It's all about productivity lately. Otherwise we'd be all using Notepad to churn out code. That's what this list is all about. You won't find here a faster algorithm to search a binary tree. It's a list to get you ahead. With that in mind, I've compiled a Top 10 list of tips, tricks and tools necessary to get you going fast. Most of all, the list will help you stop wasting time on mundane dev tasks and have fun while at it. This knowledge will propel you to the status of the "go to" guy (or gal), with an appropriate raise in salary. Even though this is a top 10 list, the entries are in no particular order.

10. Forget about debugging
So, you are debugging along through a library you've gone through a million times. You know it works, it's solid. So stop wasting time going through it. Place a [System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThrough()] for C# or <System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThrough()> for VB.NET. This attribute tells Visual Studio to skip the class while debugging through code.

9. Generate, generate, generate
I can't say it enough. But most people still won't get it. If you enjoy doing the same task day in, day out, skip this entry. Anyway, 90% of applications do some type of database access. For god's sake, generate the CRUDs, generate the stored procedure wrappers, generate table-based classes. There is a myriad of tools out there to help you in this department. Just do a google search on "vb.net code generator". For now, let's do a 2 minute roundup. There is RapTier, but you need the expensive enterprise edition for anything more than trivial. However, totally worth it. There is of course, the king of generators: CodeSmith. It's great, so get it while it's free. There is the free OlyMars of MSDN France code generator. Anyway, choice is not a problem. Bottom line, you gotta generate.

8. Compare your databases
Here is one scenario. You are working in a team. You have your development database. The DBA has his baseline database. You deploy your application and something is not working. Something with the table or view or stored procedure or who knows. So you look and look and finally you figure out that the problem is that a table column has a different default on your copy of the database. At this point, rather than wasting time figuring out what changed between your database and the deployed database, just use a db compare tool. My tool of choice: SQL Effects Clarity. It gives you a fantastic side-by-side view of both schemas and let's you drill down into exact differences. Saves ton of time.

7. Refactoring/Productivity Plugins for Visual Studio .NET
After you've used a tool like ReSharper or CodeRush or the upcoming Refactor for VB.NET, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. True story, I used a trial version of ReSharper for about a month, then it expired. I tried coding in the vanilla IDE and I was appalled how bare it is in terms of helping the developer along. What are some of the time saving features? For instance in ReSharper, if you reference a class for which you forgot to enter a "using namespace" statement, it will figure out which namespace matches and offer it to insert it for you. ReSharper also helps you optimize your code. CodeRush, on the other hand, excels at knowing the context of your code. of your code, and based on that, helps you reduce the amount of keystrokes you type. For instance, you can type a common c# line like using System.Windows.Forms; by typing: uswf. Get it? First letter of each word. Very cool. And of course there are the rudimentary refactoring tricks.

6. NDoc Code Documentation Generator
This product falls into the category of completely and utterly impressing the living hell out of your clients and bosses. "You mean you also write documentation? You are just an uber-developer. I feel compelled to give you more money. I can't help it. I can't help it." The app uses reflection to figure out what connects to what, properties, methods, etc... and it uses XML comments that you should be writing on top of every function. Right?

5. GhostDoc - your documentation sidekick.
Speaking of XML Comments, it's a chore. There just isn't any other way to look at it. Enter Roland Weigelt's GhostDoc. You right-click on the function, select 'Document This' and IT DOES IT. Yes, based on the name of your function, GhostDoc figures out it's intent!!! Well, most of the time. The rest go into the GhostDoc hall of shame. So, if you are lazy and leave your form name at Form1, your Form1_Load event will be documented as "Form1_s the load." However, once you get grok how the tool works (which took me a grand total of 2 minutes), and name your functions accordingly, you can forget about ever documenting your code.

4. See both the Form and Code views.
VS.NET offers Vertical and Horizontal Splits in the Windows menu. This allows you to setup your environment so that you see the Form and the code for it at the same time. Another variation on the theme is dual monitors. If you have dual monitors, you could use a utility such as UltraMon to extend your IDE across both monitors, setup a vertical split and voila - writing code in style.

3. DotNetRocks
Your drive to work/contract is about 30-60 minutes. And you already have an MP3 player of some type. So let's connect the dots here, as they say in the post 9/11 world. Head to your favorite electronics shop (such as Radio Shack in US) and get a tape adapter (or similar device). Then connect the MP3 player to the tape adapter and you are set. Now download a couple of episodes of DotNetRocks. These guys are funny, knowlegible, have great and well-known guests on weekly. And up to a couple of weeks ago (when Rory was still there), their raunchyness could only be matched by the likes of Howard Stern.

2. Visual Studio 2005
Ok, so it is not out yet. However, even coding in the betas makes the current generation of tools feel like Notepad. The improvements are very substantial - it has a bit of VB6 satisfying feels. Among the goodness in this release are debug visualizers (this is gonna be huge), better intellisense for c# (about time), Edit & Continue and a host of others. Should kick the productivity a notch or two. I realize that most of the time the choice of tools is not up to the developer, but the employer. Regardless, if you can, opt for VS2005.

1. And the #1 tip is the vast array of resources that are at your disposal.
For whatever reason, many, if not most, programmers hardly ever use any of the available resources to help themselves out. Here is the multitude of resources I use in no particular order:

• Google - that's self-explanatory
• Google Groups - they recently changed the interface for the worse, which made it a lot more difficult to find what you need, but it still does the trick
• If you have a question where do you go? Microsoft-run newsgroups are still arguably the best place to ask questions. Then, of course, our own forum. Various mailing lists are also pretty good, but the amount of email traffic required to ask a single question is daunting. Here is one.
• Blogs. Now that many high-end developers both at Microsoft and other places are blogging, you are likely to pick up tidbits of info there as well. vbRad.com has conviniently sorted the blogs by their update time, so you always see the latest and greatest. There are other places that have aggregated blogs for you as well, such as MSDN, but those places are usually limited to company employees.