Static analysis-How does automated code scanning prevent defects and accelerate delivery?

I. What is static code analysis?

Static code Analysis ( static analysis ) is a necessary development test behavior that scans code patterns and structures and analyzes logical relationships to find potential defect codes and ultimately renders reports to users in order to fix code flaws. When a high-risk code is detected, the static Analysis Scan Tool reports a violation and directs the user to fix the code vulnerability. Static analysis methods generally have the following types:

• Pattern-matching static analysis

Pattern-matching static analysis is one of the simplest forms of static analysis, that is, to automate code scanning based on pre-configured rule libraries, and to report a violation if a matching pattern code is found in the rule base. For example, engineers sometimes accidentally use the string "" to end a character array, but actually want to use a single character '. This error can cause memory corruption and cause the program to crash. The static analysis tool looks for these pattern codes in the code and reports the errors that may occur. This static analysis is called pattern-matching static analysis.

• Data Flow Analysis

Data flow analysis, sometimes referred to as dynamic analysis, is slightly different from the pattern-matching static analysis mentioned above. This type of code analysis also needs to configure a set of rule sets (rule library) before checking the problem, but the data flow analysis method simulates the execution path of the program when performing a code scan, tracing the flow of data such as the direction of the pointer to memory, simulating the execution of programs, locating and reporting run-time errors, Dig deeper into the hard-to-find flaws in your software project code, such as null pointer dereference, buffer overflow, resource leaks, SQL injection, and more.

• Metric analysis

In order to achieve different code scanning targets, there are other types of static analysis methods, such as metric analysis, to automate the scanning of code structures and to report the structural complexity of the project code, and to count the inheritance depth of the fields in the corresponding software project code, cyclomatic complexity, and so on, through pre-configured code structure metrics thresholds. So that the following can provide important basis for the reconstruction of the project, optimize the product, improve the reliability and robustness of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

two. Static analysis and certification standards

The software on the market is becoming more and more complex, and every day we deal with different kinds of software, software is everywhere. For example, automotive systems are purely mechanical in the early days, but today's cars may contain more than 1000 lines of micro-control units in response to a variety of user directives, such as smart air conditioners, navigation systems, security systems, and so on. More and more hardware devices are equipped with responsive intelligent systems, and each system requires the provision of safe and reliable functions to meet the various individual needs of users, which requires a software project must have a certain quality assurance methods, such as the most practical static analysis. In particular, industry-critical software systems, such as automotive electronics, medical devices, avionics, etc., that are critical to personal safety.

In today's software market, there are public or private enterprises or organizations, such as owasp and Mitre, who have researched and published a list of common security errors and advocated best programming practices. In some specific industries there are also relevant codes and certification standards, such as Misra, to ensure the security, reliability and robustness of relevant industry software systems by enforcing compliance with certain code writing standards. These best practices or industry code standards can be incorporated into the rules repository as specific rules for static analysis, automating code scans on a daily basis, and implementing best practices for programming.

three. Benefits of automated static analysis

Running static analysis by manually triggering on the client machine is similar to running a spell check in a word processor, reporting spelling errors in a timely manner and assisting users in correcting them. This is acceptable for small projects, but in a large enterprise or organization, static analysis should be automated and as part of a continuous build or code check-in. Static analysis can provide a number of benefits after the static analysis method is considered as part of the development testing process, as described below.

• Accelerate software development Cycles

Automated static analysis is introduced at an early stage of the project to continuously automate code scanning to find problems and fix code flaws when repair costs are minimized. This can take more time to develop than just to speed up the software without running static analysis, but the efficiency gains are doubled. In addition, some static analysis tools provide a detailed programming standard for the rules library to implement descriptive documents, which will widen the programming knowledge of software engineers and develop in a more professional and higher level direction while finding and circumventing problems. The code produced by the development team is sustainable iterative maintenance development, and engineers are more confident in making code changes and innovation, in fact, the rate of development of the entire software project is a ladder-style improvement.

• Reduce product defect Rate

Static analysis can help you find and fix defects earlier to prevent systemic defects later in the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Some static analysis tools not only report static analysis violations, but also integrate with the development platform to directly navigate to specific lines of code, which can help you understand the root cause of all reported defect instances. With automated static analysis technology, defect prevention policies can be implemented more easily, reducing defect rates in the software development lifecycle.

• Continuous improvement Software

The term "DevOps" is often used to describe a set of practices that facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and communication, which is necessary to help enterprises optimize and accelerate the development process. By sharing knowledge and tasks across departments, companies are creating an efficient process for speeding up the SDLC while improving quality processes. This approach is effective, however, an automated feedback loop must be implemented, and the entire efficient team practice process has been improved.

Automated static analysis not only provides a feedback loop mechanism, it also provides practical material and concrete communication bridge for the relevant departments to collaborate effectively in the DevOps mode. In particular, when the current code test enters unit and regression testing, static analysis plays several roles as follows:

• Ensure code quality with dynamic test basics

• Provide the big data needed to improve the development process

• Provides a practical approach to devops automated feedback

As a result, static analysis is a key driver of continuous integration building and continuous improvement of the software development testing process.

four. Static analysis solutions for Parasoft

There are static analysis tools on the market, ranging from open source business to fully developed test suites. Parasoft offers an enterprise-class development testing solution for the development of software products in mainstream languages such as Java,c/C + +,. Net. In addition to the full range of static code analysis capabilities such as pattern matching analysis, data flow analysis and measurement analysis, the development test platform also has good extensibility, including unit testing, integration testing, run-time error detection, code review, coverage analysis and other functions, you can automate the generation of test cases, Carry out unit testing at the same time provide a variety of perspective coverage analysis, provide a graphical reporting system, is a perfect program-level platform, all-round implementation of automated defect prevention policy, protect customer product quality and improve the delivery speed of software products.

Five. Conclusion

Static code analysis is an important part of ensuring that application functionality is implemented as expected. It not only improves the speed of the entire development team, but also reduces the risk associated with releasing potentially dangerous software. Although analysis is better than no analysis, static analysis should be integrated into the development testing infrastructure to maximize the effectiveness of the practice. Parasoft provides a professional code analysis and automated test suite in code-level testing, and an advanced analysis and reporting system is available in the development test platform. Combining these two technologies enables the software engineering team to speed up the delivery of the program while ensuring that their application capabilities meet customer needs, meet product expectations, and achieve business value.

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Static analysis-How does automated code scanning prevent defects and accelerate delivery?