NPerf is an excellent new performance testing framework for .NET code by Jonathan de Halleux. [via CodeProject]
In another of my surprise discovery moments while writing Java code, I found that there are at least two Java IDEs that don't suck. Gel, from GExperts, is a free Java IDE developed using a non-java language (Delphi, I think). This IDE was an absolute pleasure to work with compared to others I've tried. It doesn't have most of the refactoring cleverness of Eclipse or the enormous number of features but it does what it does well, and in a small memory footprint.
The author of Gel is Gerald Nunn. Gerald originally developed the GExperts plug-ins for Delphi which added lots of incredibly useful functionality to the IDE. Gerald is also the author of the original Programmers Notepad project before I took it over when he lost interest. He is clearly a source of great software!
Highly recommended for windows Java programmers: Gel.
I've been drafted to a different team at work for a couple of weeks to help crank some code for a library due at the end of January. Unfortunately I have to use Java which I'm not the biggest fan of. Previously I've hated any Java IDE I've had to use and have found the whole process less than enjoyable.
Eclipse has come a long way since I last looked at it and is actually really quite usable. I will miss a lot of the coding aids when I go back to C# in VS.NET.
If you're programming Java then eclipse is recommended.
I have also been using the XmlBuddy plug-in which is really quite good too: XmlBuddy. I'd love to implement some of the XML editing features from XmlBuddy in PN some day.
Programmers Notepad 2 is developed using the Windows Template Library which is a library of code that makes working with Windows easier (amongst other things). WTL supports message maps which MFC users will also be aware of - basically a block of macros that direct incoming window messages to multiple handler functions. Working with message maps in WTL can be a bit of a bind as there is less good IDE support and I don't use the message-specific crackers in PN2. Therefore, I use a couple of macros to fill out notification, command and message handler prototypes for me:
Get: WTLMacros.vb which uses CleverStuff.vb to manage Undo state.
I hope someone else finds these macros useful. To try one out, simply type something like:
OnInitDialog
and then run the MessageHandler macro (if the code is not all in one file, run the MessageHandlerDefinition macro in the header, and the MessageHandler macro in the source file).
It seems John L. Lee has wrapped spidermonkey using Python - allowing python to execute javascript. Fun. For more about spidermonkey see here or here.
Played with both Python and SWIG at the weekend - surprisingly easy to get working. I had a small c++ project which defined a class "Project". I then manipulated an instance of this class defined in C++ using an embedded python interpreter. Fun. Can't imagine what this could be used for - can you?
Finally had a chance to clear down the bug list a bit since the 0.5 release. I currently leave bugs open until a release has been made that fixes the problem. This prevents duplicate submissions which cause more work. By the time a release comes out, however, the product looks quite buggy. It would be great if sourceforge let me filter out fixed bugs in my view. Ah well.