Arguing for code generation, I am looking for some examples of ways in which it increases code quality. To clarify what I mean by code generation, I can talk only about a project of mine:
We use XML files to describe entity relationships in our database schema, so they help us generate our ORM framework and HTML forms which can be used to add, delete, and modify entities.
To my mind, it increases code quality because human error is reduced. If something is implemented incorrectly, it is broken in the model, which is good because the error might appear sooner since more generated code is broken too.
Since I was asked for the definition of code quality, let me clarify this, what I meant is software quality.
Software Quality:
It is not one attribute but many, e.g. efficiency, modifiability, readability, correctness, robustness, comprehensibility, usability, portability etc. which impact on each other.
Best Answer
Code generators cannot generate better code than the person who wrote the generator.
My experience with code generators is that they are just fine as long as you never have to edit the generated code. If you can hold to that rule, then you're good to go. This means you can reliably re-generate that part of the system with confidence and speed, automatically adding more features if needed. I guess that could count for quality.
I once heard an argument for code generators that a single programmer can produce so-and-so many lines of code per day and with code generators, they could produce thousands of lines! Obviously that is not the reason we are using generators.