Static Analysis Tool – VSTS

VSTS  provides a very interesting tool called static analysis  tool  which helps to maintain better code quality .This tool is nothing but the advancement  of  FXCop . static analyzer examines managed  assembly  against a checklist know as rules , report the defects and poor programming practices based on these  rules. Static analyzer ships with variety of rules like design rules ,globalization rules , naming rules , performance rules and many more . These rules are extendable by the developer that means you can define your  application/project specific rules (custom rule)  and run against the code. This is not mandatory that your code must follow all  rules , its up to us to select all or few of  them   for  example  globalization is may not necessary/applicable to your application but naming convention or security rule is important then select these two rules and run against your code. 

To specify the rules for you application , click on project property | Code Analysis Tab   .Select  all  or applicable rules  and make sure you have select enable Code Analysis check box .The next step is recompile your code and the code analyzer report the  defects in the error window.This tool is very much helpful to avoid bad coding practices .