Automated Code Review Checks and Parameters

What is the purpose of the Article?

• You will understand how automatic code review takes place when creating a merge request

• You will understand about the parameters that will be monitored

Audience

• Software Development Engineers

Introduction

The process of automatic code review will help you improve the quality of your code. There are several default checks on the basis of which your code will be analysed and the results will be produced in a report for your use. Using the errors and suggestions pointed out in the report you can improve the code structure, logic and implementation.

Default Checks

• Argument count (argument-count) - Methods or functions defined with a high number of arguments

  • Default Threshold: 4

• Complex logic (complex-logic) - Boolean logic that may be hard to understand

  • Default Threshold: 4

• File length (file-lines) - Excessive lines of code within a single file

  • Default Threshold: 250

• Identical blocks of code (identical-code) - Duplicate code which is syntactically identical (but may be formatted differently)

  • For more information : https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/duplication-concept

  • Default Threshold: 40(Java); 45(TypeScript)

• Method complexity (method-complexity) - Functions or methods that may be hard to understand

  • For more information : https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/cognitive-complexity

  • Default Threshold: 15

• Method count (method-count)- Classes defined with a high number of functions or methods

  • Default Threshold: 20

• Method length(method-lines) - Excessive lines of code within a single function or method

  • Default Threshold: 25

• Nested control flow (nested-control-flow) - Deeply nested control structures like if or case

  • For more information : https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/cognitive-complexity#nesting

  • Default Threshold: 4

• Return statements (return-statements) - Functions or methods with a high number of return statements

  • Default Threshold: 4

• Similar blocks of code (similar-code) - Duplicate code which is not identical but shares the same structure (e.g. variable names may differ)

  • For more information : https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/duplication-concept

  • Default Threshold: 40(Java); 45(TypeScript)

What does Default Threshold mean?

Default Threshold means that if upon analysis the outcome is above the threshold an error or suggestion would be generated in the report which you must use to improve upon it.

Analysis based on other rules

• Besides the above listed checks your code will be reviewed on a set of rules defined by the Plugin: SonarJava

  • For more information on the plugin: https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/sonar-java

• Refer to the following link to check an example solution to the error or suggestion generated in the report by typing the keyword in the search box:

  • https://rules.sonarsource.com/java

When will the code quality report be generated?

The code quality report will be generated when you will create a merge request from the WIP branch to the feature branch. A pipeline will get triggered which will run the code quality job.

How to view the code quality report?