For those familiar with Debug.Assert, you may be thinking this is a solved problem. But Debug.Assert only allows you to express that a particular condition should be true at a particular point in the code. Code contracts allow you to declare once that a particular condition should hold any time certain events occur, such as every exit point from a method.
A Precondition Example
After enabling static checking, you can write code and VS 2010 will indicate Code Contract issues with squiggles and tooltips.
Use the project properties Code Contracts tab to enable Squiggles
To get the tab to appear, you need to download the static checker from DevLabs: Code Contracts.
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Ahh thanks! I had started replacing my ParameterValidation.ThrowIfNull checks with Contract checks and I was expecting compiler assistance but I didn’t realize I had to enable static checking too.