Part II (A startup lesson on using FxCop)

Part II (A startup lesson on using FxCop)

In the previous article (FxCop Part I – Introduction), we saw the basics of FxCop , its definition, download path, comparison with other Code analysis tools, a simple demo for doing a analysis,etc.

In this article (Part II -A startup lesson on using FxCop), we are going to see the usage of FxCop at a beginner’s level.

As we saw in the previous article two things are required for doing any analysis in FxCop, they are:
· Assembly ( either a .exe or .dll)
· Rule

A brief explanation about the windows and menus in FxCop
Run FxCop by clicking , Start > All Programs > Microsoft FxCop > Microsoft FxCop 1.36
After the FxCop window was opened,
Click File > New Project.
The following Figure 1.0 shows the FxCop tool,
Fig 1.0


Panes in FxCop
There are 3 panes in the tool, they are:
· Main Pane
· Messages Pane
· Output Pane

Main Pane
Figure 1.1 shows the Main Pane,
Fig 1.1
It will have 2 tabs in it, they are
· Targets
· Rules
These two tabs serve the respective purpose of showing and managing targets and Rules in the current project.

Messages Pane
This Pane shows the messages that are generated by the FxCop tool after doing the Code analysis and it will be of various categories.
Figure 1.2 shows the Messages pane.
Fig 1.2
It will have 4 tabs in it they are,
· Active
· Exclude in Project
· Exclude in Source
· Absent
The usage of these we will see in the later articles.

Output Pane
This will show the properties in code format when an item is clicked on the Main Pane.
Figure 1.3 shows the Output Pane,
Fig 1.3

Menus
For the initial level, it is enough to know about the 3 menus in the tool. They are
1. File > New Project
It is used to create a new project.
2. Project > Add Targets
It is used to add assemblies from the Project on which you want to do the analysis.
3. Project > Analyze
To start the analysis, you need to click this or press F5 or click Analyze button on the toolbar.

A simple analysis:
1. Run FxCop.
Start > All Programs > Microsoft FxCop > Microsoft FxCop 1.36
2. File > New Project.
3. Project > Add Targets.
4. Select the desired assembly you want to analyze (it can either be a .dll or an .exe).
For example, I am selecting here a .net application (Which was downloaded from internet)
5. If you have selected multiple assemblies then select any one of them (the one you want to analyze first) and then click Project > Analyze or press F5 or Click Analyze from toolbar.
6. Analyzing with introspection Engine dialog box will appear when the analysis is under process.
7. Then it will display list of messages in the right pane.
The resultant window is what is shown in the Figure 1.0. The messages shown will be of the following categories, they are:
· Critical error
This means that it is an major issue and need to be corrected.
· Warning
This means it’s just a warning and not that much serious, but if corrected the it will be good.

More details about the messages:
Double click on the respective message, then Message Details window will appear, which gives a detailed explanation about the message along with other options.
That window will have 5 tabs in it which elaborates about he message and its dependencies.
Figure 2.0 shows the Message Details window,
Fig 2.0

Stopping the Analysis
Click the Cancel button on the Analyzing with introspection Engine dialog box to cancel the Analysis in the middle.
Viewing a summary of the Analysis
Click Project > Analysis Summary, it will display a summary of the analysis done.
Figure 2.1 shows the Analysis Summary window,
Fig 2.0

Saving the Project
After the analysis is over , save the project before saving the Message XML file otherwise it will throw an error.

Note:
Moreover save the Project file in the same directory of the Assembly for which the code analysis is done.
To save the project click,
File > Save Project.

Saving the Report
After saving the Project file, you a save the report file wherever you want.
To save the Report click,
File > Save Report
This might have given a basic idea about the usage and components of FxCop. We shall see more in the coming Chapters.

FxCop – Part I (Introduction)

FxCop – Part I (Introduction)

This will be a series of articles on FxCop, which explains from the basics to advanced usage of FxCop. This article is the first of them which gives an introduction to FxCop.

Definition
It is a code analysis tool which analyzes the code and gives suggestions to improve coding.

Overview
It analyzes programming elements in targets, and provides an informational report that contains messages about the targets;
It can analyze either a dll or an exe.

Target
They are nothing but managed assemblies.

Message
Messages include suggestions about how to improve the source code used to generate them.

Rule
A rule is a code which analyses and finds defects and informs about it.

For analysis 2 things are required,
1. Target assemblies
2. Rules

Running FxCop
· From GUI
After installation, you will have shortcut in Programs menu; you can start FxCop by clicking the link.
· Command Line
You can run FxCop.exe with respective command line arguments to start it from command line.

Using FxCop you can do the following:
· Manage Rules (decide which rules need to be applied to which assembly)
· Apply Styles to Reports.
· Filter and save messages.
· And also you can save and reuse application settings.

Download Link
www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9aeaa970-f281-4fb0-aba1-d59d7ed09772&displaylang=en

Similar Code Analysis tools:
StyleCop is another tool which does code analysis.

Difference between FxCop and StyleCop:
FxCop does code analysis over the binaries, whereas StyleCop does code analysis over the source code itself.

Latest Versions:
FxCop : ver. 1.36
StyleCop : ver. 4.3.1.3

Steps to do an analysis:
1. Run FxCop.
2. File > New Project.
3. Project > Add Targets.
4. Select the desired assembly you want to analyze(it can either be a dll or an exe).
5. If you have selected multiple assemblies then select any one of them ( the one you want to analyze first) and then click Project > Analyze or press F5.
6. Then it will display list of messages in the right pane.