Developers and programmers, at least the good ones, are known for their efficiency.
One of their tricks (or perhaps more appropriate, "techniques") is to reuse code - be it source code, machine code or text. These "snippets" of code as they are called can be included quickly and easily into larger programming modules, minimizing the time and energy it takes to develop that amazing application that's going to change the whole world forever and ever. Ok, well maybe not the whole world but you get the point.
Over time developers and programmers can build up quite large libraries of code snippets; in some cases the volume of those snippets gets so vast that they need to turn to code snippet management tools/solutions. Typically, code editors offer built-in snippets functionality (online code snippet libraries and sharing services exist as well), but there are also standalone code snippet apps that may just be worth exploring.
Here are a few of the most popular, as well as some emerging, code snippet managers in use today:
Smipple: Definitely one of the most modern code snippet resources, Smipple is actually a "social" service for saving and sharing code snippets. Users can follow others who post interesting snippets, favoriting those they like to return to later and use.
CodeBarrel: Supports any development language, provides a dedicated API, and plugins for IDE's including Visual Studio and Eclipse. CodeBarrel also enables devs to track revisions, supports commenting, and is a hosted solution so you'll always have access to the most recent version.
SnippetManager.net: A lightweight freeware utility for managed code snippets in a variety of languages (37 in total). Features a search tool that supports both regular expressions and simple search criteria to find code. Also offers the ability to publish snippets on the Web and password protect code.
QSnipps: A cross-platform code snippet management tool which offers a long list of usability features for creating, storing and searching for snippets. Developers with multiple computers can place their snippets database in a shared folder and access their code from anywhere.
Code Bank: Requiring Adobe Air 2.5, Code Bank provides support for a local and shared database, offers syntax highlighting for multiple programming languages, and includes a simple revision history with a compare viewer.
Snippely: Another Adobe Air application, Snippely is a free text and code organizer supporting a number of languages. Snippely also highlights code syntax and automatically saves work to prevent data loss.
Code Collector Pro: Built for Mac OS X, this code snippet manager enables users powerful tools to organize their libraries (even providing tag code snippets for easier searching), and provides the ability to insert code snippets into a developers favorite editor with a few keystrokes.
GistBox: Another cloud-based snippet management tool, Gistbox uses GitHub's backend but its own layer of label and search functionality. Features split-panel browsing, color-code labels, keyboard shortcuts and language-aware syntax highlighting with Ace editor.
