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Home > Documentation > Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks

Conventions / Rules / Constraints

Write Active Conventions on your Code Base: Enumerate potential conventions that can be written on your code base with CQL.
Rules on .NET Framework usage
Rules for CLR Add-Ins Contract and View Assemblies

Code Structure, Design, Dependencies

Control component dependencies to gain clean architecture Explains how to use NDepend to avoid dependencies cycles between your components.
Deconstructing software structure: Explains how to use NDepend to know about layering and dependencies issues in your code base.
Keep your code structure clean: Explains how to use NDepend to prevent design erosion of your code base.
Layering and the Level metric: Details the Level metric definition and usage.
Hints on how to componentize existing code
Dependencies and Concerns
Interactive Code Dependencies Graph
All Paths from A to B

Build comparison

Avoid API breaking changes Explain how to use some Build Comparison features in order to write rules that detect API breaking changes.
How to avoid regression bugs while adding new features Explain how to use the Build Comparison feature in order to focus code review on code that have been changed and added since the last release.
Ensure the quality of the code that will be developed this year Explain how to use the Build Comparison feature in order to focus quality review on code that have been changed and added since a certain milestone.

Metrics

Why is it useful to count the number of Lines Of Code (LOC) ?
How do you count your number of Lines Of Code (LOC) ?: Explains the algorithm used by NDepend to count the number of lines of .NET code.
A simple trick to code better and to increase testability: Explains how to use the ILNestingDepth metric, not only to increase readability but also testability.
Code metrics on Coupling, Dead Code, Design flaws and Re-engineering: Details how to use effectively the NDepend metrics on coupling (Afferent/Efferent coupling and ranking).
Composing Code Metrics Values: Explains how to get the most of NDepend's code metrics' values by composing them.

Code Coverage

Make the most of your test coverage data: Explains how to harness NCover or VSTS test coverage data from NDepend and why this facility opens a wide range of new possibilities.
Are you sure your added and refactored code is covered by tests?: Explains how to use NDepend to check coverage of the most risky code: the one that has been added and refactored recently.
Dealing with code uncoverable by tests

Build Process / CI integration

Many details about integrating NDepend into a build process
Using NDepend in JetBrain Team City build management tool
Using CruiseControl.NET with NDepend
Source Files Rebasing: Explains how to rebase files analyzed by NDepend.

Miscellaneous

Immutable types: understand their benefits and use them: Explains the concept and benefits of immutability and the various facilities provided by NDepend to care about it.
Controlling the usage of libraries: Explains how to harness information on how librariries are used by your code base.
Optimal encapsulation: Explains how to use NDepend to make sure that every methods, fields and types have an optimal visibility (like not declared as internal if they can be declared as private for example).
How to isolate your integration tests from your unit tests ?: Explains how to use NDepend to segregate between integration and unit test.
Attributes as a mean to partition code: Explains how to use attributes and NDepend conjointly.
Rambling on the sealed keyword: Explains how to optimize the usage of the sealed keyword.

Usability and Ergonomy ramblings

Where we explain how we design the VisualNDepend UI.
The Visual Studio Look and Feel.
UI matters (Revisited): Menus and ToolBars vs. Office 2007 Ribbons.
UI matters: Menus and ToolBars vs. Office 2007 Ribbons.

More to come soon...