[splint.git] / doc / html / faq.html

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <meta name="generator"
    content="HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1st November 2002), see www.w3.org" />
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.splint.org/splint.css"
    title="style1" />
    <title>Splint FAQ</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <!--#include virtual="header.html"-->
    <h1>Splint - Frequently Asked Questions</h1>
    <h3>Index</h3>
    <ol>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a href="#genquest">General Questions About Splint</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li><a href="#quest1">What is the difference between Splint and LCLint?</a><br />
      </li>
      <li><a href="#quest2">What is the Splint logo?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest3">Can I include Splint in my software distribution?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest4">Can we use your software in our company? (We are not a GNU
      organization.)<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest9">Which compilers does Splint support?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest5">Does Splint handle C++?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a href="#install">Installation</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li><a href="#quest6">I downloaded the Splint .tgz file but can't figure out how to
      extract it. There is no 'z' option on the tar on my system.<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest7">I want to use Splint in win2000. How do I do that?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest8">I have installed Splint for Windows 2000. Where should I put
      the ".splintrc" file?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest17">When I build Splint I get the following errors.... Should I
      be worried?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest18">I just installed Splint on a new machine. I get a bunch of
      errors during building when the test suite is run. When I look through the results,
      it seems like Splint is not reporting any errors in the code it analyzes. What is
      going on?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a href="#usage">Usage</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li><a href="#quest15">I heard that we will get lot of parse errors when we run
      this tool first time. Hence we need to modify source code. Is it correct ?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest16">I heard that Splint can generate some spurious errors ( not
      genuine errors). Is it correct ?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest10">How does Splint handle const?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest14">I develop code on an embedded system with a compiler that
      uses nonstandard key words and data types. I would like to run Splint on my code
      but these nonstandard keywords cause parse errors. What should I do?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest14b">How can I get Splint to recognize directory trees and local
      source include directories?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest20">I use realloc in my code. How can I get Splint in check this
      code more effectively?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a href="#warnerror">Warnings and Errors</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li><a href="#quest11">Why do I get a warning when multiplying different integer
      types? The C standard says this is ok. Why is this wrong?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest12">The C standard says that what I'm doing is okay. Why does
      Splint give me a warning?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest13">Splint complains if I ignore the return value of scanf but
      not printf?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li><a href="#quest18b">I get parse errors when I try to run Splint on code like
      #define MACROdebug(...) blahblah . Can I use variadic macros in Splint?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a href="#bugs">Bugs</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li><a href="#quest21">I think I've found a bug in Splint. What should I do?<br />
     </a></li>
       <li><a href="#quest22">Splint tells me that there is a bug and I should report it.
      What information should I send?<br />
      </a></li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
               <h4><a href="#adinfo">Additional Information</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li><a href="#quest23">My question isn't answered here. How can I get more
      information about Splint?<br />
      </a></li>
    </ol>
    <h3>Questions and Answers</h3>
    <ol>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a id="genquest" name="genquest">General Questions About Splint</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest1" name="quest1">What is the difference between Splint and
        LCLint?</a></p>
        <p>Before 2002, Splint was known as LCLint. Splint 3.0 is the successor to LCLint
        2.5.</p>
        <blockquote>
          LCLint was originally named for LCL, the Larch C Interface Language and lint, a
          well-known C program checking tool. Because our tool has diverged from LCL, and
          our focus now is on secure programming, it was renamed Splint. Splint's name
          has (at least) three interpretations: specifications lint, secure programming
          lint, and first aid for programmers. It's also easier to pronounce than
          LCLint.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest2" name="quest2">What is the Splint logo?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Thomas Jefferson's Serpentine Walls at the University of Virginia. The walls
          are one brick thick, but because of their design are both strong and aesthetic.
          Like a secure program, secure walls depend on sturdy bricks, solid
          construction, and elegant and principled design.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest3" name="quest3">Can I include Splint in my software
        distribution?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Yes. Splint is licensed under the GNU General Public License. You may
          redistribute it as you wish so long as credits and pointers to <a
          href="http://www.splint.org/">www.splint.org</a> are not changed or removed.
          Splint may be included in commercial distributions, and is included in several
          Linux and freeware CDs. If you redistribute Splint, please let us know by
          sending a message to <a
          href="mailto:splint@cs.virginia.edu">splint@cs.virginia.edu</a>.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest4" name="quest4">Can we use your software in our company? (We are
        not a GNU organization.)</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Yes, splint is GPL-licensed. Anyone may use it. If you want to redistribute it,
          check the license for details or contact us.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest9" name="quest9">Which compilers does Splint support?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          It is independent from your compiler.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest5" name="quest5">Does Splint handle C++?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          No. Splint handles ISO C99 (and some gcc extensions if +gnuextensions is used).
          We don't have the resources (or the research justification) to build a C++
          front end, but if you are interested in building a C++ front end the source
          code is available, and I will certainly be willing to help.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a id="install" name="install">Installation</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest6" name="quest6">I downloaded the Splint .tgz file but can't
        figure out how to extract it. There is no 'z' option on the tar on my
        system.</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Check to see if there is GNU tar on your system, it is usually invoked by the
          command gtar or gnutar. GNU tar supports the -z option.<br />
          <br />
           
          <p>You can also unzip the file then untar it. Do: gunzip filename.tar.gz to
          unzip then tar -xvf filename.tar</p>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest7" name="quest7">I want to use Splint in win2000. How do I do
        that?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          See <a href="http://www.splint.org/">www.splint.org</a> for information on
          Splint.<br />
          <br />
           
          <p><a
          href="http://www.splint.org/win32.html">http://www.splint.org/win32.html</a>
          for Windows instructions.</p>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest8" name="quest8">I have installed Splint for Windows 2000. Where
        should I put the ".splintrc" file?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          For Win32, Splint looks for splint.rc instead of .splintrc due to the DOS
          filename problems. It will look first in the current directory, then in<br />
          <br />
           
          <p>your home directory. See the Splint manual for more information.</p>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest17" name="quest17">When I build Splint I get the following
        error:</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Checking for...<br />
          <br />
           
          <p>Checking manual...</p>
          <p>cmx &gt; / Checking tests2.2...</p>
          <p>Checking tests2.4...</p>
          <p>Checking tests2.5...</p>
          <p>Checking db1...</p>
          <p>0a1,2</p>
          <p>&gt; /cmx/tools/make -e clean</p>
          <p>&gt; /cmx/tools/make -e check</p>
          <p>*** FAIL ***</p>
          <p>Checking db2...</p>
          <p>0a1,/tools/make -e clean</p>
          <p>&gt; /cmx/tools/make -e check</p>
          <p>*** FAIL ***</p>
          <p>Checking db3...</p>
        </blockquote>
        <p>Should I be worried?</p>
        <blockquote>
          Those diffs look harmless. It is likely that your make is set up slightly
          differently than ours.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest18" name="quest18">I just installed Splint on a new machine. I get
        a bunch of errors during building when the test suite is run. When I look through
        the results, it seems like Splint is not reporting any errors in the code it
        analyzes. What is going on?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          One possibility is that the installation directory where the test suite is
          running is on the system path (hence, splint won't report errors if
          -sysdirerrors is set, as it is by default). Try adding +sysdirerrors to the
          command line for the test suite to see if that is the problem, or installing
          Splint in a different directory not in the system path.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a id="usage" name="usage">Usage</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest15" name="quest15">I heard that we will get lot of parse errors
        when we run this tool first time. Hence we need to modify source code. Is it
        correct ?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Usually not, but Splint doesn't support all C99 extensions.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest16" name="quest16">I heard that Splint can generate some spurious
        errors ( not genuine errors). Is it correct ?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Yes, please see <a href="http://www.splint.org/">www.splint.org</a> for
          details.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest10" name="quest10">How does Splint handle const?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Splint doesn't interpret const (at all). See the manual section on modifies
          checking (<a
          href="http://www.splint.org/manual/html/sec7.html">http://www.splint.org/manual/html/sec7.html</a>).<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest14" name="quest14">I develop code on an embedded system with a
        compiler that uses nonstandard key words and data types. I would like to run
        Splint on my code but these nonstandard keywords cause parse errors. What should
        I do?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          <p>You can often use -D to solve this problem.</p>
          <p>If you just want to ignore a keyword, you can add -Dnonstandardkeyword= to
          make the preprocessor eliminate the keyword, where nonstandardkeyword is the
          name of the keyword. Similarly, you can use -Dspecialtype=int to make a custom
          type parse as an int.</p>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest14b" name="quest14b">How can I get Splint to recognize directory
        trees and local source include directories? I've tried putting them in my path
        but it doesn't seem to look beyond the current directory.</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          You can use -I to set the include path like you would with a compiler.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest20" name="quest20">I use realloc in my code. How can I get Splint
        in check this code more effectively?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          realloc has complicated semantics that make it difficult to use correctly. Make
          sure that you understand realloc and that you really need to use it.<br />
          <br />
           
          <p>If you decide to use realloc, we recommend that you wrapper it. The document
          Using Wrapper Functions explains how to do this. That document is included in
          the Splint documentation and is also available at:</p>
          <p><a
          href="http://www.splint.org/documentation/realloc.htm">http://www.splint.org/documentation/realloc.htm</a></p>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a id="warnerror" name="warnerror">Warnings and Errors</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest11" name="quest11">Why do I get a Warning when multiplying
        different integer types? The C standard says this is ok. Why is this
        wrong?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          There are lots of things that the C spec allows and defines clearly, that
          Splint will provide warnings for. It's not a question of it being "wrong", it's
          a matter of it being likely to reveal a programming mistake.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest12" name="quest12">The C standard says that what I'm doing is
        okay. Why does Splint give me a warning?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          See the previous question.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest13" name="quest13">Splint complains if I ignore the return value
        of scanf but not printf?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          This is just a strategic decision --- we view ignoring the result of a scanf to
          be more likely to reveal a problem with the code than ignoring the result of a
          printf, even though strict programmers will want to check printf also.<br />
          <br />
           
          <blockquote>
            If you want stricter checking, use the flags +ansistrictlib, +posixstrictlib,
            +unixstrictlib to select the strict versions of these libraries.<br />
            <br />
          </blockquote>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest18b" name="quest18b">I get parse errors when I try to run Splint
        on code like #define MACROdebug(...) blahblah . Can I use variadic macros in
        Splint?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Sorry, Splint does not yet support variadic macros. We hope to fix this in a
          future release.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a id="bugs" name="bugs">Bugs</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest21" name="quest21">I think I've found a bug in Splint. What should
        I do?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          See <a
          href="http://www.splint.org/bugs.html">http://www.splint.org/bugs.html</a> for
          a list of known bugs and instructions on reporting bugs.<br />
          <br />
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest22" name="quest22">Splint tells me that there is a bug and I
        should report it. What information should I send?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          Ideally we would like enough code to reproduce the problem. Small snippets of
          code which trigger the bug are the best but more code is also acceptable.<br />
          <br />
           
          <p>If we're not able to reproduce the problem, then we are unlikely to be able
          to patch Splint. However, we would still appreciate hearing about the bug and
          may be able to at least to offer you advice on working around the problem.</p>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
      <li style="list-style: none">
        <h4><a id="adinfo" name="adinfo">Additional Information</a></h4>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><a id="quest23" name="quest23">My question isn't answered here. How can I get
        more information about Splint?</a></p>
        <blockquote>
          First check the Splint manual and the mailing list archives.<br />
          <br />
           
          <p>The Splint manual is available at: <a
          href="http://www.splint.org/manual/l">http://www.splint.org/manual/</a></p>
          <p>The mailing list archives are at:</p>
          <p><a
          href="http://www.mail-archive.com/lclint-interest@virginia.edu/u">http://www.mail-archive.com/lclint-interest%40virginia.edu/</a></p>
          <p>If you're still unable to find the information to answer your question, you
          can try posting the question to the splint-discuss mailing list (see <a
          href="http://www.splint.org/lists.html">http://www.splint.org/lists.html</a>)</p>
          <p>You can also email us at splint@splint.org.</p>
        </blockquote>
      </li>
    </ol>
    <!--#include virtual="footer.html"-->
  </body>
</html>
Commit	Line	Data
e63e0a4a	1	<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
	2	"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
	3	<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
112c85fd	4	<head>
	5	<meta name="generator"
	6	content="HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1st November 2002), see www.w3.org" />
e63e0a4a	7	<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.splint.org/splint.css"
	8	title="style1" />
	9	<title>Splint FAQ</title>
112c85fd	10	</head>
e63e0a4a	11	<body>
e63e0a4a	12	<!--#include virtual="header.html"-->
6252ab26	13	<h1>Splint - Frequently Asked Questions</h1>
e63e0a4a	14	<h3>Index</h3>
e63e0a4a	15	<ol>
7db08ed6	16	<li style="list-style: none">
	17	<h4><a href="#genquest">General Questions About Splint</a></h4>
	18	</li>
	19	<li><a href="#quest1">What is the difference between Splint and LCLint?</a><br />
e63e0a4a	20	</li>
e63e0a4a	21	<li><a href="#quest2">What is the Splint logo?<br />
112c85fd	22	</a></li>
e63e0a4a	23	<li><a href="#quest3">Can I include Splint in my software distribution?<br />
112c85fd	24	</a></li>
e63e0a4a	25	<li><a href="#quest4">Can we use your software in our company? (We are not a GNU
e63e0a4a	26	organization.)<br />
96c3605a	27	</a></li>
7db08ed6	28	<li><a href="#quest9">Which compilers does Splint support?<br />
112c85fd	29	</a></li>
e63e0a4a	30	<li><a href="#quest5">Does Splint handle C++?<br />
112c85fd	31	</a></li>
7db08ed6	32	<li style="list-style: none">
	33	<h4><a href="#install">Installation</a></h4>
	34	</li>
e63e0a4a	35	<li><a href="#quest6">I downloaded the Splint .tgz file but can't figure out how to
e63e0a4a	36	extract it. There is no 'z' option on the tar on my system.<br />
112c85fd	37	</a></li>
e63e0a4a	38	<li><a href="#quest7">I want to use Splint in win2000. How do I do that?<br />
112c85fd	39	</a></li>
e63e0a4a	40	<li><a href="#quest8">I have installed Splint for Windows 2000. Where should I put
e63e0a4a	41	the ".splintrc" file?<br />
112c85fd	42	</a></li>
7db08ed6	43	<li><a href="#quest17">When I build Splint I get the following errors.... Should I
7db08ed6	44	be worried?<br />
112c85fd	45	</a></li>
7db08ed6	46	<li><a href="#quest18">I just installed Splint on a new machine. I get a bunch of
96c3605a	47	errors during building when the test suite is run. When I look through the results,
	48	it seems like Splint is not reporting any errors in the code it analyzes. What is
	49	going on?<br />
112c85fd	50	</a></li>
7db08ed6	51	<li style="list-style: none">
	52	<h4><a href="#usage">Usage</a></h4>
	53	</li>
	54	<li><a href="#quest15">I heard that we will get lot of parse errors when we run
96c3605a	55	this tool first time. Hence we need to modify source code. Is it correct ?<br />
112c85fd	56	</a></li>
96c3605a	57	<li><a href="#quest16">I heard that Splint can generate some spurious errors ( not
96c3605a	58	genuine errors). Is it correct ?<br />
112c85fd	59	</a></li>
96c3605a	60	<li><a href="#quest10">How does Splint handle const?<br />
112c85fd	61	</a></li>
7db08ed6	62	<li><a href="#quest14">I develop code on an embedded system with a compiler that
e63e0a4a	63	uses nonstandard key words and data types. I would like to run Splint on my code
e63e0a4a	64	but these nonstandard keywords cause parse errors. What should I do?<br />
112c85fd	65	</a></li>
e63e0a4a	66	<li><a href="#quest14b">How can I get Splint to recognize directory trees and local
e63e0a4a	67	source include directories?<br />
112c85fd	68	</a></li>
96c3605a	69	<li><a href="#quest20">I use realloc in my code. How can I get Splint in check this
96c3605a	70	code more effectively?<br />
112c85fd	71	</a></li>
7db08ed6	72	<li style="list-style: none">
	73	<h4><a href="#warnerror">Warnings and Errors</a></h4>
	74	</li>
96c3605a	75	<li><a href="#quest11">Why do I get a warning when multiplying different integer
96c3605a	76	types? The C standard says this is ok. Why is this wrong?<br />
112c85fd	77	</a></li>
96c3605a	78	<li><a href="#quest12">The C standard says that what I'm doing is okay. Why does
96c3605a	79	Splint give me a warning?<br />
112c85fd	80	</a></li>
96c3605a	81	<li><a href="#quest13">Splint complains if I ignore the return value of scanf but
96c3605a	82	not printf?<br />
112c85fd	83	</a></li>
e63e0a4a	84	<li><a href="#quest18b">I get parse errors when I try to run Splint on code like
e63e0a4a	85	#define MACROdebug(...) blahblah . Can I use variadic macros in Splint?<br />
112c85fd	86	</a></li>
7db08ed6	87	<li style="list-style: none">
	88	<h4><a href="#bugs">Bugs</a></h4>
	89	</li>
e63e0a4a	90	<li><a href="#quest21">I think I've found a bug in Splint. What should I do?<br />
7db08ed6	91	</a></li>
7db08ed6	92	<li><a href="#quest22">Splint tells me that there is a bug and I should report it.
e63e0a4a	93	What information should I send?<br />
112c85fd	94	</a></li>
7db08ed6	95	<li style="list-style: none">
	96	<h4><a href="#adinfo">Additional Information</a></h4>
	97	</li>
e63e0a4a	98	<li><a href="#quest23">My question isn't answered here. How can I get more
e63e0a4a	99	information about Splint?<br />
112c85fd	100	</a></li>
112c85fd	101	</ol>
112c85fd	102	<h3>Questions and Answers</h3>
112c85fd	103	<ol>
7db08ed6	104	<li style="list-style: none">
	105	<h4><a id="genquest" name="genquest">General Questions About Splint</a></h4>
	106	</li>
e63e0a4a	107	<li>
	108	<p><a id="quest1" name="quest1">What is the difference between Splint and
	109	LCLint?</a></p>
	110	<p>Before 2002, Splint was known as LCLint. Splint 3.0 is the successor to LCLint
	111	2.5.</p>
	112	<blockquote>
	113	LCLint was originally named for LCL, the Larch C Interface Language and lint, a
	114	well-known C program checking tool. Because our tool has diverged from LCL, and
	115	our focus now is on secure programming, it was renamed Splint. Splint's name
	116	has (at least) three interpretations: specifications lint, secure programming
	117	lint, and first aid for programmers. It's also easier to pronounce than
	118	LCLint.<br />
	119	<br />
	120	</blockquote>
	121	</li>
	122	<li>
	123	<p><a id="quest2" name="quest2">What is the Splint logo?</a></p>
	124	<blockquote>
	125	Thomas Jefferson's Serpentine Walls at the University of Virginia. The walls
	126	are one brick thick, but because of their design are both strong and aesthetic.
	127	Like a secure program, secure walls depend on sturdy bricks, solid
	128	construction, and elegant and principled design.<br />
	129	<br />
	130	</blockquote>
	131	</li>
	132	<li>
	133	<p><a id="quest3" name="quest3">Can I include Splint in my software
	134	distribution?</a></p>
	135	<blockquote>
	136	Yes. Splint is licensed under the GNU General Public License. You may
	137	redistribute it as you wish so long as credits and pointers to <a
	138	href="http://www.splint.org/">www.splint.org</a> are not changed or removed.
	139	Splint may be included in commercial distributions, and is included in several
	140	Linux and freeware CDs. If you redistribute Splint, please let us know by
	141	sending a message to <a
	142	href="mailto:splint@cs.virginia.edu">splint@cs.virginia.edu</a>.<br />
	143	<br />
	144	</blockquote>
	145	</li>
	146	<li>
	147	<p><a id="quest4" name="quest4">Can we use your software in our company? (We are
	148	not a GNU organization.)</a></p>
	149	<blockquote>
	150	Yes, splint is GPL-licensed. Anyone may use it. If you want to redistribute it,
	151	check the license for details or contact us.<br />
	152	<br />
	153	</blockquote>
	154	</li>
7db08ed6	155	<li>
e63e0a4a	156	<p><a id="quest9" name="quest9">Which compilers does Splint support?</a></p>
	157	<blockquote>
	158	It is independent from your compiler.<br />
	159	<br />
	160	</blockquote>
	161	</li>
7db08ed6	162	<li>
e63e0a4a	163	<p><a id="quest5" name="quest5">Does Splint handle C++?</a></p>
	164	<blockquote>
	165	No. Splint handles ISO C99 (and some gcc extensions if +gnuextensions is used).
	166	We don't have the resources (or the research justification) to build a C++
	167	front end, but if you are interested in building a C++ front end the source
	168	code is available, and I will certainly be willing to help.<br />
	169	<br />
	170	</blockquote>
	171	</li>
7db08ed6	172	<li style="list-style: none">
	173	<h4><a id="install" name="install">Installation</a></h4>
	174	</li>
e63e0a4a	175	<li>
	176	<p><a id="quest6" name="quest6">I downloaded the Splint .tgz file but can't
	177	figure out how to extract it. There is no 'z' option on the tar on my
	178	system.</a></p>
	179	<blockquote>
	180	Check to see if there is GNU tar on your system, it is usually invoked by the
	181	command gtar or gnutar. GNU tar supports the -z option.<br />
	182	<br />
	183
	184	<p>You can also unzip the file then untar it. Do: gunzip filename.tar.gz to
	185	unzip then tar -xvf filename.tar</p>
	186	</blockquote>
	187	</li>
	188	<li>
	189	<p><a id="quest7" name="quest7">I want to use Splint in win2000. How do I do
	190	that?</a></p>
	191	<blockquote>
	192	See <a href="http://www.splint.org/">www.splint.org</a> for information on
	193	Splint.<br />
	194	<br />
	195
	196	<p><a
	197	href="http://www.splint.org/win32.html">http://www.splint.org/win32.html</a>
	198	for Windows instructions.</p>
	199	</blockquote>
	200	</li>
	201	<li>
	202	<p><a id="quest8" name="quest8">I have installed Splint for Windows 2000. Where
	203	should I put the ".splintrc" file?</a></p>
	204	<blockquote>
	205	For Win32, Splint looks for splint.rc instead of .splintrc due to the DOS
	206	filename problems. It will look first in the current directory, then in<br />
	207	<br />
	208
	209	<p>your home directory. See the Splint manual for more information.</p>
	210	</blockquote>
	211	</li>
e63e0a4a	212	<li>
96c3605a	213	<p><a id="quest17" name="quest17">When I build Splint I get the following
96c3605a	214	error:</a></p>
e63e0a4a	215	<blockquote>
96c3605a	216	Checking for...<br />
	217	<br />
	218
	219	<p>Checking manual...</p>
	220	<p>cmx > / Checking tests2.2...</p>
	221	<p>Checking tests2.4...</p>
	222	<p>Checking tests2.5...</p>
	223	<p>Checking db1...</p>
	224	<p>0a1,2</p>
	225	<p>> /cmx/tools/make -e clean</p>
	226	<p>> /cmx/tools/make -e check</p>
	227	<p>* FAIL *</p>
	228	<p>Checking db2...</p>
	229	<p>0a1,/tools/make -e clean</p>
	230	<p>> /cmx/tools/make -e check</p>
	231	<p>* FAIL *</p>
	232	<p>Checking db3...</p>
	233	</blockquote>
	234	<p>Should I be worried?</p>
	235	<blockquote>
	236	Those diffs look harmless. It is likely that your make is set up slightly
	237	differently than ours.<br />
e63e0a4a	238	<br />
	239	</blockquote>
	240	</li>
	241	<li>
96c3605a	242	<p><a id="quest18" name="quest18">I just installed Splint on a new machine. I get
	243	a bunch of errors during building when the test suite is run. When I look through
	244	the results, it seems like Splint is not reporting any errors in the code it
	245	analyzes. What is going on?</a></p>
e63e0a4a	246	<blockquote>
96c3605a	247	One possibility is that the installation directory where the test suite is
	248	running is on the system path (hence, splint won't report errors if
	249	-sysdirerrors is set, as it is by default). Try adding +sysdirerrors to the
	250	command line for the test suite to see if that is the problem, or installing
	251	Splint in a different directory not in the system path.<br />
e63e0a4a	252	<br />
	253	</blockquote>
	254	</li>
7db08ed6	255	<li style="list-style: none">
	256	<h4><a id="usage" name="usage">Usage</a></h4>
	257	</li>
	258	<li>
96c3605a	259	<p><a id="quest15" name="quest15">I heard that we will get lot of parse errors
	260	when we run this tool first time. Hence we need to modify source code. Is it
	261	correct ?</a></p>
e63e0a4a	262	<blockquote>
96c3605a	263	Usually not, but Splint doesn't support all C99 extensions.<br />
e63e0a4a	264	<br />
	265	</blockquote>
	266	</li>
	267	<li>
96c3605a	268	<p><a id="quest16" name="quest16">I heard that Splint can generate some spurious
96c3605a	269	errors ( not genuine errors). Is it correct ?</a></p>
e63e0a4a	270	<blockquote>
96c3605a	271	Yes, please see <a href="http://www.splint.org/">www.splint.org</a> for
96c3605a	272	details.<br />
e63e0a4a	273	<br />
e63e0a4a	274	</blockquote>
	275	</li>
	276	<li>
96c3605a	277	<p><a id="quest10" name="quest10">How does Splint handle const?</a></p>
	278	<blockquote>
	279	Splint doesn't interpret const (at all). See the manual section on modifies
	280	checking (<a
	281	href="http://www.splint.org/manual/html/sec7.html">http://www.splint.org/manual/html/sec7.html</a>).<br />
	282	<br />
	283	</blockquote>
	284	</li>
7db08ed6	285	<li>
e63e0a4a	286	<p><a id="quest14" name="quest14">I develop code on an embedded system with a
	287	compiler that uses nonstandard key words and data types. I would like to run
	288	Splint on my code but these nonstandard keywords cause parse errors. What should
	289	I do?</a></p>
	290	<blockquote>
	291	<p>You can often use -D to solve this problem.</p>
	292	<p>If you just want to ignore a keyword, you can add -Dnonstandardkeyword= to
	293	make the preprocessor eliminate the keyword, where nonstandardkeyword is the
	294	name of the keyword. Similarly, you can use -Dspecialtype=int to make a custom
	295	type parse as an int.</p>
	296	</blockquote>
	297	</li>
	298	<li>
	299	<p><a id="quest14b" name="quest14b">How can I get Splint to recognize directory
	300	trees and local source include directories? I've tried putting them in my path
	301	but it doesn't seem to look beyond the current directory.</a></p>
	302	<blockquote>
	303	You can use -I to set the include path like you would with a compiler.<br />
	304	<br />
	305	</blockquote>
	306	</li>
7db08ed6	307	<li>
96c3605a	308	<p><a id="quest20" name="quest20">I use realloc in my code. How can I get Splint
96c3605a	309	in check this code more effectively?</a></p>
e63e0a4a	310	<blockquote>
96c3605a	311	realloc has complicated semantics that make it difficult to use correctly. Make
96c3605a	312	sure that you understand realloc and that you really need to use it.<br />
e63e0a4a	313	<br />
96c3605a	314
	315	<p>If you decide to use realloc, we recommend that you wrapper it. The document
	316	Using Wrapper Functions explains how to do this. That document is included in
	317	the Splint documentation and is also available at:</p>
	318	<p><a
	319	href="http://www.splint.org/documentation/realloc.htm">http://www.splint.org/documentation/realloc.htm</a></p>
e63e0a4a	320	</blockquote>
e63e0a4a	321	</li>
7db08ed6	322	<li style="list-style: none">
	323	<h4><a id="warnerror" name="warnerror">Warnings and Errors</a></h4>
	324	</li>
e63e0a4a	325	<li>
96c3605a	326	<p><a id="quest11" name="quest11">Why do I get a Warning when multiplying
	327	different integer types? The C standard says this is ok. Why is this
	328	wrong?</a></p>
e63e0a4a	329	<blockquote>
96c3605a	330	There are lots of things that the C spec allows and defines clearly, that
	331	Splint will provide warnings for. It's not a question of it being "wrong", it's
	332	a matter of it being likely to reveal a programming mistake.<br />
e63e0a4a	333	<br />
	334	</blockquote>
	335	</li>
	336	<li>
96c3605a	337	<p><a id="quest12" name="quest12">The C standard says that what I'm doing is
96c3605a	338	okay. Why does Splint give me a warning?</a></p>
e63e0a4a	339	<blockquote>
96c3605a	340	See the previous question.<br />
e63e0a4a	341	<br />
	342	</blockquote>
	343	</li>
	344	<li>
96c3605a	345	<p><a id="quest13" name="quest13">Splint complains if I ignore the return value
96c3605a	346	of scanf but not printf?</a></p>
e63e0a4a	347	<blockquote>
96c3605a	348	This is just a strategic decision --- we view ignoring the result of a scanf to
	349	be more likely to reveal a problem with the code than ignoring the result of a
	350	printf, even though strict programmers will want to check printf also.<br />
e63e0a4a	351	<br />
96c3605a	352
	353	<blockquote>
	354	If you want stricter checking, use the flags +ansistrictlib, +posixstrictlib,
	355	+unixstrictlib to select the strict versions of these libraries.<br />
	356	<br />
	357	</blockquote>
e63e0a4a	358	</blockquote>
e63e0a4a	359	</li>
7db08ed6	360	<li>
7db08ed6	361	<p><a id="quest18b" name="quest18b">I get parse errors when I try to run Splint
e63e0a4a	362	on code like #define MACROdebug(...) blahblah . Can I use variadic macros in
	363	Splint?</a></p>
	364	<blockquote>
	365	Sorry, Splint does not yet support variadic macros. We hope to fix this in a
	366	future release.<br />
	367	<br />
	368	</blockquote>
	369	</li>
7db08ed6	370	<li style="list-style: none">
	371	<h4><a id="bugs" name="bugs">Bugs</a></h4>
	372	</li>
e63e0a4a	373	<li>
	374	<p><a id="quest21" name="quest21">I think I've found a bug in Splint. What should
	375	I do?</a></p>
	376	<blockquote>
	377	See <a
	378	href="http://www.splint.org/bugs.html">http://www.splint.org/bugs.html</a> for
	379	a list of known bugs and instructions on reporting bugs.<br />
	380	<br />
	381	</blockquote>
	382	</li>
	383	<li>
	384	<p><a id="quest22" name="quest22">Splint tells me that there is a bug and I
	385	should report it. What information should I send?</a></p>
	386	<blockquote>
	387	Ideally we would like enough code to reproduce the problem. Small snippets of
	388	code which trigger the bug are the best but more code is also acceptable.<br />
	389	<br />
	390
	391	<p>If we're not able to reproduce the problem, then we are unlikely to be able
	392	to patch Splint. However, we would still appreciate hearing about the bug and
	393	may be able to at least to offer you advice on working around the problem.</p>
	394	</blockquote>
	395	</li>
7db08ed6	396	<li style="list-style: none">
	397	<h4><a id="adinfo" name="adinfo">Additional Information</a></h4>
	398	</li>
e63e0a4a	399	<li>
	400	<p><a id="quest23" name="quest23">My question isn't answered here. How can I get
	401	more information about Splint?</a></p>
	402	<blockquote>
	403	First check the Splint manual and the mailing list archives.<br />
	404	<br />
	405
	406	<p>The Splint manual is available at: <a
	407	href="http://www.splint.org/manual/l">http://www.splint.org/manual/</a></p>
	408	<p>The mailing list archives are at:</p>
	409	<p><a
	410	href="http://www.mail-archive.com/lclint-interest@virginia.edu/u">http://www.mail-archive.com/lclint-interest%40virginia.edu/</a></p>
	411	<p>If you're still unable to find the information to answer your question, you
	412	can try posting the question to the splint-discuss mailing list (see <a
	413	href="http://www.splint.org/lists.html">http://www.splint.org/lists.html</a>)</p>
	414	<p>You can also email us at splint@splint.org.</p>
	415	</blockquote>
	416	</li>
	417	</ol>
	418	<!--#include virtual="footer.html"-->
112c85fd	419	</body>
112c85fd	420	</html>