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authorMarcelo Schmitt <marcelo.schmitt1@gmail.com>2022-03-31 00:49:33 +0300
committerJonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>2022-04-05 18:48:24 +0300
commit12379401c000495e683c5c5574b82a64f8d826d6 (patch)
tree207fc4b9ead9412705d7c296b0b43a965ced8137 /Documentation/dev-tools
parent2c2de6f2e2bc444eed65eaa949b4fdadab93f6b3 (diff)
downloadlinux-12379401c000495e683c5c5574b82a64f8d826d6.tar.xz
Documentation: dev-tools: Add a section for static analysis tools
Complement the Kernel Testing Guide documentation page by adding a section about static analysis tools. Signed-off-by: Marcelo Schmitt <marcelo.schmitt1@gmail.com> Acked-by: Daniel Latypov <dlatypov@google.com> Acked-by: Dan Carpenter <dan.carpenter@oracle.com> Acked-by: Julia Lawall <julia.lawall@inria.fr> Reviewed-by: David Gow <davidgow@google.com> Reviewed-by: Shuah Khan <skhan@linuxfoundation.org> Signed-off-by: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
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diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst
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+++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst
@@ -115,3 +115,34 @@ that none of these errors are occurring during the test.
Some of these tools integrate with KUnit or kselftest and will
automatically fail tests if an issue is detected.
+Static Analysis Tools
+=====================
+
+In addition to testing a running kernel, one can also analyze kernel source code
+directly (**at compile time**) using **static analysis** tools. The tools
+commonly used in the kernel allow one to inspect the whole source tree or just
+specific files within it. They make it easier to detect and fix problems during
+the development process.
+
+Sparse can help test the kernel by performing type-checking, lock checking,
+value range checking, in addition to reporting various errors and warnings while
+examining the code. See the Documentation/dev-tools/sparse.rst documentation
+page for details on how to use it.
+
+Smatch extends Sparse and provides additional checks for programming logic
+mistakes such as missing breaks in switch statements, unused return values on
+error checking, forgetting to set an error code in the return of an error path,
+etc. Smatch also has tests against more serious issues such as integer
+overflows, null pointer dereferences, and memory leaks. See the project page at
+http://smatch.sourceforge.net/.
+
+Coccinelle is another static analyzer at our disposal. Coccinelle is often used
+to aid refactoring and collateral evolution of source code, but it can also help
+to avoid certain bugs that occur in common code patterns. The types of tests
+available include API tests, tests for correct usage of kernel iterators, checks
+for the soundness of free operations, analysis of locking behavior, and further
+tests known to help keep consistent kernel usage. See the
+Documentation/dev-tools/coccinelle.rst documentation page for details.
+
+Beware, though, that static analysis tools suffer from **false positives**.
+Errors and warns need to be evaluated carefully before attempting to fix them.