Is there a quick, easy and free way to auto-generate an IComparable implementation for a C# class?

Question

I know that Resharper can code-gen a comparer implementation (and does a really great job of it), but I'm looking for a free way to do the same. I've got a customer who is not likely to invest 250$ per developer, but the developers would still like to be able to create comparers in seconds, rather than minutes (or more, depending on the complexity of the objects).

I'd be looking for a VSIX extension or an add-in of sorts.

For my quick-tools, I have a WinForms Form with a large multiline textbox and do my code-generation in there. Then I just copy 'n' paste back into VS. It isn't pretty, but it works and takes a fraction of time as VS integration would do (and will work with any version of VS too). — Dai, Jan 20 '13 at 08:58
It might be off-topic, but I've never understood how these arguments hold any water. Resharper can easily save developers 10-20+ minutes "a day". How much does this client pay each developer and for how long? A Resharper licence generally pays for itself in 1-2 months. So, my advice is let the developers do everything manually because it's somehow "free", then maybe convince the customer that for the cost of 1-2 extra day's wage per developer, they'll get 1+ months worth of extra features completed. — Steve Py, Jan 20 '13 at 12:22

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 20 '13 at 09:07

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Visual Studio (2008/2010) has its own i guess ?

answered Jan 20 '13 at 09:07

Parimal Raj

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Yeah, that's what i thought to but i think the OP want more meat generated in the method body... ;) – Quinton Bernhardt Jan 20 '13 at 09:45
@QuintonBernhardt - it does generate the meat (for me atleast) – Parimal Raj Jan 20 '13 at 09:46
Please add the meat to the answer! mine only generates: ` public int CompareTo(CompareMe other) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }` – Quinton Bernhardt Jan 20 '13 at 09:58

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 20 '13 at 10:24

You can utilize snippet feature of VS. You can make your own custom one. Here's one for IEquatable<T>. You can easily tailor it for IComparable<T>. Just ensure to place the .snippet file at appropriate place. Perhaps ~home\Visual Studio XXX\Code Snippets\Visual C#\My Code Snippets\

Is there a quick, easy and free way to auto-generate an IComparable implementation for a C# class?

2 Answers2