Our Articles

  • A Collection of Examples of 64-bit Errors in Real Programs

    29.06.2010
    This article is the most complete collection of examples of 64-bit errors in the C and C++ languages. The article is intended for Windows-application developers who use Visual C++, however, it will be useful for other programmers as well. Read more

  • Static code analysis and the new language standard C++0x

    01.04.2010
    The article discusses the new capabilities of C++ language described in the standard C++0x and supported in Visual Studio 2010. By the example of PVS-Studio we will see how the changes in the language influence static code analysis tools. Read more

  • Comparing capabilities of PVS-Studio and Visual Studio 2010 in detecting defects in 64-bit programs

    06.07.2010
    In the article, we will compare three mechanisms of code analysis from the viewpoint of detecting 64-bit errors: the Visual C++ 2010 compiler, the Code Analysis for C/C++ component included into Visual Studio 2010 and Viva64 analyzer included into PVS-Studio 3.60. I will show both the capabilities of detecting defects in 64-bit projects and preliminary diagnosis of 64-bit errors in the 32-bit code of projects. Read more

  • 32 OpenMP Traps For C++ Developers

    20.11.2009
    Since multi-core systems are spreading fast, the problem of parallel programming becomes more and more urgent. However, even the majority of experienced developers are new to this sphere. The existing compilers and code analyzers allow finding some bugs, which appear during parallel code development. However, many errors are not diagnosed. The article contains description of a number of errors, which lead to incorrect behavior of parallel programs created with OpenMP. Read more

  • Parallel Lint

    08.06.2009
    The article describes a new direction in development of static code analyzers - verification of parallel programs. The article reviews several static analyzers which can claim to be called "Parallel Lint". Read more

  • 64 bits

    17.05.2010
    The article reveals the meaning of the term "64 bits". It briefly discusses the history of 64-bit system development, describes the most popular 64-bit processors of the Intel 64 architecture and the 64-bit Windows operating system. Read more

  • The essence of the VivaCore code analysis library

    09.01.2008
    The article tells developers about VivaCore library, preconditions of its creation, its possibilities, structure and scope of use. This article was written simultaneously with the development of VivaCore library and that's why some of the details of the final realization may differ from the features described here. But this won't prevent the developers from getting acquainted with the general work principles of the library, mechanisms of analysis and processing of C and C++ source code. Read more

  • OpenMP

    20.11.2009
    The article briefly describes the OpenMP technology. Read more

  • About size_t and ptrdiff_t

    25.09.2009
    The article will help the readers understand what size_t and ptrdiff_t types are, what they are used for and when they must be used. The article will be interesting for those developers who begin creation of 64-bit applications where use of size_t and ptrdiff_t types provides high performance, possibility to operate large data sizes and portability between different platforms. Read more

  • AMD64 (EM64T) architecture

    02.10.2008
    The article briefly describes AMD64 architecture by AMD Company and its implementation EM64T by Intel Company. The architecture's peculiarities, advantages and disadvantages are described. Read more

  • 64 bits, Wp64, Visual Studio 2008, Viva64 and all the rest

    15.04.2008
    The purpose of this article is to answer some questions related to safe port of C/C++ code on 64-bit systems. The article is written as an answer to the topic often discussed on forums and related to the use of /Wp64 key and Viva64 tool. Read more

  • C++Builder, 64-bit software build and Viva64 renaissance

    01.02.2013
    After a long wait C++Builder XE3 Update 1 has finally acquired the capability of building 64-bit applications. It means that developers using this tool will soon face the yet unfamiliar world of 64-bit errors. Read more

  • How to complement TDD with static analysis

    12.12.2012
    TDD is one of the most popular software development techniques. I like this technology in general, and we employ it to some extent. The main thing is not to run to extremes when using it. One shouldn't fully rely on it alone forgetting other methods of software quality enhancement. In this article, I will show you how the static code analysis methodology can be used by programmers using TDD to additionally secure themselves against errors. Read more

  • 100 bugs in Open Source C/C++ projects

    16.03.2012
    This article demonstrates capabilities of the static code analysis methodology. The readers are offered to study the samples of one hundred errors found in open-source projects in C/C++. All the errors have been found with the PVS-Studio static code analyzer. Read more

  • How to make fewer errors at the stage of code writing. Part N4

    14.12.2011
    This is the fourth post in which I want to share with you some useful observations on error patterns and the ways of fighting them. This time I will touch upon the subject of handling rare and emergency conditions in programs. While examining a number of applications, I came to a conclusion that the error handling code is one of the most unreliable parts in C/C++ programs' sources. What are the consequences of such defects? An application must generate the message "file X is not found" but instead it crashes and forces the user to make guesses about what he/she is doing wrong. A program handling a data base produces an incomprehensible message instead of telling the user that there is just a field filled in incorrectly. Let's try to fight against this type of errors that haunt our users. Read more

  • PVS-Studio advertisement - static analysis of C/C++ code

    25.10.2011
    This document advertises the PVS-Studio static analyzer. It describes how using PVS-Studio reduces the number of errors in code of C/C++/C++11 projects and costs on code testing, debugging and maintenance. A lot of examples of errors are cited found by the analyzer in various Open-Source projects. The document describes PVS-Studio at the time of version 4.38 on October 12-th, 2011, and therefore does not describe the capabilities of the tool in the next versions. To learn about new capabilities, visit the product's site http://www.viva64.com or search for an updated version of this article. Read more

  • PVS-Studio: analyzing ReactOS's code

    01.09.2011
    Having checked ReactOS's code I managed to fulfill three of my wishes at once. Firstly, I had wanted for a long time to write an article on a common project. It's not interesting to check the source code of projects like Chromium: its quality is too high and a lot of resources are spent to maintain it, which are unavailable to common projects. Secondly, it's a good example to demonstrate the necessity of static analysis in a large project, especially when it is developed by a diverse and distributed team. Thirdly, I've got a confirmation that PVS-Studio is becoming even better and more useful. Read more

  • How to make fewer errors at the stage of code writing. Part N3

    07.07.2011
    This is the third article where I will tell you about a couple of new programming methods that can help you make your code simpler and safer. You may read the previous two posts here [1] and here [2]. This time we will take samples from the Qt project. Read more

  • How we test the code analyzer

    05.07.2011
    The article describes the testing technologies used when developing PVS-Studio static code analyzer. The developers of the tool for programmers talk about the principles of testing their own program product which can be interesting for the developers of similar packages for processing text data or source code. Read more

  • PVS-Studio vs Chromium

    23.05.2011
    Good has won this time. To be more exact, source codes of the Chromium project have won. Chromium is one of the best projects we have checked with PVS-Studio. Read more

  • Comparing the general static analysis in Visual Studio 2010 and PVS-Studio by examples of errors detected in five open source projects

    20.04.2011
    The article demonstrates errors detected with the static code analyzer integrated into Visual Studio 2010. The research was performed on five open source projects. The same projects were also checked with PVS-Studio. Results of comparing these two tools are presented at the end of the article. Read more