This topic explains how to prevent C++test from reporting specific static analysis violations (e.g., when you generally follow a rule, but decide to ignore that rule in an isolated number of exceptional situations). Suppression schemes can be entered in the GUI or defined directly in the source code.

Sections include:

About Suppressions

See Suppressions.

Defining Suppressions in the GUI

To suppress a static analysis task that is shown in the Quality Tasks view:

Right-click the Quality Tasks view item that represents the task you want to suppress, then choose Suppress Task from the shortcut menu.
- To suppress all tasks in a group (a rule category, a specific rule, a file, etc.) right-click the node that represents that group, then choose Suppress All Tasks.
Enter the reason for the suppression in the dialog box that opens
If you want the suppression stored in the source code (as described in the following section), choose Suppress in Source Code. Otherwise, the suppression will be saved in Team Server (when available) or with the local installation
- Note that if you are using the Suppress in Source Code option, the comment added will suppress all violations of the violated rule. In other words, if one line of code has two violations of the same rule, both of these violations—as well as any subsequent violations of this same rule—will be suppressed.

The task will then be "suppressed" and removed from the Quality Tasks view. A suppression entry will be added to the Suppressions view or directly to the source code (depending on selected mode). If the same static analysis violation is found in subsequent tests of this project, it will be reported in the Suppressions view, but not in the Quality Tasks view.

Team suppressions (as opposed to in-code suppressions) are message-based and not rule-based. Suppressions prevent the reporting of a specific static analysis task (e.g., fix the violation of rule X that occurs in line Y); they do not prevent the reporting of all violations of a rule.

Defining Suppressions in Source Code

When suppressions are defined in source code:

You ensure that the same suppressions are applied whenever you or a team member tests that code.
You can add code comments explaining each suppressions, so the reason for each suppression is always clear when you or team members are reviewing the code.
You gain fine-grained control over which rules are enforced at the file, class, or line level.

There are two ways to define suppressions in source code:

Enter them from the GUI, then choose Suppress in Source Code—this approach is described above.
Enter them directly in the source code—this approach is described below.

C++test allows you to define suppressions directly in the source code, using the syntax specified below.

Line Suppression

<suppression keyword> [<rule category> | <rule category> . <rule id> | <rule category > - <rule severity> | ALL ] <suppression comment>

Line Suppression Examples

//parasoft-suppress CODSTA "suppress all rules in category CODSTA"

// parasoft-suppress CODSTA.NEA "suppress rule CODSTA.NEA"

// parasoft-suppress CODSTA-1 "suppress all rules in category CODSTA with severity level 1"

// parasoft-suppress ALL "suppress all rules"

// parasoft-suppress CODSTA FORMAT.MCH JAVADOC-3 "suppress all rules in category CODSTA and rule FORMAT.MCH and all rules in category JAVADOC with severity level 3"

Block Suppression

<begin suppression keyword> [<rule category> | <rule category> . <rule id> | <rule category > - <rule severity> | ALL ] <suppression comment>

 ..... source code block .....

<end suppression keyword> [<rule category> | <rule category> . <rule id> | <rule category > - <rule severity> | ALL ] <suppression comment>

Block Suppression Examples

// parasoft-begin-suppress CODSTA "begin suppress all rules in category CODSTA"
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress CODSTA "end suppress all rules in category CODSTA"

// parasoft-begin-suppress CODSTA.NEA "begin suppress rule CODSTA.NEA"
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress CODSTA.NEA "end suppress rule CODSTA.NEA"
 
// parasoft-begin-suppress CODSTA-1 "begin suppress all rules in category CODSTA with severity level 1"
......
// parasoft-end-suppress CODSTA-1 "end suppress all rules in category CODSTA with severity level 1"

//parasoft-begin-suppress ALL "begin suppress all rules"
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress ALL "end suppress all rules"

// parasoft-begin-suppress CODSTA FORMAT.MCH "begin suppress all rules in category CODSTA and rule FORMAT.MCH"
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress CODSTA FORMAT.MCH "end suppress all rules in category CODSTA and rule FORMAT.MCH"

// parasoft-begin-suppress CODSTA "begin suppress all rules in category CODSTA"
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress CODSTA-1 "end suppress all rules in category CODSTA with severity level 1; however rules with severity level 2-5 in category CODSTA are still suppressed."
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress CODSTA "end suppress all rules in category CODSTA"
 
// parasoft-begin-suppress ALL "begin suppress all rules"
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress CODSTA FORMAT-1 "end suppress all rules in category CODSTA and all rules in category FORMAT with severity level 1; however, others rules in CODSTA and FORMAT-1 are still suppressed."
.....
// parasoft-end-suppress ALL "end suppress all rules"
 
//parasoft-begin-suppress ALL "begin suppress all rules, since no end suppression comment, all rules will be suppressed starting from this line"

The following suppresion directives are deprecated:

parasoft off: Suppresses the reporting of all static analysis violations that occur between this line of code and the end of the file.
parasoft on: Unsuppresses the reporting of all static analysis violations that occur between this line of code and the end of the file.
parasoft suppress/unsuppress [line <linewildcard>][class <classnamewildcard>][file <filenamewildcard>] [item <ruleid>][type <severity>] [reason <comment>]: Creates a suppression with the desired parameters.

Viewing GUI-Based Suppressions

To view the suppressed messages that were reported in a subsequent test run:

Open the Suppressions view. If this view is not available, choose Parasoft> Show View> Suppressions to open it.
Select the resource whose suppressions you want to view.

The Suppression Messages view will display the following information:

The static analysis violation that was suppressed.
The reason why the task was suppressed.
The resource (file) to which the suppression applies.
The folder that contains the resource.
The name of the person who suppressed the task.
The date on which the suppression was first applied.

To sort the Suppressions view contents by one of the column headings, click that column heading.

You can edit a suppression’s message or reason by right-clicking the suppression in the Suppressions view, choosing Edit Message or Edit Reason from the shortcut menu that opens, then modifying the message or reason in the dialog that opens.

Using the Suppression Filter to Restrict the Suppressions Shown

You can restrict which suppressions are shown in the Suppressions view by using the available suppressions filter.

To filter the suppressions shown in the Suppressions view:

Click the Filter button in the Suppressions view toolbar. The Filters dialog will open.
Check the Enabled check box to enable the filter.
Use the dialog’s controls to specify your filtering criteria. Available options include:
- Limit visible items to: Shows no more than the specified number of suppressions.
- On any resources: Shows all suppressions for all projects.
- On any resource in same project: Shows all suppressions for the currently-selected project.
- On selected resource only: Shows only the suppressions entered for the currently-selected resource.
- On selected resource only and its children: Shows only the suppressions entered for the currently-selected resource, and that resource’s children.

Clearing GUI-Based Suppressions

To unsuppress a task:

Select the Suppressions view item that represents the task you want to unsuppress, then click the Red X Remove Suppression icon in the top right of the view.

If this same static analysis violation is found in subsequent tests of this project, the task will be reported in the Quality Tasks view.