Key Points

  • Programmers sometimes overlook some of the most powerful tools for years before discovering them.

  • Good tools can make your life a lot easier.

  • Tools are readily available for editing, analyzing code quality, refactoring, version control, debugging, testing, and code tuning.

  • You can make many of the special-purpose tools you need.

  • Good tools can reduce the more tedious aspects of software development, but they can't eliminate the need for programming, although they will continue to reshape what we mean by "programming."

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