"Jens Nordahl" <> wrote
>
> On a large scale C++ project we are considering to make a static code
> analysis tool capable of giving answers to high level questions like
> (examples):
>
> - Which entry points on this layer in the software can result in
> calls to a given function on a lower layer
>
> - Which tables in a database can be updated by executing from a given entry
> point in a given layer
>
> - Which business logic classes are used from both of two given entry points
> in a given layer
>
> - etc...
>
> What we plan to do is to make our compiler (or some other standard tool)
> generate source browser info or something similar, post process this source
> browser info into a call graph, and make a query tool capable of analyzing
> the call graph according to user queries and thus provide answers to
> questions like those listed above.
>
> Some things we would have to take into account are
>
> - Parts of the application are table driven (ie. which function to call is
> depending on circumstances looked up in configuration tables). To cater for
> this, we might extend the call graph with arcs corresponding to the
> information in the configuration tables.
>
> - Polymorphism: The call graph must deal with polymorphism in a way that
> makes sense in our application - this means that for each virtual function
> in a base class, the call graph should contain an arc from that function to
> any overrides in base classes. Otherwise we would not be able to track a
> call through a base class pointer to the implementation in a derived class.
>
> - The tool is for internal use only, so it does not need to be slick in any
> sense, but it is a must that we can trust the results produced.
>
>
> My questions are:
>
> - Can any existing tools make analyses like this? (Bear in mind that such a
> tool would have to be configurable and extensible to take into account the
> way our application is structured, eg. that parts of our application is
> table driven.)
>
> - Is it possible to make such a tool work in the real world at all? There
> might be fundamental problem we havent thought of like eg. algorithmic
> complexity.
>
> - Anyone with experiences with making or using a similar tool?
SourceNavigator does a respectable job, but obviously, it doesn't try to make
guesses about table-driven applications. It's open source, so you're free to
adapt it, but be aware that doing so (or writing your own) is probably a bigger
project than whatever you plan to document.
Details about SourceNavigator can be found on the web or possibly in one of the
Red Hat newsgroups. Unfortunately, it is off-topic for comp.lang.c++.
Claudio Puviani
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