This isn’t a chapter in the CVS versus Subversion debate, but a look at places online to view useful pieces of code.
Useful is probably the operative word in the article by Miss Coding Answers, Esther Schindler. Her report on resources for locating source code online could point a programmer toward just what one needs to spur a solution to a problem.
The new source code search engine Krugle received a mention in Schindler’s group of online references. Krugle still operates in a limited beta, but promises that it will make programmers more productive with its approach to source code search.
Krugle’s interface for code search allows the visitor to select from several languages, with C, C++, and C# among them. The query can look for code in any area, or be restricted to sifting through source code only, or functions or classes.
Koders provides a couple of ways to find source code. Its publicly available search engine can be implemented via plugins with the Eclipse 3.0 and above or Visual Studio.NET 2003 or 2005 IDEs.
C Source Search offers a utilitarian front end that makes Google’s look like Yahoo in comparison. But the search engine works fast, and allows users to define their queries through a dropdown box of options like functions called, function arguments, and more.
On the Code Project web site, a variety of content including code snippets and articles related to C++, C#, and .NET may be accessed after completing a free membership.
Those joining may also select from a variety of email newsletters and participate in code-related forums hosted by the Code Project, which was organized as a community of Visual Studio .NET developers and is part of Microsoft’s Code Wise Community too.
Tools and resources like the ones listed demonstrate a significant change from the old days of programming, where email and bulletin boards served as the only methods of collaboration.
Code search engines may have to prove themselves with a new generation of coders, but those engines may become to programming what web search has become to the utility of the broader Internet to users.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
