Code Generation in Microsoft .NET (Paperback)

by Kathleen Dollard (Author)
Key Phrases: outputting code, web services, assembly name, Visual Studio, Hello World, Column Name (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
As I was running through a transformation that wouldn't do what I wanted, I remembered the rest of (<i>Code Generation in Microsoft .NET</i>) and 20 minutes later all was good in the world.</a></p> </blockquote> <p id="quoteAuthor">&#8212; William Ryan, KnowDotNet.com Team Member </p></div>

<p>Code generation has the potential to revolutionize application development. Rather than handcrafting each piece of code, developers are increasingly turning to code generation based on templates and applications of business logic to automatically perform a variety of tasks. This book teaches the technical details of code generation in .NET through a coherent series of steps that will help you to incorporate code generation into your own development efforts.</p>

<p>Veteran author Kathleen Dollard teaches code generation as a scripted repeatable process using templates you control, so you're not tied to a particular framework or style. Because you can regenerate code at any time, you can incorporate changes, including database changes, throughout the life of your application. The templates are flexible and designed to work smoothly with the handcrafted code you'll use to customize your application. The underlying fundamentals are explained along with three specific techniques: outputting code to a stream, using the Code DOM, and using XSLT-based code generation. <p>In addition to the text, the tools in the book (downloadable in both VB .NET and C#) include a mechanism to extract information from SQL Server; a tool for editing and running code-generation scripts; a simple, flexible ORM tool that relates your database structure to your runtime class model; and a set of templates you can use as the starting point for your adventures in code generation. </p>

<p>Generating repetitive sections of code frees you to focus on the features that make your application unique. Code generation will turbo-charge your development cycles by offering speed, reusability, agility, and consistency. Go forth and generate!</p>

About the Author
Kathleen Dollard has been involved in the computer industry for a long time. She started (she claims) by experimenting with programming in junior high. After graduate work, she worked with the computer group at Texaco Research writing Fortran and helped usher in the age of PCs doing Lotus 1-2-3 macros. After working with 4GLs and Clipper, Dollard became an independent consultant, ultimately moving to Visual Basic when it became clear that Computer Associates would not release the Windows version of Clipper. <p> Dollard is well known for her participation over the last 15 years with online communities, including BBSs, Compuserve, Fawcette, DevX, and Microsoft public newsgroups. She has been recognized in some form for her online work since 1994, and she’s been a Microsoft MVP since 1998. Dollard is also active in the real-world communities of user groups, most recently with the Denver Visual Studio User Group and the Northern Colorado .NET SIG startup. A well-known writer and speaker, she is currently doing pioneering work in code generation using .NET and XSLT.

Product Details

• Paperback: 760 pages
• Publisher: Apress (January 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590591372
• ISBN-13: 978-1590591376
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #640,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bold step forward in the art of code generation, February 16, 2004

By	Robert O'Connell (Pretoria, South Africa) - See all my reviews

I thank the author for this fantastic book on code generation.

Contrary to what I have read on the web this is not a hard book. It is the first truly creative book on .NET I have read.

The code, that is downloadable, includes both C# and VB code.

While this is not a book for developers learning .NET it will prove invaluable to developers who have already started getting tired of writing or adapting the same repetitive code project after project.

This book while introducing a truly unique way of using the tools in .NET is also a good read. The author's writing style is engaging and not the usual mindless .NET prose found in many books.

I have used my own `brute force' code generation since 1998 in VB6 to generate classes and forms. When I started porting my code generation to .NET I soon realised that I would have to redesign and rewrite to fully utilise ADO.NET and started looking for a new application.

After trying all the generation tools out there in the hope of finding a replacement for my own application I was disappointed to see that they all had a `philosophy' that one had to embrace to use their tools and that all the tools were inflexible from a developer's viewpoint. Even the templates only give the developer the functions in the `Black Box' without the option of extending the functionality.

This book takes a bold step forward in the art of code generation giving developers the tools to extract information from a database structure and to then generate custom stored procedures and classes from this metadata using XSLT. The book's main focus is on using XSLT templates but also discusses the use of brute force and CodeDOM for code generation. As the developer controls every aspect of the code generation and the system is extendable it is guaranteed to enhance the creativity and productiveness of developers.

The book includes an excellent appendix on XML, XPath and XSD that will get you up to speed on these technologies quickly.

In this book I have found what I could not in any of the code generation products, total control of the process and extendibility.

An ideal companion book to get is Expert One-on-One Visual basic .NET Business Objects by Rockford Lhotka. As the templates in the book are based on Mr Lhotka's CSLA framework his book will make extending and understanding the templates easier.

Amazon makes it extremely easy for buyers to compare books and to have access to all the information needed to make an informed purchase. I am always amazed by reviews from people who did not understand what the book they bought was about.

This book's title is self explanatory and easy to understand. If you do not want to learn how code generation can make your life as a developer easier and more enjoyable then do not buy this book.

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine book on model driven generation for .NET, February 14, 2004

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I don't understand the viewpoint of the first reviewer. A book isn't one star simply because the content of the book wasn't what you intended. If you expected a book on reflection I'm not sure why you thought a book on code generation was going to do it for you. Perhaps you are thinking about runtime code generation, but I'm sure that would be in the title.

Back to the book. I think it's great. The only flaw I can find is that it's almost too detailed in spots. She presents an entire framework for building SQL DDL, stored procedures, an ORM layer, and user interface with both WinForms and HTML from XML descriptions. She also provides a larger perspective on code generation in the context of the development cycle as well as avoiding the common pitfalls. The jovial tone also keeps it light.

Anyone skilled enough to understand how code generation can revolutionize their development process should be able to handle the VB, XML, and XSLT used in the book, and either apply the principles in derivative work, or use her code directly.

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating Book.., August 27, 2004

By	Mox Blu "Mox Blu" (St Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This is a very frustrating book for a couple of reasons. First contrary to what the book and some of the previous reviewers have said, there is no C# support for this book.

I quote the back of the book, "In addition to the text, the tools in the book (downloadable in both VB.net and C#)..." This is untrue. While there are some code examples in C# in the download, almost everything is in VB.net. This includes the code generation harness, which to me is the whole reason to buy the book. If you don't believe me download the code before you buy the book. There is a note in the read me that says as much.

While this might be of small significance to all you VB types, I came to MS from the Java/C world and don't know VB.

The second frustrating thing about the book is that it is about how to deploy a code generator not how to write one. There is a lot of discussion about metadata extraction, how to write good handcrafted code, etc. But the only discussion about how the code generation works is way out in Appendix C: Details of the Code Generation Harness.

Now if this is supposed to be a beginning book on code generation, shouldn't it talk about the code generator and how it works in the actual book??

I wish that someone would have told me these things before I bought it. I think down the road this may be a useful book once can get my hands around the generator. It has chapters on things metadata extraction and interface generation that look very interesting. For that reason I am giving it a 3.