developerWorks chats: Improve your code quality

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Andrew Glover brings his considerable expertise as a consultant focused on improving code quality to this moderated chat.

Date: November 17, 2006

Time: 12:30 p.m. eastern standard time (EST)

What is code quality exactly? You may not know how to define it, but you know it when you see it. One thing is sure, though, high code quality usually correlates to fewer defects. Ensuring the quality of your Java code is a two-step process: write tests at all levels, early and often; and continually monitor quality metrics. Andrew Glover brings his considerable expertise as a consultant focused on improving code quality to this moderated chat.

Read the complete Transcript from the chat.

Code quality encompasses a large set of best practices and tools. To learn more about items discussed in the chat, check out these articles:

• In pursuit of code quality article series (Andrew Glover, developerWorks): Learn more about code metrics, test frameworks, and writing quality-focused code.
• "Fuzz testing" (Elliotte Harold, developerWorks, September 2006): Use defensive coding techniques such as checksums, XML data storage, and code verification to harden your programs against random data.
• "Testing object serialization" (Elliotte Harold, developerWorks, June 2006): Why you should be unit testing object serialization.
• "Testing legacy code" (Elliotte Harold, developerWorks, April 2006): What to do when you stumble across legacy code that's never been tested.
• "An early look at JUnit 4" (Elliotte Harold, developerWorks, September 2005): Obsessive code tester Elliotte Harold takes JUnit 4 out for a spin.
• "Test your tests with Jester" (Elliotte Harold, developerWorks, March 2005): Learn about an open source JUnit test tester.
• "Measure test coverage with Cobertura" (Elliotte Harold, developerWorks, May 2005): Ferret out the untested code where bugs lurk.
• "Cover your code with Hansel and Gretel" (Dennis Sosnoski, developerWorks, February 2005): How complete are your unit tests? Use code coverage tools to find out!
• Testing with leverage (Brian Goetz, developerWorks): This three-part series looks at how static analysis tools can change the way you manage software quality.
• "Unit test your aspects" (Nicholas Liesecki, developerWorks, November 2005): A catalog of patterns for testing aspects.
• "Multithreaded unit testing with Con Test" (Yarden Nir-Buchbinder and Shmuel Ur, developerWorks, April 2006): Check out this new solution to catching concurrent bugs.
• testdriven.com: Techniques, tools, and general goodwill in the test-driven community.
• "FindBugs, Part 1" (Chris Grindstaff, developerWorks, May 2004): Discusses how to integrate FindBugs into your development methodology and how to use custom bug detectors to enforce project-wide code standards.
• "Java theory and practice: Testing with leverage, Part 1" (Brian Goetz, developerWorks, June 2006): Look at how static analysis tools can change the way you manage software quality.
• testearly.com: A blog about building software quality into the development process using the right tools and processes for the occasion.
• opensourcetesting.org: Gives easy access from one central location to the wide range of open source testing tools available.

You can download many of the products and technologies related to this chat here:

• JUnit: Find out what's new with JUnit 4.
• CruiseControl: Continuous Inspection starts with a Continuous Integration tool like CruiseControl.
• JavaNCSS: An excellent tool for spotting code complexity.
• DbUnit: A JUnit extension (usable with Ant) that puts a database into a known state between test runs.
• TestNG: Another powerful testing framework.
• Cobertura: Download it from SourceForge.
• FIT framework: Download the Framework for Integrated Tests and try it out for yourself.
• Hansel and Gretel: Get these tools to help you track your code.
• IBM Rational software quality tools: Introduction to software quality.
• PMD: This popular open source tool scans Java code for problems.
• FindBugs: Download FindBugs and try it out on your code.

Don't forget to join the discussion group on improving code quality:

• Improve Your Java Code Quality: Andrew shares his expertise as a consultant focused on improving code quality.

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Andrew Glover is president of Stelligent Incorporated, which helps companies address software quality with effective developer testing strategies and continuous integration techniques that enable teams to monitor code quality early and often. Visit Andy's blog for a list of his publications.

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