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FindBugs VS Splint

Compare FindBugs VS Splint and see what are their differences

FindBugs logo FindBugs

Findbugs is a tool that looks for bugs in Java code. Findbugs finds the bugs by analyzing computer software without actually executing programs. Using this software allows for easy debugging and repairing broken script. Read more about FindBugs.

Splint logo Splint

Splint Home Page
  • FindBugs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-01-11
  • Splint Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-01-23

FindBugs features and specs

  • Open Source
    FindBugs is an open-source project, making it free to use and allowing developers to contribute to its development and improvement.
  • Static Code Analysis
    FindBugs performs static analysis of Java bytecode to identify potential defects and bugs without needing to execute the code.
  • Integration
    It integrates with popular development environments and build tools like Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Ant, which makes it easier to incorporate into existing workflows.
  • Java Specific
    It's specifically designed for Java, meaning it can detect issues unique to the Java programming language that may not be caught by general-purpose tools.
  • Defect Identification
    The tool can identify a wide range of bug patterns, including multithreading issues, performance problems, and bad coding practices.

Possible disadvantages of FindBugs

  • Limited Language Support
    FindBugs is limited to Java, so it does not support other programming languages, which can be a drawback for polyglot environments.
  • Project Activity
    As the project has not been actively maintained for several years, it may lack support for the latest Java features and language updates.
  • False Positives
    Like many static analysis tools, FindBugs can produce false positives, which may lead to unnecessary work to triage these non-issues.
  • Performance
    Analyzing large codebases can be time-consuming and may affect the overall performance during the analysis phase in a CI/CD pipeline.
  • User Interface
    The user interface of FindBugs is considered less modern compared to newer tools, which might lead to a steeper learning curve for new users.

Splint features and specs

  • Static Analysis
    Splint is designed to perform static analysis of C programs, allowing developers to catch bugs early in the development process without executing the program.
  • Custom Annotations
    It supports custom annotations, enabling developers to specify intended behaviors and constraints, which helps in identifying more domain-specific issues.
  • Free and Open Source
    Splint is free to use and open source, making it accessible for individual developers and smaller teams who may not have the resources for expensive software tools.
  • Wide Adoption in Academia
    The tool is widely used in academic settings as a teaching aid for programming and software engineering courses due to its educational value in illustrating software flaws.

Possible disadvantages of Splint

  • Limited Language Support
    Splint is limited to C programs only, which can be a drawback for teams working with multiple programming languages.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    For developers unfamiliar with static analysis tools or Splint's annotations, there is a learning curve that might slow down initial adoption.
  • Outdated Documentation
    Some users have reported that the documentation is outdated or lacking in certain areas, which can make understanding and using the tool more challenging.
  • Manual Work Required
    To get the most out of Splint, developers may need to manually annotate code, which can be time-consuming and may not fit well into all development workflows.

FindBugs videos

Static Code Analysis With FindBugs: Step By Step Tutorial

Splint videos

Will a Night Splint Help Your Plantar Fasciitis? We Review 3 Braces.

More videos:

  • Review - Will A Night Splint Help Your Plantar Fasciitis?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to FindBugs and Splint)
Code Coverage
46 46%
54% 54
Code Analysis
38 38%
62% 62
Code Review
50 50%
50% 50
Code Quality
59 59%
41% 41

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare FindBugs and Splint

FindBugs Reviews

TOP 40 Static Code Analysis Tools (Best Source Code Analysis Tools)
A tool that helps in analyzing C/C++, Java, C#, RPG and Python codes. Another good thing about this tool is it allows integration with free static checker tools like cppcheck, PMD, FindBugs. Basic Version of this tool is free but it comes with fewer features. Based on the need, you can decide whether the free version satisfies the requirement or not.

Splint Reviews

We have no reviews of Splint yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Splint should be more popular than FindBugs. It has been mentiond 10 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

FindBugs mentions (4)

  • Tutorial: Build a Java SDK based on OpenAPI Spec
    FindBugs: Detects potential issues in Java code that could lead to bugs. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Scanning for flaws?
    The tools generally depend on the programming language. You might be looking for something like a "linter" or static analyzer (i.e. FindBugs for Java). Source: almost 5 years ago
  • Why we need multiple code analysis tools?
    These tools perform analysis on the application's source code without executing/running the code on a platform. In other words, a bot goes line by line of source code to find any bug defined by preconfigured policies/rules. It could be compared to manual code review, but the review is done by a bot. Mostly, code quality, coding standard aspects are targeted to be scanned. The biggest name in static code analysis... - Source: dev.to / about 5 years ago
  • Review of Java Static Analysis Tools
    FindBugs looks for bugs in Java Code, and this means over 400 different bugs. - Source: dev.to / over 5 years ago

Splint mentions (10)

  • Git: Introduce Rust and announce that it will become mandatorty
    > My gut feeling is You're probably right, I was saying it just can be transferred, with a large "just". > the fact that neither GCC nor Clang appear to have discussed reusing concepts from their optimizer passes to recreate the borrow checker or borrow checker-like functionality There is however a commitment from GCC, that every UB the compiler exploits must be reported by -fanalyzer, otherwise it's a compiler... - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • C-rusted: The Advantages of Rust, in C, without the Disadvantages
    Whenever I see people talk about the portability or compatibility advantages of C, I'm reminded of how "even C isn't compatible with C", because you typically aren't talking about up-to-date GCC or LLVM on these niche platforms... you're talking about some weird or archaic vendor-provided compiler... Possibly with syntax extensions that static analyzers like splint will choke on. (Splint can't even understand near... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Announcing Rust 1.67.1
    Huh. I think I actually needed to use the equivalent position for certain splint annotations in my C retro-hobby project. Source: over 3 years ago
  • US NGO Consumer Reports also reporting on C and C++ safety for product development.
    I often like to say that Rust's bindings are a way to trick people into writing the compile-time safety annotations that they didn't want to write for things like splint. (Seriously. Look into how much splint is capable of checking with the correct annotations.). Source: over 3 years ago
  • “Rust is safe” is not some kind of absolute guarantee of code safety
    Linters like Splint [0] can do that for C. I’m not saying that Rust’s built-in approach isn’t better, but please be careful about what exactly you claim. [0] http://splint.org/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing FindBugs and Splint, you can also consider the following products

Codacy - Automatically reviews code style, security, duplication, complexity, and coverage on every change while tracking code quality throughout your sprints.

Coverity Scan - Find and fix defects in your Java, C/C++ or C# open source project for free

SonarQube - SonarQube, a core component of the Sonar solution, is an open source, self-managed tool that systematically helps developers and organizations deliver Clean Code.

Cppcheck - Cppcheck is an analysis tool for C/C++ code. It detects the types of bugs that the compilers normally fail to detect. The goal is no false positives. CppCheckDownload cppcheck for free.

Pmd - PMD scans Java source code and looks for potential problems like:

Shellcheck - ShellCheck finds bugs in your shell scripts