Visual Studio Hacks

254

|

Chapter 7, Help and Research

#65 Follow the Rules with FxCop

HACK

useful for inspecting the source code of the .NET Framework’s Base Class

Library, as well as a helpful tool for inspecting your own assemblies. With

its bevy of features and add-ins, Reflector is an indispensable tool that every

.NET developer should know of and use.

—Scott Mitchell

HACK

#65

Follow the Rules with FxCop Hack #65

Determine whether your code and assemblies play by the rules and

guidelines.

A common problem in the realm of software development is how to prop-

erly enforce coding standards and design guidelines (this is especially true in

large corporations where a project team typically consists of several develop-

ers, each with his own coding style). In the majority of projects, these issues

are addressed in a manual effort, occurring in the form of code reviews and

design reviews. While absolutely necessary, these types of reviews often

occur too late in the process; thus, problem areas identified in those reviews

might not always get the proper attention they deserve.

To help alleviate these issues, Microsoft developed a free code analysis tool

named FxCop (http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/fxcop). FxCop checks .NET

assemblies for conformance to the Microsoft .NET Framework Design

Guidelines (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/

cpgenref/html/cpconnetframeworkdesignguidelines.asp). It uses