Importance of Code Reviews with tools and why it should be a 'peer review'.

I got this link to the SSW Code Auditor via DataGrid Girl. I was reminded of  a 'Code Review' enigma about a year ago in a client's .NET project. One of the development-leads of the project insisted on a code-review which was fine with me but his fixation with 'get/set' property mechanisms and naming conventions bordered on nit-picking and I couldn't review his code. Furthermore, his reluctance in using tools like FxCop or even looking into 'refactoring' for efficiency was very questionable (but understandable as his code would have to get beaten up by the tools).

Basically, code-reviews are best done with tools like SSW Code Auditor and/or FxCop, at least for the first pass. These tools are "very neutral" and do not nit-pick and take personalities, egos and envys into account. Another important & crucial factor is that 'code review' should be done as a 'peer review' - you review my code and I'll review yours. This is best done after, at least one-pass through tools like SSW Code Auditor and/or FxCop. The benefits of  such code-reviews are tremendous - an increase in quality is almost assured.