Developer productivity is one of those topics that never goes away. How can we not only make it easier to deliver code but also make that code more reliable and resilient? As a result, we’re seeing something of a renaissance in developer tools, from AI-based pair programming to low-level refactoring services, and even better ways of highlighting both syntax and errors before we’ve even started to run a compiler or a debugger.
We’ve seen a lot of new tools from advances in compilers and languages; .NET’s Roslyn compiler allows editors to examine what code will do, line by line, as you write it. At the same time, it allows developers to edit code as it’s being debugged so you can evaluate fixes or try novel approaches without having to switch context. It’s a more efficient way to work, using debugging tools at the same time as an editor, so you can see your code in a live application while you’re writing it.
This is an excellent way of working with business logic, but it doesn’t work well with a control-based layout tool such as XAML. Here you’re working with interactions between code and layout, both working through different sets of tools in the same IDE. With layout prerendered, you’re unable to use the default hot-reload tools to change design on the fly.
