Book Image

Metaprogramming in C#

By : Einar Ingebrigtsen
Book Image

Metaprogramming in C#

By: Einar Ingebrigtsen

Overview of this book

Metaprogramming is an advanced technique that helps developers to automate repetitive tasks, generate scalable code, and enhance productivity in software development. Metaprogramming in C# is a comprehensive guide that will help you reap the full potential of metaprogramming in .NET runtime. You’ll start by learning about the .NET runtime environment and how you can use it to become a more productive developer. You'll learn how to infer types using reflection, use attributes, and create dynamic proxies. You’ll also explore the use of expressions to create and execute code and how to take advantage of Dynamic Language Runtime. But that's not all! You’ll also learn to go beyond inheritance and use method signature conventions to create easily maintainable code. Finally, you’ll dive into the world of compiler magic with Roslyn, where you'll discover how to use Roslyn to generate code, perform static code analysis, and write your own compiler extensions. By the end of this book, you’ll have a deep understanding of metaprogramming concepts and how to apply them to your C# code. You’ll be able to think about types, use attributes and expressions to generate code, and apply crosscutting concerns to improve code quality.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
1
Part 1:Why Metaprogramming?
5
Part 2:Leveraging the Runtime
12
Part 3:Increasing Productivity, Consistency, and Quality
18
Part 4:Compiler Magic Using Roslyn

How to write a code fix for an analyzer

As discussed earlier, the .NET Compiler SDK supports more than just writing analyzers that analyze your code. You can also provide code that quickly fixes any errors that occur. These are understood by most editors and IDEs and will automatically be loaded and presented when applicable.

You’ll be reusing the Roslyn.Extensions project for the code fix as well. The code fix needs to tap into specific APIs and needs another package reference. Add a reference to Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Workspaces by running the following in your terminal within the Roslyn.Extensions folder:

dotnet add package Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp.Workspaces

With the package reference in place, it’s time for the implementation of the code fix:

  1. Start by adding a file called CodeFix.cs within the CodeAnalysis/ExceptionShouldNotBeSuffixed folder in the Roslyn.Extensions project folder. Add the following to it:
    using System.Collections.Immutable...