CheckStyleExplanation

CheckStyle is a plugin that performs source code style checking. Style checking involves statically analyzing both documentation and source code against simple, syntactic rules. At this time CheckStyle does not check JML annotations. Thus, beyond providing example coding styles codified for checking with this plugin, no special configuration of the CheckStyle plugin has taken place.

A major part of the Mobius process is ensuring that source code is of a certain quality, measured in terms of the number of errors and warnings produced by several static checkers working in tandem. The first of these checkers is CheckStyle.

The PVE comes with several example coding styles: a basic style that promotes readable code, a moderate style developed by Mobius partner Warsaw University that focuses on dependable code, and a rigorous style developed by Mobius partner University College Dublin that focuses on verifiable code. Additionally, all non-basic'' styles inherit from the ''basic style, thus all checks in the basic style are also contained in the moderate'' and ''rigorous styles.

Style checkers work hand-in-hand with code generators. In Eclipse, there are three basic kinds of code generators: code templates and skeletons, the results of refactoring, and writing new code "by-hand" while using Eclipse's built-in code formatter.

Consequently, each of these mechanisms for generating code must be "tuned" to match the expected structures of the tool that checks code. As such, the PVE comes with appropriate code templates and a code formatting specifications to match each coding style. Refactoring need not be "tuned" as refactored code is automatically styled according to the active code formatting style.

In summary, the PVE assists developers in writing clear, readable, maintainable documentation and program code by both generating code to a particular per-project style and checking that code conforms to said style.

The next level of rigor in static checking uses not just syntactic'' checks, but some lightweight ''semantic checks as well. The two main plugins used in the PVE for such are FindBugs and PMD.

Version: 1 Time: Fri Mar 28 12:02:55 2008 Author: dcochran (dcochran) IP: 193.1.132.32