.NET Reflector ^[1] - Class browser, analyzer, and decompiler for .NET.

Process Explorer ^[1] from SysInternals ^[2] is a must-have.

Paint.NET ^[1]

This is a free image editing tool developed using .NET.

Expresso ^[1] - Regular Expression Development Tool

Other than Microsoft tools like Visual Studio ^[1] and SQL Server Management Studio ^[2]?

1. .NET Reflector ^[3]
2. MSDN Library ^[4] (Assuming no Internet access on an island)
3. NUnit + TestDriven.Net

LinqPad ^[1]

It's a useful tool to write and test snippets of code. It has a nice built in editor with syntax coloring and optional auto-completion. It primarily focuses on LINQ ^[2] and database queries.

WinMerge ^[1]

I find log4net ^[1] to be pretty handy when doing work for an n-tier architecture ^[2].

Fiddler ^[1], I didn't see that one.

Nunit ^[1]

I can't believe TortoiseSVN ^[1] and Beyond Compare ^[2] aren't higher up this list!

For documentation, Sandcastle Help File Builder ^[3] is a great companion to Sandcastle ^[4] with useful assistance from GhostDoc ^[5].

PowerShell ^[1]

The Ankh SVN ^[1] .NET plug-in for Subversion ^[2] integration. It makes working with Subversion much nicer from within Visual Studio, and as the project progresses, it's getting more reliable and feature rich all the time.

Other than Visual Studio 2008 ^[1], I'd have to say...

.NET Reflector ^[2]!

TortoiseSVN ^[1] (Subversion client for Windows)

• ReSharper ^[1]
• .NET Reflector ^[2]
• Rubber Ducky ^[3]

• ReSharper ^[1]
• Redgate ANTS profiler ^[2]
• NCover ^[3]

I could, if absolutely necessary, survive without a unit testing framework, since it is possible to knock out a basic one in a couple of days, otherwise Gallio ^[4] is my fourth choice.

CruiseControl.NET ^[1], a tool for supporting continuous integration ^[2].

NDepend ^[1]. It covers a set of unique features described in Product Features ^[2]:

• Code Query and Rule over LINQ
• Compare Builds
• 82 code metrics
• Manage Complexity and Dependencies
• Detect Dependency Cycles
• Harness Test Coverage Data
• Enforce Immutability and Purity
• Warnings about the health of your Build Process
• Generate custom report from your Build Process
• Diagrams

On the commercial side, I can't live without CodeRush and Refactor Pro! ^[1]. ReSharper ^[2] is an excellent tool as well, but there are some things the DevExpress tools do better that, for me, outweigh the things that ReSharper does better.

On the free/open source side:

• NUnit ^[3] ( MbUnit ^[4] is pretty groovy too)
• TestDriven.Net ^[5] (works with NUnit, or MbUnit)
• I very much like PowerCommands for Visual Studio 2008 ^[6] (plus the goodnesses that came with Visual Studio 2008 SP1).

If you want to produce documentation, then Sandcastle ^[7] is the way to go.

TestDriven.NET ^[1], a unit testing add-in for Visual Studio.

I've recently started xUnit.net ^[1] (as opposed to NUnit) and rather like it.

Edit: also, SourceGear DiffMerge ^[2].

In this order:

1. ReSharper ^[1]
2. .NET Reflector ^[2]
3. NUnit ^[3]
4. Rhino Mocks ^[4] or a similar mocking ^[5] framework

Another regular expression development tool - Regulator ^[1]

Hawkeye ^[1] - .NET Runtime Object Editor

Viewstate Decoder ^[1] - By Fritz Onion

SQL Profiler. There's a free one that works for SQL Server Express ^[1] as well, DataWizard SQL Performance Profiler ^[2].

I'd NEED unit testing ^[1] and version control ^[2] or I'd swim off that desert island.

• NUnit ^[3]
• VisualSVN ^[4]
• TestDriven.NET ^[5]

Ruler ^[1] - pixel ruler implemented in .NET

Snippet Compiler ^[1]

1. BeyondCompare ^[1]
2. .NET Reflector ^[2]
3. DPack ^[3], a Visual Studio plugin

Or Kaxaml ^[1]

• SysInternals - Process Explorer ^[1], FileMon ^[2], and RegMon ^[3]
• DevExpress ^[4] / Refactor Pro
• NUnit ^[5]
• VMware ^[6]
• Notepad++ ^[7]

1. DevExpress ^[1] tools
2. .NET Reflector ^[2]
3. Notepad++ ^[3] for all sorts of file editing

Snippy ^[1]. Quickly compile/evaluate C# code and see the output. It was created by Jon Skeet ^[2].

Uhmm what about:

PowerShell ^[1]

Here's a very interesting video ^[2] from the "Java And Object Oriented" ( JAOO ) conference.

VisualSVN Server ^[1] (Subversion Source Control for Windows & Active Directory)

• E Text Editor ^[1]
• NAnt ^[2]
• .NET Reflector ^[3]

When it comes to .NET 3.5 ( WPF ^[1] and Silverlight ^[2]), you got plenty of more tools for the programming:

1. Expression Studio ^[3] ( Blend ^[4] for Silverlight and WPF)
2. XAMLPad ^[5]
3. KaXaml ^[6]
4. Blender ^[7] for 3D modeling
5. Snoop ^[8], a WPF tool

And of course .NET Reflector ^[9] as always.

EQATEC Profiler ^[1] - You cannot overstate the value of a good profiler, and this is a definitely a good one.

Cropper ^[1] , like Vista's snipping tool, for taking screenshots quickly. Useful for graphic design, documentation, bug reporting etc.

Keepass ^[1] for managing passwords.

TimeSnapper ^[1]

Here's what I MUST have on every install:

• AnkhSVN 2
• NUnit
• SandCastle

Regulator ^[1] is one of my favorites. Open source regular expressions editor and tester.

jQuery ^[1]

I would split this list by development target platform, otherwise it will be one huge list. For example:

• Common tools
• Web development tools
• WPF ^[1]/ Silverlight ^[2] development tools
• Windows Forms ^[3] development tools

• .NET Reflector ^[1]
• NUnit ^[2]
• Any decent text editor

• .NET Reflector ^[1]
• Resharper ^[2]
• ViEmu ^[3]
• AnkhSVN ^[4]
• dotTrace Profiler ^[5]
• LINQPad ^[6]
• SnippetCompiler ^[7]

I'd have to vote for:

• E Text Editor ^[1]
• .NET Reflector ^[2]
• MSDN ^[3] for documentation

CLCL ^[1], a clipboard extender. Not technically a .NET tool, but it is a very useful one as well none the less, and one I have been using for years.

I am also liking DiffMerge ^[2] for comparing too.

CodeRush ^[1], Refactor Pro ^[2], and Fiddler ^[3] 2.

• .NET Reflector ^[1]
• ReSharper ^[2]
• Expresso ^[3]
• Gallio ^[4] (includes MbUnit ^[5])
• NBehave ^[6]
• dotTrace ^[7]
• GhostDoc ^[8]
• Source Code Outliner ^[9]
• Regionerate
• Sandcastle ^[10]

I find it strange that people go for NUnit ^[11] ad TestDriven.NET ^[12]. The reason is that MbUnit is more powerful (even for simpler stuff like comparing two numbers) and the fact that ReSharper's unit testing support (for example, the Gallio plug-in) looks good and delivers. My test framework is thus NBehave + MbUnit.

Snoop ^[1].

XAML Power Toys ^[1], an add-in for Visual Studio.

• CruiseControl.NET ^[1] (executable service)

• NUnit ^[2] (much better user interface than Visual Studio integrated unit testing)

1) Resharper

2) Reflector

3) SQL Profiler

I like to use MZ Tools ^[1] for both .Net and VBA development. I don't use all of the tools in Visual Studio, but use quite a bit more of them in VBA. The VBA is free and the VS add in has a trial. I really like the private clipboard with 10 slots and use the sort code elements quite a bit.

Coincedentally, a lot of the tools I use have redundant features.

MsBuild Profiler ^[1] From the project:

MSBuild Profiler is a performance measurement tool for MSBuild scripts. MSBuild Profiler shows a graphical performance output for all your MSBuild scripts, giving you a fair chance to optimize your build time.

1. Charles (HTTP proxy)
2. Sourcegear Diffmerge
3. TortoiseSVN (and built in Tortoise Diff)
4. Reflector
5. VisualSVN (for VS.NET integration)
6. NUnit
7. Redgate ANTS Profiler
8. Expresso
9. Firebug

What more do you need? :-)

Moq ^[1]. It is a wonderful mocking ^[2] framework that is clean, effective and guides you into the pit of success regardless of what you are doing. The later version have added Silverlight ^[3] support and is highly configurable. I strongly suggest you check it out.

Another tool I have been enjoying lately is Notepad2 ^[4]. It is very similar to Notepad++ ^[5] (based on the same editor code base) which has been mentioned here numerous times. It provides syntax highlighting and most features that you would expect for an enhanced Notepad ^[6] (regular expression search, auto indentation and Unicode ^[7] support).

To round out the tools I would pick Gallio ^[8] (with MbUnit ^[9]) as a testing framework. It has a great deal of features built in and can support multiple testing libraries ( NUnit ^[10], xUnit ^[11], MSTest ^[12] as a start). Within the core set of tools is integration with Visual Studio and both GUI ^[13] and commandline test runners. MBUnit that comes with Gallio is also very handy and provides a great deal of the convenience features that help make testing a breeze.

I would recommend WinDbg ^[1] plus SOS.dll (which is part of the .NET framework). WinDbg+SOS is a powerful debugger for both managed and unmanaged code. It has helped me solve many, many problems that could not have been solved with Visual Studio alone.

Also, make sure to get SOSEX.dll ^[2] and PSSCOR2.dll ^[3]. Both are free too.

Have you tried to open 200 kB SQL ^[1] file in SQL Server Management Studio ^[2] 2008 with enabled IntelliSense ^[3]?

• Notepad++ ^[4] is a must-have application for various purposes.
• SQL Assistant ^[5]
• SSMS Tools ^[6]
• RedGate SQL Search ^[7]

• DebugView ^[1], a small Sysinternals ^[2] gem
• CruiseControl.NET ^[3]
• ReSharper ^[4]
• .NET Reflector ^[5]
• LINQPad ^[6]
• WCF Trace Viewer (SDK)

I use the following:

• VMware ^[1]
• .NET Reflector ^[2]

ReSharper ^[1], GhostDoc ^[2], and SnippetCompiler ^[3].

So the big three are:

1. .NET Reflector ^[1]
2. ReSharper ^[2]
3. TestDriven.NET ^[3]

I won't be updating the list any longer.

• ReSharper ^[1]
• NUnit ^[2] and TestDriven.NET ^[3]
• Rhino Mocks ^[4]

Let me cast my vote for DPack

When doing work with regular expressions, I find Kodos ^[1] to be very useful.

• CodeRush ^[1] and Refactor Pro ^[2]
• .NET Reflector ^[3]
• Snippet Compiler ^[4]
• PowerShell ^[5]

That list is VERY long. The best place I've found to go to find stuff is CodePlex ^[1].

My humble recommendation: Find a few hours on the weekend, get yourself a cup of coffee, get your favorite slippers on and surf the site. You may very well find yourself there all day. {-o)

It was in an answer to my first question, " SQL to LINQ Tool ^[1]": Linqer ^[2] (a SQL to LINQ converter tool).

It's got to be .NET Reflector ^[1]. It is great for decompiling assemblies and seeing how things work.

.NET Reflector ^[1] and NUnit ^[2] - bar none.

I've always used the Regular Expression Workbench ^[1] from Eric Gunnerson. It is great for all your regular expression ^[2] needs.

Pinvoke.net Add-in ^[1]

Gemini Issue Tracker ^[1]

How about Process Monitor ^[1]? (Along with the rest of the Sysinternals Suite ^[2])

I use:

• ReShaper - Who could live without it?
• AnkhSVN - It should be a part of VS (oh, they got their own tool)
• GhostDoc - Simple and fast
• StyleCop - To keep me within borders
• FxCop - My manager complain less when he get some of it's output...

i have included some missing entries

1. Watin
2. Mole For WS
3. HTTPWatch
4. Paint.Net
5. IE Developer ToolBar
6. Notepad++
7. NAnt
8. Rich copy 4.0 (Microsoft)

Some kind of versioncontrol (must have for any software development). Possible candidates: SVN, CVS, Perforce, GIT, ClearCase, VSS, ...

All the obvious ones (Reflector, Resharper, VS & TFS Power Commands, ILMerge, etc)

Plus:

• AtomineerUtils ^[1] add in for Visual Studio (for documentation comments)
• AraxisMerge ^[2] (I've tried 'em all, and this is the only diff/merge that I trust)

EditPlus ^[1] - for quickly editing a file

RegexBuddy ^[2] - for regular expression ^[3] testing. It is useful.

XPathMania ^[1] - lets you run XPath queries on a document in VisualStudio.

I use:

• ReSharper ^[1]
• NUnit ^[2]
• TeamCity ^[3]

CodeCompare ^[1]. This utility supports VS file types and allows you to compare and edit data within one environment.