Adobe releases final version of FlexPMD
For all the Flex developers out there, good news! The final version of FlexPMD is now available at the Adobe Open Source website.
For developers of Flex who havent been introduced to FlexPMD, it is a tool which helps developers improve the quality of their code by pointing out many of the bad practices which might have been employed in their coding.
Based on the open source Java PMD tool it scans your project and reports in case of any of the following (from the Flex PMD page):
- Unused code (functions, variables, constants, etc.)
- Inefficient code (misuse of dynamic filters, heavy constructors, etc.)
- Over-complex code (nested loops, too many conditionals, etc.)
- Over-long code (classes, methods, etc.)
- Incorrect use of the Flex component lifecycle (commitProperties, etc.)
Inefficiencies are especially important in case of web applications since they have the tendency to reach a broader audience, and this tool is an invaluable addition to any developers workflow.
Also part of the project are the tools FlexCPD and FlexMetrics which add further value to the package. The FlexCPD (Copy and Paste Detector), as its name suggests, looks for and reports of any duplicated code.
Also released is an Eclipse plugin (beta) which makes the tools integrate better with the Eclipse-based Flex / Flash Builder. A must-get for any ActionScript developer.