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Splint VS SonarQube

Compare Splint VS SonarQube and see what are their differences

Splint logo Splint

Splint Home Page

SonarQube logo 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.
  • Splint Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-01-23
  • SonarQube Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-12

SonarQube, a core component of the Sonar solution, is an open source, self-managed tool that systematically helps developers and organizations deliver Clean Code. SonarQube integrates into the developers' CI/CD pipeline and DevOps platform to detect and help fix issues in the code while performing continuous inspection of projects.

Supported by the Sonar Clean as You Code methodology, only code that meets the defined quality standard can be released to production. SonarQube analyzes the most popular programming languages, frameworks, and infrastructure technologies and supports over 5,000 Clean Code rules.

Trusted by 7 million developers and 400,000 organizations globally to clean more than half a trillion lines of code, Sonar has become integral to delivering better software.

Explore our pricing and request an evaluation: https://www.sonarsource.com/plans-and-pricing/

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.

SonarQube features and specs

  • Comprehensive code analysis
    SonarQube provides detailed insights into code quality by examining various metrics such as code smells, bugs, vulnerabilities, and duplications.
  • Multi-language support
    It supports a wide range of programming languages like Java, C#, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP, and many others, making it versatile for different projects.
  • Continuous integration (CI) integration
    SonarQube integrates seamlessly with CI tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, and Azure DevOps, facilitating continuous code inspection.
  • Customizable rules
    Users can customize and extend the set of rules to fit specific project needs and coding standards.
  • User-friendly interface
    The platform offers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate web interface for analyzing and managing code quality issues.
  • Technical debt measurement
    It provides metrics to measure technical debt, helping teams understand the potential effort required to fix and improve their codebase.
  • Community and commercial support
    There is a vibrant community for support and extensive documentation. Additionally, a commercial version offers advanced features and professional support.
  • Rich plugin ecosystem
    A variety of plugins are available to extend functionality and integrate with other tools and services.

Possible disadvantages of SonarQube

  • Resource-intensive
    Analysis can be resource-heavy and may require significant memory and CPU, especially for larger projects.
  • Complex setup
    Setting up SonarQube, especially in a highly customized setup with multiple plugins and integrations, can be complex and time-consuming.
  • Learning curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, understanding and making the most of all available features can have a steep learning curve.
  • Cost of commercial edition
    The commercial editions, while rich in features, can be costly, which might be prohibitive for smaller teams or startups.
  • Occasional false positives
    Like many static analysis tools, SonarQube can sometimes generate false positives, which can lead to unnecessary investigations.
  • Dependency on other tools
    For optimal use, SonarQube often requires integration with additional tools and services, which can add to the maintenance overhead.
  • Update requirements
    Keeping SonarQube up to date can be challenging due to frequent updates and the need for plugin compatibility checks.

Analysis of SonarQube

Overall verdict

  • SonarQube is widely regarded as a good tool for enhancing software quality, especially in environments where maintaining high-quality standards is critical. It provides detailed insights into code quality and actionable recommendations, making it valuable for both developers and managers focused on maintaining clean, efficient, and secure code.

Why this product is good

  • SonarQube is a popular tool for continuous inspection of code quality to perform automatic reviews with static analysis of code to detect bugs, code smells, and security vulnerabilities. It supports multiple programming languages and integrates well with various CI/CD pipelines, making it an essential tool for maintaining and improving code quality across diverse codebases.

Recommended for

  • Software development teams looking to improve code quality.
  • Organizations seeking to automate code reviews and code quality checks.
  • Projects that require support for multiple programming languages.
  • Developers aiming to reduce technical debt and improve maintainability.
  • DevOps teams integrating static code analysis into their CI/CD pipelines.

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?

SonarQube videos

What is SonarQube?

More videos:

  • Tutorial - What is SonarQube? How to configure a maven project for Code Coverage | Tech Primers
  • Tutorial - How to analyze code quality using SonarQube | Easy tutorial

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Splint and SonarQube)
Code Analysis
5 5%
95% 95
Code Coverage
5 5%
95% 95
Code Review
6 6%
94% 94
Code Quality
3 3%
97% 97

User comments

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Reviews

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

Splint Reviews

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SonarQube Reviews

Top 11 SonarQube Alternatives in 2024
While SonarQube offers a robust set of features, users may want to consider newer, more specialized tools that can complement SonarQube's capabilities. Some users have chosen to explore alternative options due to SonarQube's limitations, such as its initial learning curve, specific configuration requirements, and licensing fees for enterprise versions.
Source: www.codeant.ai
8 Best Static Code Analysis Tools For 2024
SonarQube is a widely used code analysis tool that helps you write clean, reliable, and secure code. Below are some of its key features that allow you to conduct a proper static code analysis.
Source: www.qodo.ai
The 5 Best SonarQube Alternatives in 2024
Unlike Codacy, which offers a comprehensive replacement for SonarQube, Snyk takes a different approach by focusing exclusively on security. It's an excellent choice for teams looking to enhance their security practices without necessarily replacing their existing code quality tools. However, for teams looking to move away from SonarQube entirely, Snyk must be complemented...
Source: blog.codacy.com
5 Best DevSecOps Tools in 2023
Whereas OWASP ZAP scans your website once it has been deployed (known as dynamic code scanning), SonarQube/SonarCloud is a product/service that will scan the source code itself before it is deployed and alert on any possible security issues related to the source code. This is known as static code scanning. It looks for things that can be exploited. Things such as not...
Ten Best SonarQube alternatives in 2021
Other critical elements to bear in mind even as mastering alternatives to SonarQube embody Integration and initiatives. We have compiled a listing of SonarQube alternatives that reviewers voted for because of the excellent standard options to employ instead of SonarQube.
Source: duecode.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Splint should be more popular than SonarQube. It has been mentiond 9 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.

Splint mentions (9)

  • 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 2 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 2 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 2 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 / over 2 years ago
  • Glauber's Journey from rust to typescript
    (Sort of like how, for my DOS hobby project, I use splint to require explicit casts between typedefs so I can use the newtype pattern without having to manually reach into wrapper struct fields in places that don't do conversions.). Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

SonarQube mentions (1)

  • Google: C++20, How Hard Could It Be
    Even for Java, C# and JS we do enforce such kind of rules, e.g. https://sonarqube.org. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

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

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

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.

CodeClimate - Code Climate provides automated code review for your apps, letting you fix quality and security issues before they hit production. We check every commit, branch and pull request for changes in quality and potential vulnerabilities.

PVS-Studio - PVS-Studio is a useful piece of software for detecting problems in source code. The software examines program codes written in C, C++, and C# for any problems that might prohibit the code from functioning properly.

Checkmarx - The industry’s most comprehensive AppSec platform, Checkmarx One is fast, accurate, and accelerates your business.