Getting Started with FxCop

FxCop analyzes programming elements in managed assemblies, known as targets, by using rules that return informational messages about the targets when the rules are violated. A report that contains the informational messages appears in the user interface, or in the output window if you use the command-line tool. Messages identify any relevant programming and design issues and, when it is possible, supply information about how to fix the target. A message is associated with both a specific rule and a specific target and can be excluded from further analysis. FxCop provides a default set of rules. You can create additional custom rules by using the FxCop SDK. Projects are used to specify the set of assemblies you want to analyze, the rules that are used to analyze the assemblies, the excluded messages, and the settings to customize the saved project or report file.

In This Section

• Quick Start Guide to FxCop
  Provides step by step procedures for accomplishing basic FxCop tasks.

• Quick Start Guide to FxCopCmd
  Describes the minimum command-line options that are used to run FxCopCmd.

• FxCop Workflow
  Outlines the general workflow for using FxCop and FxCopCmd as part of an integrated software development cycle.