NDepend 4.0 available

The NDepend version 4.0 has been released. For all which do not know what NDepend is, take a look at my previous post.

NDepend is a great tool for static code analysis of .NET code. It is also available for Java "JArchitect" and C++ "CppDepend".

One of the main new features of the version 4.0 is the new query syntax which is based on Microsoft's LINQ. It provides a comprehensive way of analyzing your code.

The following example checks whether a base class uses one of its derivatives:

warnif count > 0 from baseClass in JustMyCode.Types
where baseClass.IsClass && baseClass.NbChildren > 0
let derivedClassesUsed = baseClass.DerivedTypes.UsedBy(baseClass)
    where derivedClassesUsed.Count() > 0
select new { baseClass, derivedClassesUsed }

This example is quite simple, but with these new query capabilities it is even possible to make more complex queries. One of the best examples you find here. These queries highlight namespace cycles and mutually dependent namespaces by using NDepend queries. These queries allow checking if the code follows a layered approach even on namespace level. Namespace cycles or mutually dependent namespaces cause usually a higher effort when changing certain code parts. The query allows to verify that and shows even suggestions which namespace should not use the other one based on the analysis which namespaces uses more types than the other one.

The image shows the mutually dependent namespaces. Furthermore it highlights that the namespace "TSTune.BL.DTO" should most probably not use the "TSTune.BL.Logic" because 11 types of DTO are used by Logic and just 1 type is used by DTO. There is a high chance that the use of this type is a mistake.

This example shows that the new query language of NDepend provides great possibilities to verify your code and identify bad parts. If these checks are performed as part of the continuous integration process, they can be easily avoided and result in the end to a much more maintainable solution.