linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v3 1/2] Documentation: dev-tools: Add a section for static analysis tools

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Message-ID: <YkWaL26K7UjKB0sa@marsc.168.1.7>
Date:   Thu, 31 Mar 2022 09:10:23 -0300
From:   Marcelo Schmitt <marcelo.schmitt1@...il.com>
To:     Dongliang Mu <mudongliangabcd@...il.com>
Cc:     Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>,
        Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab+huawei@...nel.org>,
        dlatypov@...gle.com, davidgow@...gle.com,
        linux-doc@...r.kernel.org, linux-sparse@...r.kernel.org,
        cocci@...ia.fr, smatch@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-kernel <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        skhan@...uxfoundation.org,
        Dan Carpenter <dan.carpenter@...cle.com>, julia.lawall@...ia.fr
Subject: Re: [PATCH v3 1/2] Documentation: dev-tools: Add a section for
 static analysis tools

Hi Dongliang,

On 03/31, Dongliang Mu wrote:
> On Thu, Mar 31, 2022 at 12:07 PM Marcelo Schmitt
> <marcelo.schmitt1@...il.com> wrote:
> >
> > Complement the Kernel Testing Guide documentation page by adding a
> > section about static analysis tools.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Marcelo Schmitt <marcelo.schmitt1@...il.com>
> > Acked-by: Daniel Latypov <dlatypov@...gle.com>
> > Acked-by: Dan Carpenter <dan.carpenter@...cle.com>
> > Acked-by: Julia Lawall <julia.lawall@...ia.fr>
> > Reviewed-by: David Gow <davidgow@...gle.com>
> > Reviewed-by: Shuah Khan <skhan@...uxfoundation.org>
> > ---
> > Change log v2 -> v3:
> > - Added Julia's acknowledgment tag
> >
> > Change log v1 -> v2:
> > - Brought generic tool characteristics to the intro paragraph
> > - Made explicit that these tools run at compile time
> > - Added a note of caution about false positives
> > - Updated Coccinelle info to make it sound better and be more skimmable
> >
> >  Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst | 31 ++++++++++++++++++++
> >  1 file changed, 31 insertions(+)
> >
> > diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst
> > index 65feb81edb14..b5e02dd3fd94 100644
> > --- a/Documentation/dev-tools/testing-overview.rst
> > +++ 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.
> 
> Hi Marcelo,
> 
> Should we include static analysis tools based on LLVM? For example,
> Clang static analysis.

I think that would be a good addition. I haven't checked out Clang tools
though, so it would take me a bit more time to write something about that.

> 
> > --
> > 2.35.1
> >