Making code review software tools help, not hinder

Among the admirable hallmarks of software developers is that they always write tools to automate the boring or repetitive stuff. Tools can certainly assist in the code review process -- particularly in ensuring that the code adheres to corporate style, collecting metrics and applying departmental programming policies -- but some caution that you shouldn't depend overmuch on them.

In particular, look at automated tools as a way to help collect and manage information before or during a code review, or learn the structure of the software-not to do the analysis for you. "Software will help the code review process, but initially your investment will be in trimming down the rule set to get the most value out of the tool," says Micheal Lalande, director of technology at QLogitek, a SaaS supply chain solution provider. "Work with the smallest set of rules as possible, so that you can tune out the noise. As you tune the rule set, you will find that software will become better and better within the organization."

The tools exist to automate the things that computers do better, such as checking naming conventions or comments, so developers don't have to waste their time on those details. "Some of these things can be caught by tools like FXCop, for instance, so a senior programmer and a group of peers should not be going over them," says Christopher Buchino, director of software engineering at GotVMail Communications.

J. Schwan, managing partner of Solstice Consulting, points out that while software can help automate the creation of unit test cases and ensure code coverage in unit test identification, the tools can't replace code reviews. "There aren't any tools to my knowledge that can offer perspectives on opportunities for code reusability and efficiency. This is where the human mind prevails over the CPU and should be leveraged accordingly," says Schwan.

Or to put it in different terms: Someone once asked Fats Waller, in the early days of boogie-woogie piano, how he kept the right hand from doing what the left hand was doing. He said, "That's what I'm in the middle for."

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