Unlike a number of developers that tend to be very religious about the tools and technologies they use, I keep an open mind. I have been a huge fan of ReSharper for some time and enjoy the code analysis, unit test runner, deep refactorings, and the code generation via templates. I have actually been using ReSharper more than most, having used them since ReSharper 1.0 when most people complained about their slowness, which was prior to them introducing better caching which I believe happened back in ReSharper 1.1.
However, as you know, I am also a big fan of CodeRush and Refactor! Pro. Their UI is much better than ReSharper and their code generation through templates is much better. Period. Their refactorings and code analysis are not as good as ReSharper, however, and those were too important to me to make the complete switch to CodeRush and Refactor! Pro. However, this didn't stop me from using them in my test environment, where I enjoyed using them daily.
However, with ReSharper 4.0 we have hit a snag. JetBrains may have miscalculated the amount of effort to support Visual Studio 2008 and the new language features, because several months after the release of Visual Studio 2008 we still do not have a beta let alone production version of ReSharper 4.0. The brave have been using the EAP's, but JetBrains has never been good about releasing stable pre-release software in my opinion, and numerous comments about their EAP's in the community tend to support my thoughts.
While presenting and attending the Orlando Code Camp, I got the opportunity to catch-up with Mark Miller from Developer Express. [ By the way, much thanks to Developer Express for sending Mark out our way and your continued support of the Florida .NET Developer Community. ] While talking with Mark, I mentioned how impressed I was at how quickly Developer Express supports new version of Visual Studio and Language Features, and how once they catch up ( or get close ) with JetBrains on Code Analysis, I will probably completely make the switch to Code Rush and Refactor! Pro. That is unless ReSharper surprises me with something, of course :)
Given that we saw a little bit of Code Analysis ( tease actually ) from Developer Express in previous versions, my only guess is that this is their focus right now. If in the next couple of months they sneak in a new release of CodeRush and Refactor! Pro that is stable, performs well, and has a decent set of code analysis features before ReSharper 4.0 comes out, I think this will send a huge shockwave through the .NET Developer Community. I think even some of the Alt.net community, who tend to be a little less open-minded about looking at other tools and technologies than they admit, may have to give Developer Express a little look. You may want to head for solid ground when that day comes :)
However, that being said, Developer Express has been a little slow to get a new release of CodeRush and Refactor! Pro out the door as well. Their last public release has been something like 3.0.5 or similar back in Dec 2007. I know they have a few newer builds internally that they have shared with some developers, but I think it is due time to get a new release out the door. I am sure they are working on it and hope they are close, but I have been personally waiting for the next release to install in my development environment perhaps as I am just using Visual Studio 2008 in production with the help of no add-ins. This is quite a painful experience.
In conclusion, I am curious as to who will release a new version first, the upcoming Code Analysis features that will be released from Developer Express, and the reaction of the .NET Developer Community. The Hot Buttered Popcorn is waiting :) Either way, I want to thank both Developer Express and JetBrains on their tools. They make Visual Studio usable and continue to improve my code and productivity.