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 VAX vs. the competition
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Alexo
Ketchup Master

Canada
81 Posts

Posted - May 16 2007 :  2:46:44 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Can somewone suggest how does VAX compare to CodeRush+Refactor for non-managed C++ in VS2005?

I'm not looking for an "A is better than B" answer but rather the stronger points of each.

Thank you.

Alexo
Ketchup Master

Canada
81 Posts

Posted - May 16 2007 :  3:54:18 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I found the following comparison:
http://www.devexpress.com/Products/NET/IDETools/CodeRush/FeatureComparision.xml

It does have a number of drawbacks:
- It is written by DevExpress so I cannot expect it to be impartial.
- It references an older version of CodeRush that does not support C++
- It references a beta version of VAX
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accord
Whole Tomato Software

United Kingdom
3287 Posts

Posted - May 16 2007 :  5:17:39 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I've tried.

In theory and in marketing videos CodeRush and Refactor is a MUCH better than VAX.

In reality CodeRush and Refactor have a LOT of features, but VAX has quality and purposeful features.

For example when I used Extract function in coderush, it has created the implementation but without any declaration.

CodeRush's refactorings can break working codes. It don't even try to find all references. Find references missed a lot of references even in a very simple class.
I have tried version 2.0, but 2.1 is available if I remember correctly.

See this picture: http://www.devexpress.com/Products/NET/IDETools/Refactor/i/refactorMomentum.png

One word: quantity.

When VAX introduces new features, there are countless "fine-tunes", polishes, bugfixes after it, so features gets better and better.

...and VAX's refactoring tries keep codes working by design.

If u need quantity, choose coderush. If you need quality and great support , choose VAX.

It is my personal point of view and experience.
I am using C++. Coderush maybe better in other languages... C++ support is new in coderush, but what I have tried was NOT a BETA...

Edited by - accord on May 16 2007 5:40:19 PM
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feline
Whole Tomato Software

United Kingdom
18939 Posts

Posted - May 17 2007 :  2:02:09 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Looking at that picture... my head wants to hurt.

I recall discussing the question of 100+ refactorings with someone via email recently, and on a quick visual scan of the list my impression was that most of them were either autotext entries, or just combining a couple of smaller refactorings together (mostly things VA did) and giving it a name.

Personally I have never used Coderush so I cannot offer any form of informed comparison. I know I once tried Ref++, before VA introduced refactoring, and just gave up on it, since it was SO terribly painfully slow, and to much work for the return.

I have just had a look at the table Alexo linked to, and it makes for interesting reading. Apparently VA does not insert closing braces (it has since I started using it years ago) and does not offer Member Navigation (its called Alt-M). So I would say the table is quite wrong, and someone does not understand what VAX can do, but I did not dig to deeply into it.

The bit that really made me smile though was "Duplicate Line", apparently this "technology is exclusive to CodeRush". Apparently they never heard of Vim Plus there was a discussion of how to achieve the same effect with an IDE macro on this forum a while ago.


Alexo I am biassed on what VA does, but the things that matter most to me are:
* autotext, I make heavy use of this
* enhanced syntax highlighting
* Find References and Rename - I love both
* alt-m list
* OFIW and FSIW dialogs, I would be lost without these on a solution of any size
* alt-o - simple, yet I used it ALL the time

zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness
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mwb1100
Ketchup Master

82 Posts

Posted - May 17 2007 :  6:07:12 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
VAX has one feature that no one else has, which unfortunately applies to me: VAX supports VC6. If you're in that boat then there's absolutely no choice.

Now, I don't know much of anything about the various IDE's automation models, but from what I've heard it's quite amazing that VAX can keep so much feature parity between VC6 and later versions of Visual Studio.

However, I'm still longing for the day when this particular feature no longer matters to me...
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Mike ONeill
Tomato Guru

South Africa
103 Posts

Posted - May 21 2007 :  11:06:45 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Bit late maybe ...

I tried Refactor when it was a freebie with VS 2005 , it clashed with VAX which I had just purchased , the other week , I bit the bullet and decided to review it seriously with a view to purchse . This time it didn't clash (who fixed what ?)

I agree with Feline , Refactor Pro! has a 100 + refactorings but there is little you can't do with judicous use of autotext.

VAX support for VB refactoring currently doesn't work ( there is a Fix coming soon ???) so after a few weeks of playing with Refactor Pro , I decided gainst the purchase , hoping the VAX fix is soon and plumpted to download the VB version of Refactor which is still a freebie , in co-ordination with MS.

At the moment I programme 90% in VB so the refactor thing works for me , any C# I use VAX refactors

Bottom line I supose is , you choose one product , get to know it well and use it

I'll stay with VAX , as I just love AutoText , although MS Snippets are good , the ease of Auto Text is simply too good to miss, I have even started to build autotext like lumps into SQL Prompt .

If you programa lot in SQL , also a highly recomended product
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feline
Whole Tomato Software

United Kingdom
18939 Posts

Posted - May 21 2007 :  12:02:49 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Refactoring and VB is down as a "this needs fixing very soon" issue, but unfortunately I cannot give you an estimate on this.

Autotext, personally I get the feeling that for all of its ease of use a lot of people don't get as much out of it as they could, but I am not sure why, or what to do about this. I am a great fan of it, and would be much less efficient without it, I like not having to type to much

zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness
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pwaugh
Ketchup Master

USA
68 Posts

Posted - May 22 2007 :  1:27:40 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
When I first thought about buying VA-X, I also briefly tried that free version.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I can say I am extremely pleased with VA-X, its ongoing development, the support, and how much it has taught me and saved me.

If I wind up actually selling my product, and surviving, I'm a lifer.

Programming in C++

VA_X.dll 10.4.1626.0
Built 2008.01.17

(1-user license) Support ends 2009.01.29

DevEnv.exe version 9.0.21022.8
msenv.dll version 9.0.21022.8
Comctl32.dll version 6.0.2900.2982
Windows XP 5.1 Build 2600 Service Pack 2
Single processor
Platform: Win32
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Sasa
Tomato Guru

272 Posts

Posted - May 29 2007 :  11:15:00 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
One thing I still yet have to understand: Are refactor! and coderush freeware for C++?

Every time I download a copy it never seems to expire on me. And when I look for more information I can get none, their support is terrible.

I did test refactor 2.1 and to tell you the truth, it is un-useable for me. A simple example are the encapsulate refactoring. refactor produces ecpasulation via the CLI properties and doesn't seem to understand that you want a native implementation.

And these color effects and animations are very useless. even though i like the way that the rename works in refactor, it is still more a gimmik than anything else.

C++
Visual Studio 2008 Pro
Windows 7 x64
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