XPath Patterns for Code Structure, Tests, and Naming

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Code Structure Patterns

DML without try-catch

//DmlInsertStatement[not(ancestor::TryCatchFinallyBlockStatement)]
|
//DmlUpdateStatement[not(ancestor::TryCatchFinallyBlockStatement)]
|
//DmlDeleteStatement[not(ancestor::TryCatchFinallyBlockStatement)]
|
//DmlUpsertStatement[not(ancestor::TryCatchFinallyBlockStatement)]

AST evidence: DML nodes sit inside TryCatchFinallyBlockStatement when wrapped in try-catch.

To exclude test classes:

//DmlInsertStatement[
  not(ancestor::TryCatchFinallyBlockStatement)
  and not(ancestor::UserClass[ModifierNode[@Test = true()]])
]

Empty catch blocks (swallowed exceptions)

//CatchBlockStatement[BlockStatement[not(*)]]

AST evidence: CatchBlockStatement contains a BlockStatement. Empty body = BlockStatement with no children.

Nested if statements (max depth 3)

//IfBlockStatement[
  ancestor::IfBlockStatement[
    ancestor::IfBlockStatement[
      ancestor::IfBlockStatement
    ]
  ]
]

Methods with too many parameters

//Method[@Arity >= 5 and @Constructor = false()]

AST evidence: Method[@Arity] gives parameter count directly.

Logic in trigger (should delegate to handler)

For trigger files (UserTrigger node):

//UserTrigger/BlockStatement//DmlInsertStatement
|
//UserTrigger/BlockStatement//DmlUpdateStatement
|
//UserTrigger/BlockStatement//SoqlExpression
|
//UserTrigger/BlockStatement//MethodCallExpression[@FullMethodName='Database.query']

Test Quality Patterns

Test method without assertions

//Method[ModifierNode[@Test = true()]]
  /BlockStatement[
    not(.//MethodCallExpression[
      contains(@FullMethodName, 'System.assert')
      or contains(@FullMethodName, 'Assert.')
    ])
  ]

Catches: Test methods with no System.assert* or Assert.* calls anywhere in their body.

Test method without System.runAs

//Method[ModifierNode[@Test = true()]]
  /BlockStatement[not(.//RunAsBlockStatement)]

AST evidence: System.runAs(user) { ... } becomes RunAsBlockStatement in the AST.

Test using seeAllData=true

//Annotation[@Name='IsTest']/AnnotationParameter[@Name='seeAllData' and @Value='true']

Naming Convention Patterns

Class name doesn't match file (non-test)

This is better enforced by the built-in rule, but the XPath pattern for a specific convention:

//UserClass[@Nested = false() and not(starts-with(@Image, 'Test')) and not(ends-with(@Image, 'Test'))]

Method naming (non-standard)

//Method[
  @Constructor = false()
  and not(ModifierNode[@Test = true()])
  and not(starts-with(@Image, 'get'))
  and not(starts-with(@Image, 'set'))
  and not(starts-with(@Image, 'is'))
  and matches(@Image, '^[A-Z]')
]

Catches: Methods starting with uppercase in non-test code (Apex convention is camelCase).

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