Over the years, Waldo has created quite a lot of tools. The first tool Waldo ever put online was back in 2004, WaldoNavPad, a tool that helps to work with bigger texts in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. It helped to break up code into smaller pieces, which was necessary because, back then, we could only have a maximum of 250 characters in one field.
The tool was downloaded over 11,000 times from MiBuSo. Because of its popularity, Waldo updated the tool to a version that worked in the RTC and as an AL extension, where he extended the functionality a bit to have an HTML editor inside Business Central.
Following this tool, quite a few minor tools made it to the download list of MiBuSo, which you can find at https://mibuso.com/downloads/results?keywords=waldo.
Since 2013, when Microsoft released more and more PowerShell building blocks, Waldo decided to dive into that to help the uptake in the community. This resulted in some very extended libraries of helper functions, which are categorized and published on the PowerShell Gallery. Just search for waldo (https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages?q=waldo) and you will find six PowerShell modules:
- Ready.Software.SQL: These include some functions that help you to work with SQL Server (and Business Central), such as taking backups and restoring them.
- Ready.Software.PowerShell: This is a very small set of functions for some PowerShell-related challenges.
- Ready.Software.Windows: These include Windows-related functions such as zipping and unzipping items.
- Ready.Software.NAV: This module contains most functions, all related to NAV (Business Central):
- Working with objects (upgrade, version list, languages, and so on)
- Working with servers (such as permissions and companies)
- RemoteNAVDockerHostHelper: This is a module to help you to work with a DockerHost when that DockerHost is not on your local PC (hence the word Remote in RemoteNAVDockerHost).
- NavContainerHelperExtension: This is just a set of functions that Waldo needed to work with Docker. Similar to NavContainerHelper, these functions were not part of that module at the time they were created.
All of these functions have had a purpose in Waldo's life as a developer. Every single script in which he uses these modules is online on his GitHub: https://github.com/waldo1001/Cloud.Ready.Software.PowerShell. You will find all modules there and the scripts in which he puts these modules to use.
A large number of these PowerShell scripts were created to be able to help the development of V1 Extensions. But when these were discontinued (for the better), there was a new kid on the block: Visual Studio Code, in which we can develop for what we call Extensions V2. In Waldo's opinion, this tool needed some help with the following:
- Automatically naming files
- Running objects
- Snippets
So, Waldo started to build an extension for Visual Studio Code to help AL developers to do their jobs more efficiently. The CRS AL Language Extension was born: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=waldo.crs-al-language-extension.
This is just a peek at Waldo's tools and how he came to build them. Here are a few resources where you can find his tools:
- MiBuSo: https://mibuso.com/downloads/results?keywords=waldo
- The PowerShell Gallery: https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages?q=waldo
- GitHub: https://github.com/waldo1001
- DevOps: https://dev.azure.com/waldo1001/WaldoDemos
In this chapter, we will talk about a few of his tools, focused on making your life as an AL developer a little bit easier.