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Patterns and Practices

 

Free .NET Framework Development Tools for Framework Architecture Verification


If you develop reusable frameworks for ASP.NET Web Applications, Windows Applications, and/or WPF Applications for the .NET Framework, you may be interested in a free suite of tools to help verify your framework's architecture.

The Framework Architecture Verification Tools are written in F#:

  • Deps: produces dependency diagrams between assemblies, based both on implementation, as well as API-only.
  • Layering: verifies that a layering and grouping diagram is indeed satisfied by a set of assemblies
  • PotentialCallers: lists all the methods that call, directly or indirectly, a set of methods.

I haven't looked at these Framework Architecture Tools, but unless you are short on cash, I recommend checking out nDepend:

"NDepend is a tool that simplifies managing a complex .NET code base. Architects and developers can analyze code structure, specify design rules, plan massive refactoring, do effective code reviews and master evolution by comparing different versions of the code."

 

NDepend 2.0 - Analyze .NET Assemblies - Display Metrics Warnings and Diagrams

 

If that is overkill, check out Reflector and the various Code Metric Add-ins that may give you what you want:

 

Reflector Code Metrics Add-In and nDepend as Mentioned at South Florida Code Camp - Developer Tools

 

More important than any of that, however, is to get a fantastic book on developing .net reusable frameworks:

 

Framework Design Guidelines: Conventions, Idioms, and Patterns for Reusable .NET Libraries (Microsoft .NET Development Series)

 

Still, however, you can't beat free tools for analyzing the architecture of your frameworks :) Download them here.


Tags: Frameworks


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