PC-lint

Website

gimpel.com

Categories

#Code Analysis #Code Coverage #Development #Code Review

Clang Static Analyzer

Website

clang-analyzer.llvm.org

Categories

#Code Analysis #Code Coverage #Development #Code Review

PC-lint features and specs

• Comprehensive Analysis
  PC-lint provides an exhaustive static code analysis, covering a wide range of potential errors, coding standard violations, and performance issues.
• Customizability
  The tool can be highly customized to fit specific coding standards and project requirements, allowing users to configure checks and reports extensively.
• Early Error Detection
  By catching errors early in the development cycle, PC-lint helps reduce debugging time and improves code quality before runtime.
• Wide Language Support
  PC-lint supports a variety of C and C++ standards, making it versatile for projects using different variations of these languages.
• Detailed Feedback
  The tool provides detailed messages and suggestions for detected issues, helping developers understand and resolve problems efficiently.

Possible disadvantages of PC-lint

• Complex Configuration
  Setting up PC-lint properly requires a deep understanding of both the tool and the project's code base, which can be complex and time-consuming.
• Steep Learning Curve
  Due to its comprehensive capabilities, new users may find it challenging to learn and effectively use the tool without considerable effort.
• Cost
  PC-lint is a paid tool, which might be a drawback for individual developers or small teams with limited budgets.
• Outdated Interface
  The user interface of PC-lint is considered outdated compared to more modern static analysis tools, potentially affecting usability and user experience.
• Limited Integration
  PC-lint offers fewer integrations with modern development environments and continuous integration tools compared to some other static analyzers.

Clang Static Analyzer features and specs

• Integration with Clang
  The Clang Static Analyzer is built as part of the Clang project, ensuring seamless integration with the Clang compiler. This allows for easy adoption in projects that already use Clang for compiling, as there is no need for additional tooling setup.
• Open Source
  Being an open-source tool, Clang Static Analyzer is freely available for anyone to use and modify. This encourages a community-driven approach to improvements and provides the flexibility to tailor the tool to specific needs.
• Path-sensitive Analysis
  Clang Static Analyzer performs path-sensitive analysis, which means it evaluates different execution paths in the code to detect complex bugs that may only manifest under certain conditions.
• Deep C/C++ Support
  As part of the LLVM project, Clang Static Analyzer offers robust support for C and C++ languages, leveraging the deep language understanding from the Clang front-end.

Possible disadvantages of Clang Static Analyzer

• Limited Language Support
  While it is excellent for C and C++, Clang Static Analyzer has limited support for other programming languages, which can be a drawback for projects involving multiple languages.
• False Positives
  Like many static analysis tools, Clang Static Analyzer can generate false positives, where it reports issues that are not actual bugs. This can require developers to spend additional time reviewing and dismissing spurious warnings.
• Complex Setup for Non-Clang Projects
  Projects that are not already using Clang might face a more complex setup process to integrate Clang Static Analyzer, as it requires adapting build configurations to use Clang.
• Performance Overhead
  Running Clang Static Analyzer can introduce significant performance overhead during the analysis phase, which might lead to longer build or integration times, especially for large codebases.

Using PC-Lint for MISRA and static code analysis

2019 LLVM Developers’ Meeting: A. Dergachev “Developing the Clang Static Analyzer”

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