New Programming Tools
I've been trying out Subversion version control system for a couple of days. What a beautiful system. I tried it on my local machine at first, but this morning got it running on my home domain controller running over Apache 2. Really quite a simple install. I love how easy it is to branch and tag. Since I've never really used CVS before - except to update FreeBSD - this is my first real exposure to using the Copy-Modify-Merge method as opposed to VSS and Vault's Lock-Modify-Unlock. I have to say that I like the SVN approach more than the VS.Net integrated source control providers. I really don't like using VS for managing files, so this allows me to use the IDE for the absolute minimum amount of file management that's required. I'm using TortoiseSVN for accessing the repository. Oh, and the Subversion documentation is great. Maybe we'll give it a try at the office.
I've also been messing with the Microsoft Installer project in VS.Net on and off over the past couple of weeks. I decided this morning that I really don't like it. I'd heard of NSIS - the free installer from Nullsoft - but while researching NSIS, I came across Inno Setup. I heard that Inno is more mature so I downloaded it first (along with ISTool). Within an hour of installing I had a complete installer for my SharePointFav app up and running with all of the features and more that I was trying to include using Microsoft's installer - and without reading a line of Inno Setup documentation!
This puts me almost in position to release my little SharePointFav app this weekend. All I have to do now is write up a simple readme and hack together an icon file.
Update: Hmm.. I just realized that I never learned to spell Tortoise correctly. I've been spelling it wrong all these years. Link updated above.