Final answer:
Coverage_exclusions are used in SonarQube to exclude certain parts of code from coverage metrics, whereas exclusions are used to exclude files from the entire analysis process.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between coverage_exclusions and exclusions in SonarQube, a platform used for continuous inspection of code quality, is essentially in their scope and application within the analysis process. Coverage_exclusions are used to specify files or directories that should not be included in the code coverage calculation. Code coverage is a measure used to describe the degree to which the source code of a program is executed when a particular test suite runs. This can be useful when you want to omit certain parts of your codebase from coverage metrics, such as third-party libraries or autogenerated code that you do not wish to test.
On the other hand, exclusions are broader and can be used to prevent files or directories from being included in the analysis for any metrics, not just coverage. This can pertain to duplications, size metrics, complexity, or issues. Use this when you want to completely ignore certain files from the static code analysis such as configuration files, documentation, or other non-code files.
In Sonar, coverage_exclusions and exclusions are two different settings that determine which parts of your code are analyzed for issues and which parts are excluded.
The coverage_exclusions setting specifically defines the code that should be excluded from code coverage analysis. This means that the excluded code will not be measured and reported on when determining the percentage of code executed during testing.
On the other hand, exclusions determines the code that should be excluded from all kinds of analysis in Sonar. This includes code quality, security, and maintainability checks.