FxCop vs StyleCop vs Code Analysis
Here I'm going to clarify the difference between FxCop and StyleCop and Analysis. The main reason I'm writing this post is to give a professional answer to the question about the relationship of the above three. As I'm a little bit green of the tools I work out this artical mainly using resources on the internet.Main reference articles have been marked out at the end of this article. I truly hope it will be helpful to you anyhow.
FxCop
- It runs on compiled DLLs.
- As it runs on compiled IL code, it can be used for C#, VB.NET, in short any language which compiles to IL code.
StyleCop
- Keep in mind that it is not a Microsoft product. It is not even a Team System Power Tool. It is a tool developed by a very passionate developer at Microsoft (on evenings and weekends). There's no support, servicing, evolution or anything else beyond what he can get done in his spare time. Style checking is an interesting feature and may show up in an official product at some point down the road.
- It runs on actual source code.
- Currently it runs only on C#.
- The ultimate goal of StyleCop is to allow to produce elegant, consistent code that team members and others who view developer code will find highly readable.
Code Analysis
- No spell checking - FxCop uses a dictionary (plus custom dictionary) to check the names of methods, classes, etc. Code Analysis doesn't seem to do that.
- Help - FxCop not only complained when something was wrong but provided a great deal of help/hints to resolve the problem. Code Analysis just seems to present the problem with no sign of a hint.
- Note that Code Analysis is only available in the Premium and Ultimate editions of Visual Studio 2010 and also Visual Studio 2005 & 2008 Team System.
reference:
2.How to Use FxCop .