** Summary **

'''static syntax analysis''' refers to [debugging] that can be done via
inspection of the code for a program, without actually running the program.


** See Also **

   [http://www.phaseit.net/claird/comp.lang.tcl/tcl_compilers.html#analyzers%|%static analyzers]:   another list by [Cameron Laird]
   
   [debugging]:   

   [Are there tools which are required or would be useful when developing in Tcl]:   

   [Brace-level pretty printer]:   

   [Statically verifying arithmetic and regular expressions]:   [AM] 2007-08-18:  an idea to check such various Tcl "sublanguages" as the arithmetic and regular expressions

   [http://grok2.tripod.com/code_comprehension.html%|%Source Code Comprehension Tools]:   an older list

[AM] (18 august 2007) Here's an idea to check such diverse "sublanguages" as the arithmetic
and regular expressions in Tcl: 


** Description **


''Static [syntax] analysis'' is the process of looking at a text file and
attempting to identify errors, warnings, etc. from the text without executing
the code.  This is tricky to do in-depth because in an interpretive
environment, programmers often make use of dynamic techniques for code
generation, etc.  These dynamic code fragments typically won't be evaluated
during a static syntax sweep. Another short-coming, at least as far as procheck
and frink go, is that they operate only on the source code specified on the
command line.  This means that calls to auto[load]ed or ''[source]''d commands
are treated as unknowns, unless the file in which they are defined was
specified '''before''' the invocation.

A [C] programmer will be familar with a program called '''lint'''; this program
provides static syntax analysis for C.


** Analysing C **

   [CBrowser]:   open-source GUI frontent to source-code searching tools.  Primarily designed to work with cscope, but also works with cs.

   [logiscope c rulechecker]:   a proprietary product that allows users to define and verify coding rules in Tcl


** Analyising Tcl **

   [frink]:   source code formatter with syntax and style checking

   [Nagelfar]:   reads one or more Tcl scripts and checks them for correctness, conflicts and even a little style.

   [TclPro]:   includes "procheck",  a static code checker 

   [XotclIDE]:   includes a syntax checker for Tcl and [XOTcl] code

   [TDK]:    has a program called ''tclchecker'' that does static syntax checking

   [Nagelfar]:    an extensible syntax checker

   [Sugar]:    a macro system that can be used as a programmable SSA tool.

   [SoftGuard]:    [http://www.osn.de/user/finzel/html/sgxTools.html] appears to do at least some sorts of SSA [[Does SoftGuard deserve its own page in the Wiki?  I think so.  Anyone familar with it?  The web page mentions sgxCP profiling, sgxCT tracing, sgxDbg procedure debugging, sgxRSM resource standard metrics, and sgxTVC variable consistency testing]]

   [Source Navigator]:   code-analysis and comprehention tool that provides a graphic framework for understanding and re-engineering large or complex software projects

   [http://avl.enemy.org/TclTk/bracecheck.tcl%|%bracecheck], by [Andreas Leitgeb]:   a "mostly heuristic script ... which compares bracing with indentation ..."

   [ttclcheck]:   syntax checker for Tcl, XOTcl, ITcl code with html generation


<<categories>> Debugging