eXtreme .NET: Introducing eXtreme Programming Techniques to .NET Developers [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

What's Wrong with F5?

If you are a regular user of Visual Studio, you are sure to know that the F5 function key compiles and runs your application. You can extend the functions carried out in this process by adding pre- and post- build steps to your projects. This is good for a certain number of things, such as copying all the compiled assemblies to a common folder. The trouble is, it doesn't go far enough or provide clear enough feedback.

Larger software solutions consist of multiple Visual Studio solutions. Each solution might contain multiple projects. When we want to check whether we have broken anything through the changes we have just made, we need to run all the tests exposed by these components of the system. This involves getting the latest version of the source for these projects, compiling all the projects from the different solutions, and then running all the tests they expose. This calls for more than the support provided by an F5 compile and run. You could extend Visual Studio to do this, but it would not be the simplest thing you could do, and therefore it would break one of the XP tenets: Do the simplest thing that could possibly work.

I'm Just Too Lazy One of the reasons I have a fascination with computers and software is the belief that they should make our lives easier. I am lazy; I don't want to have to type up letters, print them out, and mail them to someone. I love e-mail; it is the lazy person's answer to staying in touch. Instant messenger is even better! The same goes for spreadsheets; they save me having to do loads of calculations on a calculator or, worse yet, on paper. Computers can do lots of things to make my life easier and give me more time to do the things I enjoy doing. So when I see a task that I am having to repeat on a regular basis, such as building my application or running the tests, the Mr. Lazy in me says, "Hey, let's automate this so you can stop wasting your time and get on with something more fun."