CodeOverEasy.com

Tag: tools

  • SSMS Tools Pack Works for Me

    Today a co-worker of mine introduced me to a great add on to Microsoft’s SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).  It’s simply called the SSMS Tools Pack and is a free download from https://www.ssmstoolspack.com/

    The product is a collection of ‘a few upgrades to the SSMS IDE that I thought were missing” according to the author.  These features include:

    • SQL Snippets
    • Window Connection Coloring
    • Window Content History, Query Execution History and Current Window History
    • Format SQL
    • Search Table, View or Database Data
    • Run one script on multiple databases
    • Copy execution plan bitmaps to clipboard or file
    • Search Results in Grid Mode
    • Generate Insert statements from resultsets, tables or databases
    • Regions and Debug sections
    • Running custom scripts from Object Explorer
    • CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) stored procedure generation
    • New query template
    • General Options

    The particular feature I needed was to Generate Insert statements from an existing table – particularly when dealing with partial synchronizing between two copies of the same database, such as a Dev and Staging or Production environment.

    I’ve added SSMS Tools Pack to all of my systems now, and is definitely one product I want to promote.

  • My favorite Extension methods: String.Format shortcut

    This is the first entry in a short series highlighting some of my favorite extension methods.

    It’s a generally accepted best practice to use the String.Format() method to assemble string values that merge text and variables.

    Using an Extension Method (.NET 3.5 or greater) makes accessing the String.Format function even easier.

    Now, for any string value, you can simply use the following

    "The quick brown fox {0}".Fmt("jumped over the lazy dog.")

    Here’s the code for the extension method and various overloads:

    <Extension()>_
Public Function Fmt(ByVal format As String, ByVal arg0 As Object) As String
  Return String.Format(format, arg0)
End Function

<Extension()>_
Public Function Fmt(ByVal format As String, ByVal arg0 As Object, ByVal arg1 As Object) As String
  Return String.Format(format, arg0, arg1)
End Function

<Extension()>_
Public Function Fmt(ByVal format As String, ByVal arg0 As Object, ByVal arg1 As Object, ByVal arg2 As Object) As String
  Return String.Format(format, arg0, arg1, arg2)
End Function

<Extension()>_
Public Function Fmt(ByVal format As String, ByVal ParamArray args() As Object) As String
  Return String.Format(format, args)
End Function

  • In Praise of Balsamiq

    I have a lot of reasons to like Balsamiq.

    1. They make a great product that is easy to use, provides real value, and does exactly what it says it is going to do.
    2. They are a small business, started by people who, according to their website are ” a small group of passionate individuals who believe work should be fun and that life is too short for bad software.”
    3. They use a lightweight company model I can appreciate, with most of their employees working from home and meeting via online tools.

    For those who don’t know, Balsamiq’s flagship product is called Mockups, and it allows you to readily build User Interface design mockups and prototypes.  If you are active in any sort of product or system design effort, Mockups is well worth the purchase price.

    Doing one thing well is a lesson so many companies can still learn.  My kudos to the Balsamiq team for staying focused.