There is a new sheriff in town (Business Central)
There is a new sheriff in town
BusinessCentral.LinterCop is deprecated and ALCops is the new sheriff in town.
Well, actually, there are six:
| Analyzer | Description |
|---|---|
| ApplicationCop | Enforces Business Central application conventions for tables, pages, enums, labels, and permissions. |
| DocumentationCop | Validates that AL code is properly documented with comments and XML documentation. |
| FormattingCop | Enforces consistent code formatting and visual structure. |
| LinterCop | Flags code quality issues, measures complexity, and promotes modern AL patterns. |
| PlatformCop | Detects code that is technically broken, dangerous, or silently ignored at the AL platform level. |
| TestAutomationCop | Validates the structure and correctness of AL test code. |
Motivation
If you need to know more about the motivation for this change, you can find the explanation in Stefan Maron’s article Introducing ALCops and watch this video on YouTube: ALCops: LinterCop’s Successor for Business Central AL Code Analysis
Migration from BusinessCentral.LinterCop to ALCops
I have made an enhanced version of the LinterCop Migration Script, which you can find on GitHub here: https://github.com/finnpedersenkazes/LinterCop-Migration-Script.
Original: https://alcops.dev/docs/lintercop-migration-script/
Installation
Find the VS Code extension on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.
Or install it directly from Visual Studio Code.
Source: Getting Started
Don’t forget to uninstall the BusinessCentral.LinterCop extension.
Setup
Look for ALCops in the menu bar at the bottom of VS Code or open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for ALCops. Then select ALCops: Select Code Analyzers.
settings.json
{
"al.enableCodeAnalysis": true,
"al.codeAnalyzers": [
"${CodeCop}",
"${UICop}",
"${PerTenantExtensionCop}",
"${analyzerFolder}ALCops.ApplicationCop.dll",
"${analyzerFolder}ALCops.DocumentationCop.dll",
"${analyzerFolder}ALCops.FormattingCop.dll",
"${analyzerFolder}ALCops.LinterCop.dll",
"${analyzerFolder}ALCops.PlatformCop.dll",
"${analyzerFolder}ALCops.TestAutomationCop.dll",
"${analyzerFolder}ALCops.Common.dll"
],
"alcops.automaticUpdates": true,
"alcops.updateNotification": "notify-only",
"alcops.versionChannel": "stable",
"alcops.checkUpdateInterval": 24,
"al.backgroundCodeAnalysis": "Project",
"al.browser": "Edge",
"al.ruleSetPath": "../.BlueCircle360Certified/Level-4/Main.ruleset.json",
}
Don’t forget to remove the old BusinessCentral.LinterCop settings.
What is new?
My code is normally warning-free.
So what did ALCops detect in my recent project?
| Rule ID | Description | Category | Code Fix | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC0037 | Use Validate() instead of direct field assignment | Design | Yes | Warning |
| PC0030 | Use partial records on read operation | Performance | Yes | Info |
| PC0029 | Use CreateSequentialGuid for key fields | Performance | Yes | Info |
| DC0007 | Public objects must include XML documentation comments | Design | No | Info |
| DC0009 | Events must include XML documentation comments | Design | No | Hidden |
| AC0032 | Unused permission declared | Design | Yes | Info |
I have now started reviewing these cases to better understand what should be done.
Conclusion
AL code analysis helps you keep your code cleaner, safer, and faster.
It helps you find problems early which will save you time and money.
But more importantly, it creates a coding standard for your team, for now and in the future.
Clean Code is about respect for the developer coming after you.
Reach out to me if you need help getting started with AL code analysis.
Clean AL Code Initiative
- Part 1: Rulesets in Business Central
- Part 2: Namespaces in AL
- Part 3: VS Code Extensions for AL
- Part 4: Automated Tests in AL
- Part 5: Advanced CodeCop Analyzer and Custom Rulesets
- Part 6: How to make a code review
- Part 7: Preconditions and TryFunctions in AL
- Part 8: There is a new sheriff in town