Re: Advise on C Code Visualization Tool Needed

Michael A Copenhafer <mcopenha@cs.ucsd.edu>
21 Aug 2000 00:08:12 -0400

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Related articles
Advise on C Code Visualization Tool Needed kevind@softsyseng.com (Kevin Daily) (2000-08-13)
Re: Advise on C Code Visualization Tool Needed mcopenha@cs.ucsd.edu (Michael A Copenhafer) (2000-08-21)
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From: Michael A Copenhafer <mcopenha@cs.ucsd.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.compilers
Date: 21 Aug 2000 00:08:12 -0400
Organization: CSE Dept., UC San Diego
References: 00-08-082
Keywords: tools

Kevin -- may I suggest looking at StarTool from the Unv. of
California, San Diego
(http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/~wgg/Software/StarTool/). In short, StarTool
graphically displays the ``referenced by'' relation; that is, all
direct and indirect references to a variable or function. While it's
primary purpose is to help programmers restructure code, it can be
useful as a program understanding tool as well.


StarTool is still in a state of active development and may not be
quite ready for ``industrial strength'' projects of your size. It is
worth noting, however, that I have successfully used the tool to
analyze large portions of Emacs and gcc source code (100-150 kloc).


StarTool can currently handle c, ada95, and tcl code and is available
for 4 platforms (sparc-solaris, hppa-hpux, i386-linux, and
i386-bsdos). A Windows version is currently under development; it will
be available in two weeks.


I have some experience with other source analysis tools like Sniff+
and Cygnus' Source Navigator. While these tools generally do a fine
job of supporting large, multi-language projects, the features they
provide don't go beyond simple lexical analysis of the code. I think
StarTool provides a unique cross-cutting view of program structure.


If you have any questions please email me.


-Mike Copenhafer




Kevin Daily wrote:


> I am looking for advise on finding a good industrial strength C code
> visualization tool.


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