Download Visual Studio 2010 Code Metrics PowerTool 10.0

A free tool offered by Microsoft is designed to make it easier for developers leveraging Visual Studio 2010 to get insight into their code.

The Visual Studio Code Metrics PowerTool 10.0 just went live on the Microsoft Download Center, and is available for download immediately.

As the official label implies, the tool enables VS 2010 devs to calculate the code metrics for their .NET code. This is a command line utility.

Developers can keep a close eye on software development projects by leveraging a collection of software measures referred to as code metrics.

“The Code Metrics PowerTool is a command line utility that calculates code metrics for your managed code and saves them to an XML file,” the software giant explained.

“This tool enables teams to collect and report code metrics as part of their build process. The code metrics calculated are: Maintainability Index, Cyclomatic Complexity, Depth of Inheritance, Class Coupling, and Lines Of Code (LOC).”

Developers that want to take advantage of the Visual Studio Code Metrics PowerTool 10.0 will need to be running Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate or Visual Studio 2010 Premium or Team Foundation Server 2010.

The Redmond company is even offering additional information on Code Metrics Values in relation with Visual Studio 2010. However, details of Visual Studio 2008 code metrics values are also available.

All that devs need to do is make their way to this MSDN page in order to access information on the code metrics results that Visual Studio calculates, including Maintainability Index, Cyclomatic Complexity, Depth of Inheritance, Class Coupling, and Lines Of Code (LOC).

“By taking advantage of code metrics, developers can understand which types and/or methods should be reworked or more thoroughly tested. Development teams can identify potential risks, understand the current state of a project, and track progress during software development,” the Redmond company explained.

The Visual Studio 2010 Code Metrics PowerTool 10.0 is available for download here.