The Definitive Guide To

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Building Code Quality

Don Jones

Introduction

IntroductiontoRealtimePublishers
by Don Jones, Series Editor

Forseveralyearsnow,Realtimehasproduceddozensanddozensofhighqualitybooks thatjusthappentobedeliveredinelectronicformatatnocosttoyou,thereader.Weve madethisuniquepublishingmodelworkthroughthegeneroussupportandcooperationof oursponsors,whoagreetobeareachbooksproductionexpensesforthebenefitofour readers. Althoughwevealwaysofferedourpublicationstoyouforfree,dontthinkforamoment thatqualityisanythinglessthanourtoppriority.Myjobistomakesurethatourbooksare asgoodasandinmostcasesbetterthananyprintedbookthatwouldcostyou$40or more.Ourelectronicpublishingmodeloffersseveraladvantagesoverprintedbooks:You receivechaptersliterallyasfastasourauthorsproducethem(hencetherealtimeaspect ofourmodel),andwecanupdatechapterstoreflectthelatestchangesintechnology. Iwanttopointoutthatourbooksarebynomeanspaidadvertisementsorwhitepapers. Wereanindependentpublishingcompany,andanimportantaspectofmyjobistomake surethatourauthorsarefreetovoicetheirexpertiseandopinionswithoutreservationor restriction.Wemaintaincompleteeditorialcontrolofourpublications,andImproudthat weveproducedsomanyqualitybooksoverthepastyears. Iwanttoextendaninvitationtovisitusathttp://nexus.realtimepublishers.com,especially ifyouvereceivedthispublicationfromafriendorcolleague.Wehaveawidevarietyof additionalbooksonarangeoftopics,andyouresuretofindsomethingthatsofinterestto youanditwontcostyouathing.WehopeyoullcontinuetocometoRealtimeforyour educationalneedsfarintothefuture. Untilthen,enjoy. DonJones

Table of Contents IntroductiontoRealtimePublishers.................................................................................................................i Chapter1:QualityCodingforVisualStudioandthe.NETFramework............................................1 .NETFrameworkandVisualStudioOverview.......................................................................................1 . TheCLRandRelatedLanguages..............................................................................................................2 The.NETFrameworkClassLibrary........................................................................................................4 VisualStudio.....................................................................................................................................................5 Issueswith.NETDevelopment.................................................................................................................6 TheMicrosoftVisualStudioEnvironment................................................................................................7 ABriefHistoryofVisualStudio................................................................................................................8 VisualStudioDevelopmentMethodsandTechniques...................................................................9 VisualStudioSolutions,ProjectsandProcedures.........................................................................10 IssueswithVisualStudioDevelopmentandNativeToolsets...................................................10 UnderstandingandAssessingCodeQuality.........................................................................................11 Yardsticks:Errors,Completeness,Security,andPerformance...............................................11 CommonlyUsedCodeMetrics...............................................................................................................12 AutomatingCodeQualityAssessmentandUsingCodeQualityAssessmentstoDrive Development.................................................................................................................................................15 . UltimateQuality:DoesItMeettheRequirements?.......................................................................15 TopCodeQualitySnafus................................................................................................................................16 WhattoExpectinthisDefinitiveGuide..................................................................................................18

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Copyright Statement

Copyright Statement
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Chapter 1 [Editor'sNote:ThiseBookwasdownloadedfromRealtimeNexusTheDigitalLibraryfor ITProfessionals.AllleadingtechnologyeBooksandguidesfromRealtimePublisherscanbe foundathttp://nexus.realtimepublishers.com.]

Chapter1:QualityCodingforVisualStudio andthe.NETFramework
Therearemanythingsthatcontributetothequalityofanapplication.Fromtheinitial requirementsthroughthefunctionalspecifications,datamodeling,securityconsiderations, andchoiceofinterfacesandsupportservicesallcontributetohowwelltheapplication performs,howeasyitistomaintain,andhowwellpeoplewilladoptit.Butforallthese factors,nothingisasdirectlytellingasthequalityofthecodeitself.Asetofcrystalclear requirements,abrilliantarchitecture,themostfriendlyofuserinterfaces(UIs)sisnothing ifthecodedoesnotperformreliably,errorsarenotwellhandled,andthecodedoesnot performtheexpectedtasksquickly. Inthisguide,Iintendtowalkyouthroughtheprocessofbuildingaqualitycodingpractice. Imassumingthatyoureeitheraprofessionaldeveloperyourself,orthatyoumanage developersasamajorpartofyourjob.Imassumingthatyouveworkedwithrecent versionsofVisualStudioquiteabit,too.Fromgettingthemostfromthedevelopment environmenttowritingclearandefficientcodetoanalyzingandeliminatingerrorsbefore theybecomeissuestomakingtheapplicationsrunatpeakefficiency,thisguidewillhelp yourefineyourcodepracticeandchurnoutbettercodefaster. Thisguideisntjustaboutindentingyourcodeandhowtocapitalizevariablenames;well alsotacklemorecomplicatedtopicssuchastherightwaytoconductapeercodereview, howtoaddresssecurityandperformanceproblems,andmoreeverythingthat contributestoqualitycode.Wellbeginbymakingsurewereonthesamepagewithtoolset andtechnologies.

.NETFrameworkandVisualStudioOverview
Microsoftintroducedthe.NETFrameworkinearly2002.Itrepresentedasignificant changeinMicrosoftssoftwaredevelopmentstrategy,movingawayfromnativecodethat wascompiledforaspecifichardwareandoperatingsystem(OS)towardamoreJavalike modelthatofferedthepossibilityforbroaderplatformsupport. Note Nativecodeisabinarythatisloadeddirectlyintothememoryofthe processorandexecuted.MicrosoftWin32,COM,andDCOMapplicationsare compiledinthismanner.NativecodeisstillusedfortheOSanddevice drivers.Itcanrunfastbutisdifficulttowriteefficientlyandwithouterrors.

Chapter 1 Tosimplifyandsecuretheprocessofwritingcode,.NETusesatypeofvirtualmachine, calledtheCommonLanguageRuntime(CLR),asabufferbetweentheprocessorandthe application.Thislayercanmakethingsrunmoresecurely.Someofthecodingproblems thatwouldcauseacomputertocrasharemitigatedbythisapproach. .NETispurelyobjectoriented,supportingfullencapsulation,inheritance,and polymorphism.Itforcesthedeclarationofvariablesandastrictobjectlifecycle(aproblem thatfrequentlyplaguedCOMandcreatedmemoryleaks).NoneoftheMicrosoftlanguages priortothis,withtheexceptionofJ#,waspurelyobjectoriented.Objectoriented languagesarenotinherentlyofhigherqualitybuttheyoffermanyfeaturesandforcea certainprogrammingstylethatmakeiteasiertowritehighqualitycode. .NETintroducedstructurederrorhandlingforalllanguagesnotjustaboltonasitwasin earlierlanguagessuchasC++.Structurederrorhandlingisakeycapabilityforwriting higherqualitycode;withoutit,yourcodecannotrespondasconsistentlytoerror conditions. InadditiontotheFrameworkitself,Microsoftcreatednewversionsofitssoftware developmenttools,includingVisualStudiointegrateddevelopmentenvironment(IDE). TheFrameworkandFrameworkbaseddevelopmentarententirelywithoutitscritics,and MicrosoftitselfhasrunintosignificanthurdlesinusingtheFrameworktocreateOS components. OneproblemwiththeFrameworkissemantics:Theterm.NETFrameworkisused genericallytorefertoseveraldistinctelements,eachofwhichisimportanttocodequality inadifferentway.Inordertoenableourdiscussiononcodequality,andtomakeitclearer, weneedtofirstbreakdowntheFrameworkintoitsconstituentelements.

TheCLRandRelatedLanguages
WhendevelopersspeakofprogrammingfortheFramework,theyreusuallywritingcodein eithertheC#orVisualBasic(formerlyVB.NET)languagesalthoughotherlanguagesare available(MicrosoftprovidesC++andJ#;othermanufacturersprovideotherlanguages). Thebeautyofthisapproachisthattheprogrammercanwriteinthelanguagethatheor sheismostcomfortablewith.IfyouneedtoportcodefromaCOBOL,APL,Fortran,orother system,thatcodecanbeusedwithinthe.NETFramework,providingthatyouhavesupport forthatlanguage. ThelanguageinwhichtheprogramiswrittenisNOTthelanguagethattheFramework uses.Whenadeveloperbuilds(orcompiles,althoughthattermistechnicallyinaccurate)a C#project,whatsproducedisnotanexecutablecapableofrunningindependentlyona computersOS.Instead,VisualStudiosmainjobistotranslateyourVisualBasic,C#,J#,or whatevercodeintotheCommonIntermediateLanguage(CIL). Note YoullstillseethetermMSILprettyoften,althoughsincethelanguage specificationwasformalizedandstandardizedasECMA335,thetermCILis morecorrect.

Chapter 1 HeresanexampleofCILcode:
.methodstaticvoidmain() { .entrypoint .maxstack1 ldstr"Helloworld!" callvoid[mscorlib]System.Console::WriteLine(string) ret }

Itsactuallyaprettyunintuitive,hardtoreadlanguage,whichiswhyfewdeveloperswork initdirectly(fortheoldschoolaudience,thisisalotlikeAssemblylanguage).Onceyour codehasbeenconvertedtoCIL,itsfurtherassembledintobytecode(whichisessentiallya binarycompactformofshorthandforCIL),creatinga.NETassemblytypicallyanEXEor DLLfile,dependingonhowitwillbeexecuted.Figure1.1illustratesthisprocess.

Figure1.1:Compiling.NETFrameworkcode.

Chapter 1 WhenauserrunsanassemblycontainingCIL,theFrameworksCLRspringsintoaction. TheCLRreceivesthebytecodefromtheassemblyandexecutesaJustInTime(JIT) compilerthatgeneratescodecapableofexecutingontheplatformwithintheCLR.This modelallowscodetobewrittenonceandtobeexecutedonanyplatformforwhichaCLR isavailable.ThereisaperformancehitwhiletheJITconvertsthebytecodetoexecutable binary,butitcachestheresultingnativeimageforfutureuse(itautomaticallyrecompiles whenthesourceassemblyisseentohavechanged).AFrameworkutilitycalledNGENcan beusedtogeneratenativeimagesinadvance;thisprocesseliminatestheinitial performancepenaltybuttiesthenativeimagetoasingleplatform.Thatisonereason,for example,WindowsPowerShell(whichiswrittenintheFramework)isdistributedin differentversionsfordifferentWindowsOSs. TheCLRactsasatypeofvirtualmachine.TheCLRisresponsibleforexecutingFramework applications,handlingtheirmemoryusage,managinggarbagecollection,handling exceptions,managingsecurity,andsoforth.UnlikeJava,whichtypicallypermitsvery limitedaccesstotheunderlyinghostOS,theCLRisdesignedtoprovideaccesstothenative WindowsOSfeaturesalthoughitdoessoonlythroughastrictsetofsecuritycontrols.

The.NETFrameworkClassLibrary
Anintegralpartof.NETdevelopmentisthe.NETFrameworkclasslibrarywhatwecan properlyrefertoastheFramework.Thisisanextensivecollectionofpreprogrammed classesthatgivedevelopersmuchofthefunctionalitytheyneedtowriteapplications. Frameworkclassesexisttoconnecttodatabases,creategraphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs), andsoforth;developersjusttooversimplifyabitconnectthevariousclassestoone anothertocreateapplications.Thus,developersarelessconcernedaboutlowleveldetails suchashowtoopenandreadafile,andmoreconcernedabouthighlevelfunctionality, suchasimplementingbusinesslogic. TheFrameworkisextensible.Additionalclassescanbeaddedtocoverfunctionalitythat theFrameworkitselfdoesntaddressandthatadeveloperdoesntwanttocreatemanually. Classesforremoteconnectivity,creationofchartsandgraphs,alternativeUIelements,and soforthareallpopular. EachversionoftheFrameworkclasslibraryisunique,anddevelopersmusttargeta specificversionwhencreatingtheirapplications.Frameworkversionsarenotnecessarily cumulativenoraretheynecessarilycrosscompatible.Forexample,ifyoucreatean applicationthatusesfeaturesfromonlyv2oftheFrameworkbutyourprojecttargetsv3.5, yourapplicationwillrunonlyifv3.5oftheFrameworkisinstalledeventhoughv2 technicallycontainsalltheneededfunctionality. EachversionoftheFrameworktendstoaddnewclassestowhatcamebefore;eachversion mayalsocontainchangestofunctionalityintroducedinpreviousversions.Figure1.2 showsthemajorportionsoftheFrameworkasofv3.5,alongwithinitialplansforfuture versions.Asyoucansee,theFrameworkistrulyenormousmuchlargerandmoreall inclusivethansimilarclasslibrariesforlanguagessuchasC++.

Chapter 1

Figure1.2:The.NETFrameworkclasslibrary.

VisualStudio
Althoughyoucouldtechnicallycreate.NETapplicationsusingnothingmorethanWindows Notepadandthefreelyavailablelanguagecompilers,youprobablywouldntenjoyit.An IDEprovidesnumerousfeaturestomakedevelopmenteasierandfaster,andVisualStudio isthedefactoIDEformost.NETdevelopers.Availableinvariouseditionsthatoffer differentfeaturesandfunctionality,VisualStudioisdesignedfor.NETdevelopment(as wellasfordevelopingunmanagedC++applications).Itincludesacorecodeeditorand projectmanagementtools,andinsomeeditions,offersfeaturessuchassourcecontrol connectivity,testingtools,andsoforth.VisualStudioisextensible;whileMicrosoftdirectly supportsVisualBasic,J#,C++,andC#,thirdpartieshaveextendedsupportforlanguages suchasJava,COBOL,Fortran,APL,Chrome,F#,Python,andRuby.Freeexpresseditions supportonlyasinglelanguageeitherVisualBasicorC#,inmostcases,althoughexpress editionsforJ#andC++arealsoavailable. Figure1.3showsVisualStudio,andillustratesoneofitsmajorIDEfeatures:IntelliSense, Microsoftsbrandnameforitscodehintingandcodecompletionfeatures.

Chapter 1

Figure1.3:VisualStudio. WellbediscussingVisualStudioinmoredetailinjustabit.

Issueswith.NETDevelopment
TheFrameworkisntentirelywithoutissuesandcritics,andifweregoingtouseittobuild qualityapplications,weneedtoconsidersomeofthemajorcriticismsandunderstandhow theymayimposelimitationsonourownabilitytodeliverqualitycode. ApplicationsthatruninamanagedenvironmentwhichiswhattheCLRistendtoruna bitslowerorrequiremoresystemresourcesinordertorunasquicklyasapplicationsthat runnativelyontheOS.Thisperformanceissue,infact,wasacontributortoMicrosofts difficultiesdeliveringontechnologypromisessuchasWinFSandAvalon(afilesystemand graphicssubsystembasedonmanagedcode)forWindowsVista.Thisisanimportant considerationbecauseyou,asadeveloper,havelittlecontrolovertheperformancehit introducedbytheCLR;ifacertainsetofperformancemetricsaremandatedinyour softwaresrequirements,youcouldrunintosituationsinwhichyoucantoptimizethe performancefurtherbecausetheCLRisactingasabottleneckofsorts.Youreunlikelyto findsituationswhereyoucantproduceacceptableperformance,butdependingonthe aggressiveness(andrealism)ofyourrequiredperformancemetrics,meetingthosemetrics maybechallenging.

Chapter 1 FrameworkassembliescontainabytecodeversionofCIL,meaningyouareessentially distributingyoursourcecode.Numerousutilitiesexistthatcandecompilea.NET assemblyintoC#.Infact,mostoftheactualFrameworkclassescanbedecompiled,as Microsoftreliesonintellectualproperty(IP)lawtoprotectitssourcecode.Smaller developerswithfewerlawyersoftenturntoobfuscationtools,whichperformvarious semantictrickstorenderdecompiledcodelessreadable.ModernversionsofVisualStudio, infact,comewithacommunityeditionofapopularcommercialobfuscator,giving developersabaselineobfuscationcapabilityandtacitlyacknowledgingthedownsideof bytecodeassemblies. ManagedenvironmentssuchastheCLRmustperiodicallycleanupaftertheapplications theyrun.Thisprocess,calledgarbagecollection,involvesfreeingupandhelpingtode fragmentmemorythatisnolongerinusebytheapplicationsuchasmemorythathad beenallocatedforvariablesthatarenolongerinscope.Garbagecollectionhaltsexecution oftheapplicationforabit,andalthoughthistimeperiodisusuallyimperceptible,itcanin someinstancesbeperceivedaspoorapplicationquality.Developersmusttakesomecare todealwithmemoryaccordingtobestpracticessothatgarbagecollectiondoesntbecome animpedimenttotheapplication. TheexactversionoftheFrameworkyoudevelopforisimportant.Olderversions,suchas v2,arefairlyubiquitous,havingbeenaroundforsometimeandhavingbeenpreinstalled onmostmodernversionsofWindows.Newerversionsmaynotbeavailableonallclient computers,meaningthatrunningyourapplicationfirstrequiresuserstoinstalltheproper versionoftheFramework.VisualStudiohastraditionallybeenpooratallowingdevelopers totargetaspecificversionoftheFramework;VisualStudio2005,forexample,was introducedwithv2oftheFrameworkanddoesntreallyliketocompileassembliesthat arecompatiblewithv1.1oftheFrameworkeventhoughitcouldcreatesuchassemblies. TheFrameworkitselfaddsagreatdealofoverheadtoyourapplicationsfootprint:upto 197MBforv3.5oftheFramework.Althoughthisismitigatedbythefactthatmultiple applicationscansharethesameFrameworkinstallation,userswhoneedtohavev1.1,v2, v3,andv3.5installedtosupportvariousapplicationsaretakingaprettybighitintermsof drivespace.

TheMicrosoftVisualStudioEnvironment
ItmightseemlikeoverkilltotalkaboutanIDEinabookaboutcodequality,buttheIDEis whereyourewritingyourcode,sotheIDEiswherequalitybegins.AndinfactyourIDE candoalottohelporharmyourcodequality,dependingonhowyouusethatIDE.

Chapter 1

ABriefHistoryofVisualStudio
VisualStudiowasfirstreleasedin1997,bundlingmanyofMicrosoftsprogrammingtools forthefirsttime.Priortothatrelease,productssuchasVisualC++andVisualBasicwere independenttoolswiththeirown,uniqueIDEs.VisualStudio97includedVisualBasic5.0 andVisualC++5.0thiswasbeforethe.NETFrameworkwasevenaglimmerinanyones eye.VisualStudio97alsoincludedVisualJ++,VisualFoxPro5.0,andVisualInterDevfor WebdevelopmentaswellasMicrosoftsMSDNLibrarydocumentation. In1998,VisualStudio6.0wasintroducedandwasthelastversioncreatedtorununder Windows95,Windows98,orWindowsMe.Thiswasstillpre.NETFramework,witha focusonComponentObjectModel(COM)development,butitofferedamoreconsistent andunifiedIDEalthoughtheunifiedIDEwasusedonlybyVisualJ++andVisualInterDev; VisualBasic,C++,andFoxProcontinuedtousetheirowndistinctIDEs.Itoriginally includedVisualJ++,butthatwasdiscontinuedafterMicrosoftslegalsettlementwithSun Microsystems. In2002,VisualStudio.NETwasreleasedtocorrespondwiththefirstreleaseofthe Frameworkitself.ThisintroducedthecompletetransitiontoCLRmanagedcode,a commonIDEfortheincludedVisualBasic.NET,C#,andJ#programminglanguagesaswell asManagedC++,asetofextensionstoC++thatallowedfor.NETdevelopmentinthat language.VisualFoxProwasremovedfromVisualStudioandplacedonitsown developmenttrack;itisnota.NETFrameworklanguage. VisualStudio.NET2003included.NETFrameworkv1.1aswellasthe.NETCompact Frameworkformobiledevices.Thiswasafairlyminorupgradeinmanyrespects. AmoremajorupgradecameinVisualStudio2005,whenthe.NETmonikerwasdropped fromthename(Microsofthadbythistimedropped.NETfromthemanythingsithad beenappliedto,excepttheFrameworkitself).V2oftheFrameworkaccompaniedVisual Studio2005,andprojecttypesforASP.NETWebserviceswereaddedtotheIDE.64bit supportwasintroduced,althoughtheVisualStudioapplicationitselfwasonly32bit. SubsequentaddonstoVisualStudio2005enabledsupportfor.NETFrameworkv3 features,includingWindowsWorkflowFoundation,WindowsCommunicationFoundation, andWindowsPresentationFoundation.ThisversionofVisualStudioalsointroduced numerousteameditionswithtaskspecificfunctionalityforapplicationarchitects, developers,testers,andsoforth. VisualStudio2008isthelatestversionasofthiswritingandcontainsnumerousupgrades. AnewWindowsPresentationFrameworkdesignerisincluded,alongwithanew HTML/CSSeditorforWebapplications.J#hasbeendroppedfromthebundle,andthe defaultFrameworktargetversionisv3.5.Thisisthefirstversiontotrulysupporttargeting earlierFrameworkversions,including2.0,3.0,3.5,theSilverlightCoreCLR,ortheCompare Framework.Newcodeanalysistools,includingthenewCodeMetricstool,areincludedin somepremiumeditions,andtheintegrateddebuggerintroducedsupportforeasier debuggingofmultithreadedapplications.

Chapter 1 Note Asofthiswriting,VisualStudio2010isunderdevelopment.

VisualStudioDevelopmentMethodsandTechniques
Foranexperienceddeveloper,VisualStudioisastraightforwardIDE.Anentiresoftware applicationcanbedevelopedinVisualStudio,whetheritsaWindowsGUIapplication,a Webapplication,aWebservice,orwhatever;theIDEcontainsallthenecessaryvisual designersurfaces,codeeditorsupport,integratedhelp,andotherfeaturesneededto produceacompleteapplication. TheIDEalsoofferssetupanddeploymentwizardstohelpbuildWindowsapplication installers,deployWebsitestoaWebserver,andsoforth.AnembeddedWebserverallows developerstoperformimmediatetestingofWebapplicationswithoutneedingtodeploya separateWebserver,whichmakesunittestingthatmucheasierandthatmuchmore accessible. Perhapsitshouldgowithoutsaying,butbeawarethatVisualStudiosupportsonly.NET Frameworkdevelopment.ItdoesnotexplicitlysupportolderMicrosoftdevelopment languagessuchaspreFrameworkVisualBasicnordoesitexplicitlysupportlanguages suchasPHP.VisualStudioisextensible,soitsnotunthinkableforittobeextendedto supporttheselanguages,butgenerallyspeaking,VisualStudiousersareinterestedin developingFrameworkbasedapplications. Note Actually,VisualStudiodoessupportdevelopmentinoneunmanaged language:VisualC++.Thatlanguagecontinuestoenjoywidespreadsupport anduse. VisualStudioincludesbuiltinsupportforVisualSourceSafeandMicrosoftsTeam FoundationServersourcecontrolcapabilitiesbutdoesnotnativelysupportotherversion repositoriessuchasSubVersion,ClearCase,orCVS. Note Manyoftheseversioningsystemshavetheirownclientsthatactasplugins totheVisualStudioIDE. TheIDEprovidesbasicrefactoringandcodebeautifiercapabilitiesandprovidesbasic supportforcomparingdifferentversionsofafile.Thesefeaturesallhelpdeveloperscreate codethatconformstointernalstandardsaswellasindustrybestpracticesbothofwhich areimportant,asweshallseelater,tobuildingqualitycode.

Chapter 1

VisualStudioSolutions,ProjectsandProcedures
VisualStudiosbasicunitofworkisaproject,whichmoreorlessrepresentsasingle application.However,VisualStudiorecognizesthatmanylargescalesoftwaresolutions actuallyinvolvemultiplediscreteprojects.Therefore,adevelopermayhaveanentire VisualStudiosolutionopenintheIDEatonce;thissolutioncanconsistofprojectsforback endcode,Webservices,WindowsGUIapps,middletiercomponents,andsoforth,allowing anentireapplicationtobetestedwithintheconfinesoftheIDE. Thiscapabilitycanofferagreatdealofpowerandflexibilityfordevelopersbutalso requirescoordinationinorderforittoworkwell.Forexample,adevelopermaybe workingonaparticularmiddletiercomponentandmaycheckouttheassociatedfilesfrom versioncontrolinordertoworkonthem.Anotherdevelopermaybeworkingonaclient applicationandmighthaveareadonlycopyofthefirstdevelopersmiddletiercomponent code.Thissetupallowsbothdeveloperstoworkindependently,buttheseconddeveloper willalwaysbeworkingonanoutofdatecopyofthemiddletiercode.Thatmaybefinefor basicunittesting,butatsomepoint,allthelatestcodeneedstocometogetherinasingle place,suchasafulltestenvironmentwheredailybuildsorotheragreeduponunitsof workaredeployedformoreformalintegrationtesting.VisualStudioitselfdoesntprovide toolsspecificallyformanagingtheinherentdisconnectbetweendevelopersworkingasa team,althoughfrankly,noIDEreallydoesorcould.Thischallengeisamanagementissue andprovidesagoodexampleofwhyeffectivemanagementskillsandprocessesareneeded incomplexdevelopmentprojects.

IssueswithVisualStudioDevelopmentandNativeToolsets
IfVisualStudiohasaweakness,orweaknesses,itrelatestocodetesting.Althoughthe VisualStudioTeamTesteditionofferstestspecificfunctionality,noeditionofVisualStudio canbeconsideredafullfledgedtoolforapplicationtesting.Itlacksstrongsupportfortest assetmanagement,lacksthesecurityandauditingcontrolsnecessaryforstrongtestasset management,andlacksmuchofthehigherendautomationandtestmanagement capabilitiesfoundinthirdpartytools. Note Testassetsreferstoavarietyofresources,includingsampledata,whichis usedtotestanapplicationsbehaviornotonlytoproperinputbutalsoits handlingofimproperinput.Amajorrootcauseofpoorapplicationqualityis poortestdata:testdatathatisnotrealworlddoesnotleadtorealworld qualitytesting.Thatsaid,realworldtestdatamaycomewithsignificant baggageintermsofsensitivity,security,andprivacy,soatestasset managementtoolmustbeabletoproperlysecureandauditaccesstotest data.Iftestdatawill,forexample,includerealworldcustomerdata,that datamustbetreatedwithsensitivityforitsprivacyandinsome jurisdictions,alluseofthattestdatamustbeaudited.VisualStudiodoesnot providethislevelofmanagementcapabilityfortestassets.

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Chapter 1 AnotherconcernwithVisualStudiodevelopment,withregardstocodequality,involves managementreporting.EvenwhenalldevelopersareusingtheTeameditionsofVisual Studio,therearerelativelyimmaturebuiltinmeansforamanagertoreportondeveloper productivity,reviewdeveloperunittestingresults,reviewformalresultsfromQAtesters, andsoforth.Giventherolemanagementmustplayinproperlycoordinatingdevelopment andtestingandinensuringthedeliveryofaqualityapplication,VisualStudioslackof managementtoolscanbeconsideredsignificant. Thatsaid,weshouldrecognizethatMicrosoftwantsVisualStudiotobeanIDE,notabeall, endallsoftwaredevelopmentsystem.MicrosoftneversetouttomakeVisualStudioatool formanagersnordiditsetouttobuildenterpriseclasstestassetmanagement.Microsoft reliesonarichecosystemofthirdpartyIndependentSoftwareVendors(ISVs)toprovide thesemorebusinessspecificcapabilities,andmanyISVsdosobyintegratingtheirtoolsets directlyintoVisualStudioitself.AnylackinginVisualStudioshouldntbeconstruedasa failureonMicrosoftspartbutratherasrecognitionthatsoftwaredevelopmentis complicatedandoftenrequirestoolsthataremorespecifictoagivenlineofbusinessor developmentmodel.

UnderstandingandAssessingCodeQuality
Isitpossibletolookatcodeandassessitsqualitywithoutevenrunningtheapplication? Certainlywecanassessanaspectofthecodesqualitystatically,justaswecanassessother aspectsbyrunningtheapplication.Itsimportanttounderstandthat,ultimately,code qualityisthecombinationofthesethings.

Yardsticks:Errors,Completeness,Security,andPerformance
Howdoyou,andyourorganization,measurecodequality?Businesspeopletendtofocuson whetheranapplicationdoeswhattheyneedinthewaytheyneeditdone.Callthat completeness.Businesspeoplealsofocusoftenaboveallelseontheirperceptionofthe applicationsperformance.Aretheytellingcustomers,Sorry,thecomputersareslow today?Ifso,theylikelyperceivetheapplicationasoneofpoorquality.Toooften,infact, developersarentarmedwithasimpletoolthatwouldallowthemtomeetthosequality expectations:alistofactualexpectations!Inotherwords,ifyoudontknowwhatfeatures andperformanceareexpected,youprobablywontdeliverthem.Thatswherewellwritten requirementscanhelpdrivebetterquality,simplybylettingyouknowwhatsexpectedof theapplication. Note Remember:Manythingscancontributetoapoorqualityapplication.Most peoplewill,however,alwaysattributepoorapplicationqualitytopoorcode quality.Ensuringthatthecodeisofhighqualityallowsyou,asadeveloper,to defendyourworkmoreeasily.

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Chapter 1 Mostanyonewillagreethaterrorsareasignofpoorquality.Obviously,someerrorssuch asamissingfileoranunavailablenetworkconnectionareoutsideyourimmediate control,buthandlingthoseerrorsituationsgracefullycanatleastprovideanimproved perceptionofquality.Gracefulfailurecanalsohelptroubleshooterssuchassystems administratorsorhelpdeskstaffsolveproblemsfaster.Ifyourapplicationcanbeclearon whattheexternalproblemis,troubleshooterscanfocusonthatproblemandnotonyour application.Ofcourse,youneedtomakesurethatthecodepathsleadingtogracefulfailure aredeterministic:displayinganetworkerrorwheninfactthenetworkisfineisasure waytohaveyourapplicationthoughtofaslowquality.Andnoonelikesseeingan Unexpectederrormessagepopupontheirscreen. Securityissomethingmanydevelopersdontthinkofastheyrewritingcode,and unfortunately,itssomethingthatoftenmaynotbeaproblemforsometimeafteran applicationhasbeenreleasedandisinuse.Buteventually,ifsecurityisntcodedinfrom thestart,itwillbeaproblem,andtherearefewsymptomsofpoorqualitythatcostmoreto dealwith.Securityisntfuntocode,andinmostcasesitwindsupmakingapplications morecomplicatedandcomplexthantheywouldbeotherwise,butintodaysworld,a securelycodedapplicationissimplyarequirement. Alloftheseyardsticksarevaluableindicatorsofqualitybecausetheyfocusonenduser perceptions,whicharecriticallyimportantinmeasuringanapplicationsoverallsuccessor failure.However,alltheseyardsticksareverysubjectiveandcanbeverydifficultto measure.Forthatreason,itisinadditiontotheseyardsticksbeneficialtohavemore measureablemetricsagainstwhichtojudgethequalityofyourcode.

CommonlyUsedCodeMetrics
Tosaythattherearenumerousformalmetricsforcodequalityissomethingofan understatement.Massivequantitiesofliteraturehavebeenpublishedonthetopic.One commontheme,however,isthatmeasuringbugsisnotameasureofqualityitsa measureofnonquality,tocoinaphrase.Measuringerrordensityperthousandlinesof codeoverthecourseofayeardoesnttellyouwhetheryourcodeisgood;itonlytellsyouif yourcodeisbad.Notthattrackingerrorsisntessential;theyrejustnotthebeall,endall ofmeasuringcodequality. In1993,theInstituteofElectricalandElectronicsEngineers(IEEE)publishedasoftware qualitymetricsmethodologythatwasintendedasasystematicapproachforestablishing qualityrequirements,validatingqualitymetrics,andsoforth.Theresthatword requirementsagain.Figure1.4showstheIEEEsbasicmethodology.

Figure1.4:IEEEsoftwarequalitymetricsmethodology. 12

Chapter 1 Withoutestablishingyourrequirements,youhavenothingagainstwhichtomeasure quality!Althoughvarioussoftwaredevelopmentmethodologiesprovidemeansfor measuringquality,allbeginwithwellwrittenrequirements,whichmustdefinewhat qualitymeansforthatapplication.SoftwareMeasurement:AVisualizationToolkitfor ProjectControlandProcessMeasurement,bySimmons,Ellis,Fujihara,andKuo,was publishedin1997andinmanywaysisthebesttreatmentofcurrentsoftwaremetrics.Its adensetome,butitswortharead,asitalsoexploreshistoricallyverifiedformulasthatdo thingslikepredictthenumberofdefectsperthousandlinesofcodebasedonprojectsize (middlesizedprojectstendtohavetheleastbugs,forexample).Simmons,et.Al,proposea basicmetricsetthatencompassesreliability,verification,andusability,witheachactingas thelegofatriangle: Usabilityisaproductsfitnessforitsintendedpurpose. Verificationistheabilitytodeterminewhetheraproductisusableandreliable. Reliabilityisusuallydefinedasbugpotential,bugfixefficiency,andbugsthatstill existinfinishedcode.

Morerecently,thefunctionpointhasbeenproposedasaqualitymetricbecauseitdoesnt relyonsimplelinesofcodecounts,whichrarelyprovidesatisfactoryqualitymetrics. Instead,afunctionpointrepresentsinterfaceswithintheapplicationbecauseinterfacesare mostoftenwhereerrorsoccur.AtypicalfunctionpointdevelopedbyIBMlookslikethis: Multiply4timesthenumberofexternalinputs Multiply5timesthenumberofexternaloutputs Multiply10timesthenumberoflogicalinternalfiles Multiply7timesthenumberofexternalinterfacefiles Multiple4timesthenumberofonlineinquiriessupported

Thesearecalledaverageweightingfactors,orWij.Xijisthenumberofeachcomponenttype intheapplication.FeedallthatinfoafunctionliketheoneshowninFigure1.5.

Figure1.5:Functionpointmetricformula. Thenyouuseascaleofzeroto5toratethepotentialimpactof14generalsystem characteristics,with5representingaverylikelyimpactontheapplicationoverall,and0 representingalesserimpact.

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Chapter 1 Thesystemcharacteristicsare: Datacommunications Distributedfunctions Performance Heavilyusedconfiguration Transactionrate Onlinedataentry Enduserefficiency Onlineupdate Complexprocessing Reusability Installationease Operationalease Multiplesites Facilitationofchange

AddyourscoresandcallthesumCi,andusetheformulainFigure1.6tofindavalue adjustmentfactor(VAF).

Figure1.6:Functionpointmetricformula. ThencomeupwithyourfinalfunctionpointvaluebyusingtheformulaFP=FCVAF.Your functionpointvalueisascoreindicatingthepotentialqualityofthesoftware(amongst otherthings).Itsnotmeasuringbugsbutrather(inpart)thepotentialforreallybadbugs. Note Ifyoucantgetenoughofthemath,checkout http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=30306,whichcontainsan excellentdiscussionofcurrentmetricstheory. Nokidding.Thisiswhykidsinschoolaretoldthatsoftwaredevelopmentrequiresan affinityformath.Itsalsowhyautomatedtoolsexisttohelpassesssoftwarequality.

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Chapter 1

AutomatingCodeQualityAssessmentandUsingCodeQualityAssessmentstoDrive Development
Withcodequalityassessmentsinvolvingsomuchmath,counting,andotherfairlytedious tasks,itsnotsurprisingthattoolsexisttohelpautomatetheprocess.Mostcommercially availabletoolsoffermetricsbasedonmanypopularindustrystandardsandmethodologies. Assessmenttoolsoftenproduceeverythingfromsimplenumericscorestocomplex reports,includingvisualizationssuchasmatrixplots,tablelenses,andsoforth. Automatedassessmenttoolscanbequitecomplex.Inadditiontogatheringbasic informationsuchasthenumberoflinesofcodeandinterfacesbetweencodemodules,they mayanalyzeUIcode,databasecode,andsoforth,whichmustactuallyparseyour programminglanguageandmakeassessmentdecisions.Abenefitoftheseassessmentsis thatyoucandothemfrequently,asyourcodegrows,andyoucanusethemtoidentify highimpactareaswithahighdefectpotential.Identifyingtheseareasofyourcodequickly helpsyouputmorefocusonthemtohelppreventbugsduringdevelopmentandduringall phasesoftesting.

UltimateQuality:DoesItMeettheRequirements?
Theresnobettermeasurementofanapplicationsqualitythantheanswertoonesimple question:Doestheapplicationmeetitsrequirements?Andthefollowupquestions:Doesit performasrequired?Offerthefunctionalityrequired?Meettherequiredsecurity standards?Respondtoerrorsasrequired?Withoutclearlyarticulatedrequirements,you cannotjudgeanapplicationsquality. Iliveinaniceenoughhouse.Itsonestory,hasinsulatedwindows,hasgreatinsulationin theroof,andisnttoodraftyinthewintertime.Isitaqualityhouse?Basedonmy requirementsforenergyefficiency,itdefinitelyis.Myparents,however,prefertwostory houses,likewindowsthatslideupratherthansidewaystoopen(theyreeasiertoclean, Momsays),andwantagaragethatsabitwiderthanmine.Sobytheirrequirementsfor formandfunction,myhouseisntofveryhighquality.Withoutanyofourrequirementsin mind,itsimpossibletomakeaqualitystatementaboutthehouse.Evenahomeinspector hasrequirements:Isituptocode?Isthereanyrotordecay?Isanythingbrokenoroutof kilter?Everyonehasdifferentmeasurementsforquality. Thatswhywrittenrequirementsaresoimportantforprogrammers.Withoutthem,youll neverknowwhetherwhatyoureproducingisquality.Maybeyouvefinetunedeverycode totheminimumnumberofstatements,optimizeddatabaseaccess,andspenthours agonizingovertheGUIcolorscheme.Afterallthateffort,itsapoorqualityapplicationifit doesntproducetheprintedoutputusersreallyneed.

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Chapter 1 Thegreatpartaboutwelldocumentedrequirementsisthattheyarenotsubjective. Instead,theyserveasameasurablechecklist.Eitheryourapplicationdoeseverythingon thechecklistoritdoesnot.Themorechecks,thebettertheapplicationquality.Thebest partaboutawellwrittensetofrequirementsisthatyou,asadeveloper,needtoworrya lotlessaboutthethingsnotintherequirements!Therequirementsdontaddressprinted output?Well,dontspendtoomuchtimeonprinting,then,becauseitsobviouslynot importanttoanyone.Instead,youcanfocusonwhatisintherequirements,doagoodjob implementingthem,andhaveafinalapplicationthateveryonecan(orshould)agreeisof highquality. Thereare,ofcourse,underthehoodaspectsofcodingthatdontmakeitinto requirementsdocuments.Goodcodingpracticesleadtoeasierlongtermcode maintenance,betterapplicationstability,betterapplicationsecurity,andotherfactorsthat oftenarentwritteninasetofrequirementsbutthatarestillperceivedassignsofpoor quality,andsoarethingsyoustillneedtofocuson.Thatswhatmuchofthisguidewill focuson,too.

TopCodeQualitySnafus
TheSANSInstituteandacollectionofcomputerexpertsrecentlypublishedalistoftheir top25codeproblemsallofwhich,ultimately,relatetocodequality.Althoughmanyof theseproblemsrelatetosecurity,othersalsorelatetogeneralstabilityandotherissues. Itsusefultoreviewthislistinthisfirstchapter,asmanyoftheseissuesareoneswellfocus onspecificallyasexamplesthroughoutlaterchapters. Improperinputvalidation.Simplyput,youreaskingfortroubleifyouassumeany inputeitherfromusers,datastores,orothersystemsconformtoyour expectations(forexample,youaskfortheirage,expectinganumber,andtheuser typesoldenoughtoknowbetter). Improperencodingorescapingofoutput.Thisisattherootofmostinjection basedsoftwareattacksandisofparticularconcernbecauseasOSsbecomemore hardenedapplicationsarefastbecomingafavoritetarget. SQLInjection.Hackerswilluseaninputstatementtoexecutetheirowncode againstyourdatabase.Itisyourjobtopreventthemfromdoingso. Crosssitescripting.IntheworldofWebdevelopment,thisisoneofthemost popularwaystoattackcode.Qualitycodecanstopitcold. OScommandinjection.Unsurprisingly,injectingcommandsintotheOSisa popularattack.EvenGooglesfirstreleaseofitsAndroidmobilephoneOShadthis problem. Cleartexttransmissionofsensitiveinformation.Whenyouaskauserfor credentialsandtheusertrustsyou,youneedtoprotectthatinformation.Passingit throughthenetwork(orworseyet,theInternet)inplainsightwhereanyonewitha sniffercanreaditisjustirresponsible.Qualitycodebuildssecurityintoeveryaspect ofanapplicationandisalwayscarefulwithhowithandlesdata. 16

Chapter 1 Crosssiterequestforgery.Thiscombinationofsocialengineeringandscripting attackcanleaveunsuspectingWebapplicationsvulnerable. Errormessageinformationleak.Clearerrormessagesareobviouslydesirablebut toomuchinformationisntgoodespeciallyifsensitiveinformationisdisplayed (forexample,errormessagesthatprovidethenameorcredentialsoftheservice account). Memorybufferoverflows.Oneofthemostcommonerrorswithnativecode programsiswhenamemoryvariableisnotcontrolled.Ahackerentersaninputthat overwritestheexecutableportionoftheprogram.Thus,thehackerscodeexecutes. Simplyput,sloppyprogramming;andeventodaysadvancedprogramming frameworksdontautomaticallyprovide100%protection. Externalcontrolofstatedata.Storingstatedatainadatabaseorelsewhereisfine butdontassumethatstoreistamperproofunlessittrulyis,andmakesureyour applicationisvalidatingthatdatawhenitsreadbackin. Externalcontroloffilenamesandpaths.Aswithmanyinjectionattacks,using userinputtoconstructfilenamesandpathsleavesopportunitiestoattackandcrash anapplication. Externalcontrolofsearchpath.IfyourapplicationdependsonunderlyingOS searchpaths,anattackercangaincontrolofthatandmisdirectapplicationresource requests.Neverassumeanapplicationisrunninginasafesandbox. Codeinjection.Dynamiccodeofferscoolcapabilitiesbutalsoprovidesan opportunityforseriousvulnerabilities. Downloadedcode.ThereisalotofinterestingcodepostedontheInternet.Dont dependonanythinggeneratedoutsideyourapplicationsowncode.Unlessproper codingsecuritymeasuresareemployed,downloadedcodecanbeeasilyhijacked. Improperresourceshutdownorrelease.DontleaveittotheOStorelease resourcesautomaticallyexplicitlycleanupafteryourself. Improperinitialization.Dontassumeanythingaboutyourapplicationsstarting state;properlyinitializeeverythingyouplantouse. Incorrectcalculation.Usinguserinputincalculationsisanopportunityfor unexpectedbufferoverflowsandotherproblems. Improperaccesscontrol.Youneedtocontinuallychecktomakesureusersare allowedtodowhattheyretryingtodo;dontputallyoursecurityintoonefront doorandgiveattackersanopportunitytobypassthatthroughunexpectedcode paths. Usingbadcryptography.40bitencryptionisso1980s.Usingoutdatedorbroken algorithmsisasbad(orworse)thanusingnoneatall.Dontdevelopyourown encryptionschemes,either;usestrong,industrystandardlibraries.

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Chapter 1 Hardcodedpasswords.Badidea.Allsoftwarecanbedecompiledandyour passwordcanberevealed.Yetthishasbeenacommonpoorcodingpracticefor morethanfourdecades.Andmaybeitisnotagoodideatokeeppasswordinan unencryptedXMLconfigurationfileonyouserver? Insecurepermissionassignmentforcriticalresources.Sensitivedatashouldbe securedatmanylayers:withinyourapplication,inmiddletiercomponents,atthe database,andsoforth. Useofnonrandomrandomvalues.Securityfeaturesoftenrelyonrandomness, butcomputersarentalwaysgoodatgeneratingrandomnumbers.Areyoumaking yoursoftwaressecurityisnttoopredictable? Executionwithunnecessaryprivileges.Inallprobability,yourapplicationdoesnt needtoberunbyasystemsadministrator,somakesureitwillrunwithoutthat unnecessaryprivilege.Ifyouthinkyoumusthavethatkindofpermission,youmight bedoingsomethingwrong. Clientsideenforcementofserversidesecurity.Ifaserverenforcessecurity measures,donttrytoduplicatethatinyourclientapplication;instead,respondto securityerrorsasappropriate.Yourclientapplicationcanbedecompiledandused tothwartthesecurityontheserveritself.

Althoughsecurityheavy,theproblemshighlightedinthislistalsomanifestasstability problems,createlongtermmaintenanceproblems,anddisplayotheraspectsofpoor quality.Wellreturntosomeoftheseexamplesagainaswelookatwaystoimprovethe qualityofthecodewerelease.

WhattoExpectinthisDefinitiveGuide
Sowhatscomingnext?InChapter2,welldiveintocodingstandardsandbestpractices. Youdbeshocked,andpossiblyhorrified,atthenumberofdevelopersouttherewhoare stillfollowingcodingstandardsoriginallydevelopedforVisualBasicv1.Thus,wellbe goingbacktobasicsandreallygettingintomoderncodingpractices.Wellnotonlycover whatyoushoulddobutalsowhatyoushouldntandmostimportantly,why.Welllookat howsomeofVisualStudiostimesavingtoolscan,ifyourenotcareful,actuallycreatea negativeimpactoncodequality,sowellalsolookatwaystousethosefeaturessafely. Wellwrapupbylookingatdifferentdevelopmentmethodologies,comparingand contrastingthemsothatyoucanselectone,orahybridofthem,thatworksbestforyou. Nodeveloperworksalone,soChapter3willfocusoncodeanalysisandpeerreviews,a criticaltoolinimprovingapplicationquality.Wellexaminethedifferencesbetween manualandautomatedcodereviews,andlookatasetofcodereviewrules.Codeanalysisis reallyaprettycomplicatedtopic,sowellspendlotsoftimelookingatconsiderationssuch asmaintainabilityindices,depthofinheritanceconcerns,andsoforth.

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Chapter 1 InChapter4,wellbeginlookingatwaystoaddresscodingerrors.Hey,theyreinevitable, sowemightaswelllearntodealwiththem,right?Wellcreateasortoftaxonomyfor differenttypesoferrors,andlookatspecificwaystoprevent,mitigate,andaddresseach type.Obviously,gettingridoferrorsisabigstepinimprovingcodequality,sowellalso lookattoolsyoucanusetoeliminatebugsmoreeasily.IllalsopresentmyUnifiedTheory ofBugs,whichwillhelpanydeveloperwhostruggleswithdebuggingreallyunderstand howtoproceed.Evenifyoureanexperienceddeveloper,Ithinkyoullfindsomethings herethatareusefulandmostespeciallythingsthatyoucansharewithlessexperienced membersofyourteam. Chapter5iswherewelladdressperformanceandsecurityproblems.Theyrenotbugsper se,buttheyredefinitelythingsthatleadtoaloweredperceptionofqualityinafinished application.Welllookatdifferentwaysofdetectingcodingproblems,explorewhere securityproblemscomefrom,andreallylookatthethingsyou,asadeveloper,candoto insistonbetterperformanceandsecurityfromyouapplications.Youmightbesurprisedat whereIeventuallylaytheblameforbadperformanceandsecurity,butIthinkyoullbe happywiththeresult. WelldiveintotestinginChapter6,andstartlookingatbothmanualtestingandautomated testing.Wellexploretheimportanceofsolidusecasesandtestingassets,andlookathow badcasesandassetscanleadyoutothinkyoureproducingaqualityappandleadto unpleasantsurpriseswhenyoufindoutdifferentlylaterondowntheline.Welllookat differenttypesoftesting,suchasunitandsystemtesting,andmakesureweagreeonthe valueofeachtype. Finally,Chapter7iswherewelllookatautomateddebugging,codeanalysis,andtesting. Theresreallynopointinusingautomatedtoolsuntilyouvemastereddoingthings properlywithoutautomation;Imabigbelieverthatalthoughautomationcanmakethings lessboringandmoreconsistent,itcantactuallyaddmuchinthewayofqualityonitsown. Yourqualitywillonlybeasgoodaswhatyouautomate,whichiswhyweregettingto automationonlyafterweveexploredallthoseotherwaystoimprovecodequality. Sothatsourbattleplan.Ihopeyoullstickwithmethrougheachchapter,andIhopeyoull findplentyofinformationtohelpyouproducehigherqualitycode.

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