Contents
Filtering and handling the analyzer output through diagnostic configuration files (.pvsconfig)
- How to add/use configuration files in IDE and other analysis tools
- General functionality of configuration files
- Adding entries to the configuration file
- Filtering the analyzer messages
- Excluding files from the analysis
- Ignoring global configuration files
- Specifying the file analysis timeout for a project/solution/system
- Changing a certainty level of a diagnostic warning
- Changing the text of the analyzer messages
- Manage synchronization of suppress files
- Selecting the PVS-Studio C++ core version for analysis
- Configuration files prioritization
- Executing commands from the CustomBuild task before running the analysis
- Ignoring analysis settings from Settings.xml
A configuration file is used to display and filter analyzer messages. The configuration file also allows you to set additional parameters for the analysis. You can use configuration files only for projects written in C, C++ or C#.
Plugins for the following IDEs support configuration files:
- Visual Studio;
- Rider.
Utilities that support configuration files:
- PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe;
- CLMonitor.exe (only in analyze or analyzeFromDump mode);
- C and C++ Compiler Monitoring UI (Standalone.exe);
- CompileCommandsAnalyzer.exe (in analyze mode).
How to add/use configuration files in IDE and other analysis tools
.pvsconfig in Visual Studio
To use a configuration file in Visual Studio, add the file at the project or solution level. Choose the necessary project or solution in the Solution Explorer window inside Visual Studio IDE. Select the 'Add New Item...' context menu item. In the window that appears, select the 'PVS-Studio Filters File' file type.
If there is no file template, you can add a simple text file with the ".pvsconfig" extension to the project or solution.
You can add multiple configuration files for each project/solution.
Configuration files added at the project level apply to all files in a given project. Configuration files added at the solution level apply to all files of all projects in a given solution.
.pvsconfig in Rider
There is no special template for adding a configuration file for Rider.
You can add a configuration file for Rider only at the project level. To use the diagnostics configuration file in Rider, add a new file with the '.pvsconfig' extension to the project via Solution Explorer.
.pvsconfig in PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe and pvs-studio-dotnet
When you run analysis through PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe or pvs-studio-dotnet, the configuration files from the project or solution being analyzed are automatically used. You can also specify the path to the additional .pvsconfig file using the --rulesConfig (-C) parameter:
PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe -t ProjName.sln -C \path\to\.pvsconfig
pvs-studio-dotnet -t ProjName.sln -C /path/to/.pvsconfigIn this case, the settings both from the files in the project/solution and the file passed as an argument are taken into account in the analysis.
.pvsconfig in CLMonitor.exe
You can specify the path to the configuration file as a command-line argument (the -c parameter):
CLMonitor.exe analyzeFromDump -d /path/to/compileDump.gz -c /path/to/.pvsconfig.pvsconfig in CompilerCommandsAnalyzer.exe
If you use the CompilerCommandsAnalyzer.exe utility, you can specify the path to the .pvsconfig file via the -R parameter:
CompilerCommandsAnalyzer.exe analyze ... -R /path/to/.pvsconfig.pvsconfig in Standalone.exe
In Standalone.exe, you can specify the path to the file when you start monitoring.
The use of the global .pvsconfig file
The global diagnostics configuration file is used during all project checks. There can be several global .pvsconfig configuration files and the PVS-Studio tools will use them all.
To add a global configuration file, create a file with the pvsconfig extension in the folder:
- For Windows – '%APPDATA%\PVS-Studio';
- For Linux and macOS – '~/.config/PVS-Studio'.
General functionality of configuration files
Adding entries to the configuration file
To set the settings in the configuration files use special directives that start with the '//' characters. Each directive is written on a new line.
Example:
//-V::122
//-V::123You can add comments — write the '#' character at the beginning of the line.
Example:
# I am a commentFiltering the analyzer messages
Complete warning disabling
To completely disable a certain diagnostic, use the following syntax pattern:
//-V::number'number' is the number of the diagnostic you want to turn off (for example, 3022).
Example:
//-V::3022In this case, the V3022 diagnostic warnings will be ignored.
To disable a number of diagnostics, you can list their numbers separating them by commas:
//-V::number1,number2,...,numberNExample:
//-V::3022,3080This use of this directive will completely disable V3022 and V3080 diagnostics.
Disabling a group of diagnostics
To disable diagnostics of a certain group, use the following directives:
//-V::GA
//-V::X64
//-V::OP
//-V::CS
//-V::MISRA
//-V::OWASPDefinition for each of the group:
- GA (General Analysis) — general analysis rule set. The main set of PVS-Studio diagnostic rules;
- OP (Optimization) — diagnostics of optimization. These are tips to improve the code efficiency;
- X64 (64-bit) — diagnostics that allow you to identify specific errors related to the development of 64-bit applications and migrating the code from a 32-bit platform to a 64-bit one;
- CS (Customers' Specific) — highly specialized diagnostics, developed by user requests. By default, this set of diagnostics is disabled;
- MISRA — the set of diagnostics, developed according to the MISRA standard (Motor Industry Software Reliability Association). By default, this set of diagnostics is disabled;
- OWASP — the set of diagnostics that allow you to find security issues and check code for compliance with OWASP ASVS standard. By default, this set of diagnostics is disabled.
You can disable several groups of diagnostics — list them separating by commas.
For example:
//-V::GA,MISRADisabling all C++ or C# diagnostics
To turn off all diagnostics of C++ or C# analyzer use the following directives:
//-V::C++
//-V::C#Excluding warnings for certain diagnostics at specific levels
If you need to turn off warnings of a certain level, use the following syntax pattern:
//-V::number1,number2,...,numberN:level- 'number1', 'number2', etc. — the numbers of diagnostics that need to be excluded from the analysis results (for example, 3022).
- 'level' — the warning level (1, 2 or 3).
The number 1 corresponds to warnings of 'High' level, the number 2 — to 'Medium' level warnings, the number 3 — to 'Low' level warnings.
You can filter out warnings of several levels at once. To do this, list the levels and separate them by commas.
Example:
//-V::3022,5623:1,3This directive will filter out the warnings of V3022 and V5623 diagnostics of 'High' and 'Low' levels.
Excluding warnings by the substring in a message
The analyzer supports the ability to exclude warnings by the diagnostic number and substring contained in a message.
The syntax pattern is as follows:
//-V::number::{substring}- 'number' is the number of diagnostic which message needs to be suppressed (for example, 3080);
- 'substring' is a substring contained in the analyzer's message.
The syntax pattern to suppress warnings by the substring:
//-V::3022::{always true}In this case, the V3022 warnings with the 'always true' substring in the message will be suppressed.
Excluding warnings by the certainty level and the substring
You can filter warnings by the certainty level and the substring simultaneously. The syntax pattern is the following:
//-V::number1,number2,...,numberN:level:{substring}- 'number1', 'number2', etc. — the numbers of diagnostics that need to be excluded from the analysis results (for example, 3022);
- 'level' — the warning's level (1, 2 or 3);
- 'substring' is a substring contained in the analyzer's message.
The number 1 corresponds to warnings of 'High' level, the number 2 is the 'Medium' level warnings, and the number 3 is the 'Low' level warnings.
You can filter out warnings of several levels at once. To do this, list the levels and separate them by commas.
Example:
//-V::3022,5623:1:{always true}This directive will filter out the warnings of V3022 and V5623 diagnostics of 'High' and 'Low' levels with the 'always true' substring in the message.
Enabling individual diagnostics
Note. This setting is only available for C, C++ and C# projects.
To enable a certain diagnostic, use the following syntax pattern:
//+V::number'number' is the number of the diagnostic you want to turn on (for example, 3022).
Example:
//+V::3022In this case, the V3022 diagnostic will be enabled.
To enable a number of diagnostics, you can list their numbers separating them by commas:
//+V::number1,number2,...,numberNExample:
//+V::3022,3080This use of this directive will enable V3022 and V3080 diagnostics.
Enabling a group of diagnostics
Note. This setting is only available for C, C++ and C# projects.
To enable diagnostics of a certain group, use the following directives:
//+V::GA
//+V::X64
//+V::OP
//+V::CS
//+V::MISRA
//+V::OWASPYou can enable several groups of diagnostics — list them separating by commas.
For example:
//+V::GA,MISRAMarking warnings issued for code fragment that includes the specified fragment as False Alarm
You can mark warnings issued for certain string that includes the specified fragment as False Alarm. Use the following directive:
//-V:substring:number- 'substring' is the substring in the string indicated by the analyzer;
- 'number' is the number of diagnostic which message needs to be suppressed (for example, 3080).
Note 1. The substring you are looking for ('substring') must not contain spaces.
Note 2. Messages filtered in this way will still appear in the report. They will be marked as False Alarm (FA).
Example:
public string GetNull()
{
return null;
}
public void Foo()
{
string nullStr = GetNull();
Console.WriteLine(nullStr.Length);
}For this code, the analyzer will issue a warning: "V3080 Possible null dereference. Consider inspecting 'nullStr'.".
Use the following directive in .pvsconfig to add the FA mark for warnings issued on such code:
//-V:Console:3080This directive adds a False Alarm mark to all V3080 warnings issued on the code lines containing 'Console'.
You can also add the False Alarm mark to multiple diagnostic warnings at once. To do this, list their numbers separated by commas:
//-V:substring:number1,number2,...,numberExample:
//-V:str:3080,3022,3175The V3080, V3082, V3175 diagnostic messages will be marked as False Alarm if there is the 'str' substring in the code line indicated by the analyzer.
Excluding files from the analysis
To exclude a file or a group of files from analysis, use the directive:
//V_EXCLUDE_PATH fileMaskSeveral examples of masks:
//V_EXCLUDE_PATH C:\TheBestProject\thirdParty
//V_EXCLUDE_PATH *\UE4\Engine\*
//V_EXCLUDE_PATH *.autogen.csThe process of how the masks are specified is described in the documentation.
Ignoring global configuration files
Before running the analysis, 'PVS-Studio_Cmd' generates the configuration of diagnostic rules from:
- global configuration files (in the '%AppData%\PVS-Studio\' folder for Windows and in the '~/.config/PVS-Studio' folder for Linux or macOS);
- the file passed through the --rulesConfig (-C) option;
- files added to the solution;
- files added to the project.
There may be a situation when the global configuration should not be applied during analysis of some projects or solutions. If you need to ignore global configuration files, add the following flag to the corresponding '.pvsconfig' file:
//IGNORE_GLOBAL_PVSCONFIGSpecifying the file analysis timeout for a project/solution/system
If you run the analysis with the plugin interface (Visual Studio, Rider and CLion) or in the C and C++ Compiler Monitoring UI (Standalone.exe) you can specify a timeout after which the file analysis is terminated. If the analysis timeout is exceeded, the V009 warning is added to the analysis results. The warning contains information about the file that exceeded the timeout.
You can specify the file analysis timeout in .pvsconfig. For example, you can set a 10-minute (600-second) timeout with the following line:
//V_ANALYSIS_TIMEOUT 600If the timeout value specified in the .pvsconfig file is 0, the files are analyzed with no time limit.
You can limit file analysis time in certain projects/solutions/systems by specifying a timeout in .pvsconfig files of different levels:
- use the --rulesConfig (-c) parameter in PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe (to redefine the file analysis timeout for the current solution/project analysis);
- system (%AppData% in Windows, ~/.config in Linux, macOS);
- solution (.sln);
- project level (.csproj, .vcxproj).
Changing a certainty level of a diagnostic warning
The analyzer classifies warnings according to three certainty levels: High, Medium, and Low. Depending on the constructs used in the code, the analyzer evaluates the certainty of warnings and assigns them to the appropriate level in the report.
In some projects, it is important to find specific types of errors without considering the certainty level. However, there is also an opposite case when messages are of little use, but you don't want to turn them off completely. In such cases, you can manually set the High/Medium/Low level for diagnostics. To do so, use the following directives:
- The '//V_LEVEL_1' directive changes the certainty level to 'High';
- The '//V_LEVEL_2' directive changes the certainty level to 'Medium';
- The '//V_LEVEL_3' directive changes the certainty level to 'Low'.
To change the certainty level, use the following directive:
//V_LEVEL_1::numberwhere 'number' is the diagnostic number.
For example, to assign the third certainty level to the V3176 diagnostic, use the following directive:
//V_LEVEL_3::3176Changing the text of the analyzer messages
To change the substring in the analyzer message, use the following syntax:
//+Vnnn:RENAME:{originalString:replacementString}, ...- 'Vnnn' is the name of the diagnostic whose message you want to modify (for example, V624);
- 'originalString' is the original substring;
- 'replacementString' is the string that will replace the original one.
Let's consider an example of how the directive works. Suppose the code contains the number 3.1415 that triggers the V624 diagnostic. As a result, you get the message explaining that you need to replace 3.1415 with 'M_PI' from the '<math.h>' library. However, the project uses a special mathematical library that requires you to use only its mathematical constants. To make it work properly, add the directive to the configuration file.
The directive will look like this:
//+V624:RENAME:{M_PI:OUR_PI},{<math.h>:"math/MMath.h"}Then you will be informed to use the 'OUR_PI' constant from the 'math/MMath.h' header file.
You can also add a line to the message.
Here is the directive that helps you to do this:
//+Vnnn:ADD:{message}- 'Vnnn' is the name of the diagnostic whose message you want to modify (for example, V2003);
- 'message' is a string you need to add;
Let's look at an example. Here is the V2003 diagnostic message: "Explicit conversion from 'float/double' type to signed integer type.".
To add more information to this message, use the following directive:
//+V2003:ADD:{ Consider using boost::numeric_cast instead.}Now the analyzer will output a modified message: "Explicit conversion from 'float/double' type to signed integer type. Consider using boost::numeric_cast instead.".
Manage synchronization of suppress files
If you run the analysis with the plugin for Visual Studio or in the C and C++ Compiler Monitoring UI (Standalone.exe) you can disable the synchronization of suppress files by setting Specific Analyzer Settings\DisableSynchronizationOfSuppressFiles.
You can disable synchronization using '.pvsconfig' file of the solution level. To do this, add the following flag to the corresponding configuration file:
//DISABLE_SUPPRESS_FILE_SYNCTo enable synchronization via .pvsconfig, regardless of the value of the DisableSynchronizationOfSuppressFiles setting, you must use the flag:
//ENFORCE_SUPPRESS_FILE_SYNCThis flag is only enabled at the .pvsconfig level of the solution.
Selecting the PVS-Studio C++ core version for analysis
Starting from version 7.24, PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe utility and the plugin for Visual Studio support the ability to specify the PVS-Studio core version for analyzing C++ projects in case several versions of PVS-Studio are installed on the computer.
For PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe to run the analysis on the required version of the PVS-Studio core, the //PVS_VERSION::Major.Minor flag should be added to the solution-level .pvsconfig file, where
Major - major version number, and Minor - minor number.
Example:
//PVS_VERSION::7.24PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe calculates the path to the core using information from the system registry which is written by the installer when installing PVS-Studio.
The latest installation of PVS-Studio is considered default. This means that if the latest PVS-Studio 7.22 was installed, all the plugins and PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe will be of the same version. Consequently, you will not be able to use the mechanism of selecting the PVS-Studio core versions. Therefore if you want to use old versions of PVS-Studio (7.23 and older), you need to install them first and only then install the latest PVS-Studio 7.24 or newer version.
For all versions older than 7.24 you need to specify in the registry the correlation of the version and the path to the installation directory of this version, so that PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe could find the path to PVS-Studio's core. The information is written into 'Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ProgramVerificationSystems\PVS-Studio\Versions'.
Configuration files prioritization
Starting with PVS-Studio 7.25, the PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe utility and the plugin for Visual Studio support the feature of explicitly setting the priority of configuration files on the same level. To do this, use the //CONFIG_PRIORITY::number flag, where number is the priority number.
For example:
//CONFIG_PRIORITY::1The smaller the number, the higher the priority of the configuration file. Files that do not have this flag have minimal priority. Files having the same priority are treated in alphabetical order. For example, among the files Filter1.pvsconfig, Filter2.pvsconfig, and Filter3.pvsconfig, the Filter3.pvsconfig file will be given priority.
The //CONFIG_PRIORITY flag affects only configuration files of the same level. In ascending order of priority, the configuration files are treated as follows:
- Global Configuration file;
- Solution Level configuration files;
- Project Level configuration files;
- File passed to the PVS-Studio_Cmd utility via the --rulesConfig (-c) argument.
Executing commands from the CustomBuild task before running the analysis
If you want PVS-Studio to execute commands from the CustomBuild task before running the analysis, add the following directive to the .pvsconfig file:
//EXECUTE_CUSTOM_BUILD_COMMANDSThis directive only applies to the .pvsconfig files passed via the command line and located at the global or solution level.
Let's look into the case where the directive might be useful.
Some Visual C++ projects can generate source code at build time using commands from the CustomBuild task. Running the analysis without generating the files can lead to errors. If you only need to generate the files, a complete build is useless (since it may take a long time).
In this case, it would be useful to specify the corresponding directive for PVS-Studio so that the analyzer could first execute the file generation commands and then perform the analysis.
Ignoring analysis settings from Settings.xml
The global Settings.xml file contains a number of options that affect the analysis result. For example, you can turn off diagnostic groups.
Use the '//V_IGNORE_GLOBAL_SETTINGS ON' flag to ignore the settings from Settings.xml during the analysis. In this case, all diagnostic groups are enabled, and no path filters are applied.
To customize analysis settings, use configuration files (.pvsconfig).
This option is available only in the configuration file of the solution level, and it affects only PVS-Studio_Cmd.exe, and plugins for Visual Studio.
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