A tool for understanding / visualizing C # code

Question

Do you have any tools to facilitate the task of understanding heaps of C # code? Trying to understand most of the software written by others must make a difference. Any tips on tools that can help in understanding the code / code flow.

Answer 1

There is a tool called Code Rocket that displays either a block diagram of a code or a pseudo code. Unfortunately, it is not free and is an add-on, which means that it will not work with VS2010 Express Editions.

EDIT I'm not sure if it works with C #, but NClass is a free tool: http://nclass.sourceforge.net/ that works with UML. UML is another way to take a look at how the code works and may be worth exploring.

Answer 2

Resharper helps a lot from the perspective of navigation, class structure and refactoring. You can also use the VS tool, such as the Class Diagram. But if you have a lot of activities, this will not help you. In this case, ReSharper is better. Resharper has an excellent search, for example, where the code is used.

Answer 3

You can use the class diagram in VS 2010. Or the class view. This will create a chart of all classes if you use the chart tool, or you get a tree view of all classes using the class view. You can get them by right-clicking on the project name in VS 2010

They will give you an overview of all classes and their respective functions and methods.

Answer 4

In this situation, it usually helps me to run the program and find out what it does in detail. If you know the language and the platform, this will give you a good starting point. Then I start with Mine and work. I pull out a piece of paper and draw inheritance diagrams for any OO material that I find. It is best, as a rule, to work through it in an orderly manner. Then I start with the constructor and work in the order in which each method is called. Then I do the same for event handlers. Always, learn as much as you can about the general architecture before doing a lot of editing. The object browser is sometimes useful if previous authors have used the xml documentation functionality in visual studio. In the title of each class, I write down the general meaning of what this class does. I do all this before touching the code. I do not know any tools.

To ease the situation for future readers of your code. Comment on anything that is not 100% obvious. VS has a nice /// function for documentation.

Answer 5

Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate has such visualization tools to show the relationships between classes, assemblies, etc. But I think it costs a lot.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, the express version is extremely limited, so it is free. If yuo is a goto student at www.dreamspark.com, and you can download the full professional version for free after confirming that you are a student, you need a .edu address.

We use resharper here at work, and it made the navigation code awesome .. DX has some great programs, as well as the code, but Resharper has much better keyboard shortcuts and navigation controls.

Clicking on the type ctrl image and it will lead you to its implementation and will be able to press alt + f7 and all the tooltips. I had time to figure out how to navigate the code, but this app worked wonders.

check this post for more information: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/169310/is-using-resharper-a-time-saver (now deleted but archived at http://web.archive.org/web/ 20090729081054 / https: //stackoverflow.com/questions/169310/is-using-resharper-a-time-saver )