enterprises, making it a must-have extension for Visual Studio 2013, however, it is time to dig a little bit under the hood and analyze how this software can help you and your team.
Time saving and increased productivity features
When it comes to software features, there is a variety at your disposal and we are going to cover those that are regularly used by coders:
- One of the most popular features is the JavaScript “go to declaration”, which is accessed through the F12 shortcut. Visual Studio does not have this kind of shortcut. ReSharper shows a list of all files where a selected symbol is defined. This makes it easier for the coder to choose and open the required one. This saves a lot of time, as it makes the coding environment much more user-friendly.
- When it comes to JavaScript “code completion”, both ReSharper and Visual Studio 2013 perform this action automatically. However, ReSharper shows all the variables, properties and functions from the entire solution and additionally displays information about which file it is from. On the other hand, Visual Studio shows variables defined only in the current scope.
- Finding usages can save a lot of time. The shortcut for this feature is SHIFT+F12 and using it will make ReSharper show a tree of view of all the files where the current symbol is used. This feature is not supported by Visual Studio, which is an additional reason for using ReSharper.
- Now, when it comes to C# “usage finding”, the shortcut is the same as when using JavaScript, SHIFT+F12. Like with JavaScript, ReSharper displays a tree where all files with the current symbol used are displayed. Visual Studio can perform this task as well from the Context Menu by clicking on the Find all references option. However, Visual Studio displays a list that is not really user-friendly and is very hard to read.
- Using C# “go to implementation” is possible in both ReSharper and Visual Studio, however, it is much easier to perform it by using the extension. Simply using the shortcut CTRL+F12 will get the job done, which is much more user-friendly, as opposed to using Visual Studio’s methods.
- When it comes to CSS “classes” and IDs “suggestion”, ReSharper performs this automatically and Visual Studio does not have this feature. It indexes all HTML views and CSS files. It also suggests class names, element names and element IDs. This is very handy and saves some time as the coding is performed.
- Importing missing usages and references is easily performed by pressing ALT+ENTER whereas by using Visual Studio, this action has to be performed manually. This is yet another trick up the sleeve of the ReSharper extension.
- Performing Logical expressions rearrangements is also easily done with “contextual action”. This feature carefully inspects LINQ and logical expressions and suggest which part of the code could be simplified or even be corrected in some cases. Visual Studio does not contain this feature, which is very important for a coder’s productivity when the deadlines are approaching.
- ReSharper also has the upper hand when it comes to code inspection. Visual Studio does show some warnings after compiling the code, however, the ReSharper extension highlights all of the possible problems and errors that might have happened while the code was being written.
The abovementioned features are very important for everyday coding, however, they are not all equally used.
- JavaScript “go to declaration” and JavaScript “code completion” is often performed more than 5 times a day.
- When it comes to JavaScript and C# find usages, these actions are performed around 5 times a day and often not more than that.
- C# “go to implementation” and CSS “class” and IDs “suggestion” are also required around 5 times a day.
- Importing missing usage and references and logical expression rearrangements are usually performed once a day.
- Code inspection is often performed only once a week, as it is done only when an entire piece of code is finished and the whole thing has to be checked.
After crunching the numbers, we come down to 40 to 45 minutes of work every day. This only shows how important this extension is for the coding speed and confirms that it should definitely be used by both small and large enterprises. Even though this might seem like a short amount of time, after a month, when multiplied with the number of coders on the team, hours saved simply add up and we are all aware of just how important time is in the business world. This extension can save thousands of hours of hard work, which actually means saving a lot of money.
Why you should update to ReSharper 10
Now that we know why you should definitely use this Visual Studio extension, it is important to understand what all the new features are in the ReSharper 10 and why you should update to this version. The main two features are the biggest improvements that are definitely worth the upgrade:
- First of all, the whole ReSharper build has been upgraded with an incremental build tool. The tool makes it possible to handle multiple processes much easier. It also optimizes build times with large projects. This feature will further increase productivity levels as multitasking is greatly improved.
- Postfix templates are now a standard part of the ReSharper, which introduces checks, loops and variables and other C# coding constructs.
These are only some of the reasons why this incredible software should be used by your coding team. What verifies the productivity increase is the fact that this software counts more than 20,000 satisfied users. Additionally 65% of the top 100 Forbes companies use this tool in order to save time and money, while increasing productivity. The final conclusion is that this is a must-have piece of software in your coder’s collection. It will improve code quality, it will save a lot of time, and it is simply a great solution for any coder out there.