Introducing ReSharper 6.1 SDK

Dmitri Nesteruk

This post is about ReSharper 6.1. For other features in ReSharper 6 (both 6.0 and 6.1), please see previous posts introducing ReSharper 6. Those cover support for JavaScript (including unit testing with QUnit), CSS, ASP.NET MVC 3 Razor, and Async CTP; bundled decompiler; explanations on ReSharper inspections; fine-tuning file headers; ReSharper settings revised in 6.1 (and their company-wide usage); recent improvements in IntelliSense options, and optimizing assembly references

Though every new release of ReSharper comes with extra features and functionality, there are always things that our users want that don’t come out of the box. This includes things like, for example, support for various unit test frameworks as well as various bits of functionality that are domain-specific or related to particular challenges a user is facing.

Luckily, ReSharper has always shipped with an Open API which provided the opportunity to write plug-ins — extensions to the core ReSharper mechanisms that would be provided in separate files and integrated into ReSharper at start-up. While the opportunity was always there, and has resulted in a number of plug-ins being written, there’s never been any framework that would simplify the task for plug-in developers. Until now.

With the release of ReSharper 6.1, we have also introduced the ReSharper SDK — a separate framework that has been designed to make plug-in development easier. The SDK includes the following:

• ReSharper assemblies, including PDBs and documentation XML files. These files include not just the core ReSharper assemblies, but also the unit test framework, which lets you write unit tests for your plug-in.
• MSBuild target files, which make referencing the ReSharper assemblies a lot easier.
• Project and item templates for VS2010, which make getting started with plug-in development a breeze.

Two packages are provided with the SDK: the MSI installer, which comes with all of the above, as well as a ZIP package, which contains only the assemblies and target files, and is provided to help build and test plug-ins in Continuous Integration systems such as TeamCity. Both packages contain introductory documentation to help you get started, with the bulk of documents related to plug-in development available online. These documents contain a variety of topics such as how to port your plug-in to use the SDK, develop support for a new language, or deploy the plug-in. The documents are being actively developed, and you’re welcome to comment on them should things start getting unclear.

The SDK packages are available on the ReSharper Downloads Page under Related Downloads. The following JetBrains TV video provides a comprehensive overview of the various SDK features including plug-in development, testing and configuration under TeamCity.

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