README for CCCC versions 3.2.x
==============================
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This is a maintenance update of the last (sourceforge) release of the program
CCCC (C and C++ Code Counter). This software performs analysis and reports
metrics on source code written in C, C++ and Java. The languages Ada83 and
Ada95, which were supported in previous versions are presently not supported
(stay tuned for updates). The original source is still on sourceforge; the
new site for CCCC development is: https://github.com/sarnold/cccc and for
current documentation see: http://sarnold.github.io/cccc/
* [Github Action](https://github.com/marketplace/actions/cccc-action) - Now available as a github action!
* [Quick Install](https://github.com/sarnold/cccc/blob/master/README_install.rst) - Quick start install instructions
* [User Guide](http://sarnold.github.io/cccc/CCCC_User_Guide.html) - User guide (updated)
* [Release Notes](https://github.com/sarnold/cccc/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md) - Autogenerated changelog for github releases (with a little SVN history for context)
* [Software API docs](http://sarnold.github.io/cccc/api/html/index.html) - Software API documentation with design diagrams, etc
* [Complexity Metrics](http://sarnold.github.io/cccc/metrics/cccc.html) - Source code metrics for a source code metrics tool... ;)
CCCC is a command line tool, originally implemented for Linux and other
POSIX-style platforms, but also buildable on the Win32 platform. Files
to be analyzed are listed (typically on the command line, although support
does exist for the list of files to be read from standard input. The
program analyzes the files and generates a one or more reports in HTML
or XML format on the content.
This distribution is intended to be a single package containing everything
which is required to compile and install CCCC on either a POSIX or Win32
platform. Whereas previous distributions contained only a single directory,
containing the source code of CCCC, this distribution is divided into a number
of subdirectories, with the following contents:
* A full distribution of the Purdue Compiler Construction Toolset (PCCTS) by
Terence Parr and others, now maintained by Tom Moog of Polhode Inc.
PCCTS is required to compile CCCC: in the past the distribution has relied
on the existence of a PCCTS package on the compilation platform, while this
distribution chooses to include it as part of CCCC's own package.
* The source of a new version of CCCC, which I hope will turn out to be more
efficient, accurate and useful than previous versions, although it is very
similar in spirit and interface.
* The source of an accessory program called CcccDevStudioAddIn.dll which
provides integration between the command line CCCC program and the
Microsoft Visual Studio IDE (version 5.0 or 6.0).
* A directory of minimal test cases for the command line CCCC tool.
* Miscellaneous batch files, makefiles and Microsoft Visual Studio workspace
and project files to support building, testing and installing the software
under POSIX and Win32.
Current versions should be installed via ebuild or built using the makefile,
however, in earlier versions (3.pre-*) the recommended way of building the
software was by using the BAT and SH scripts in the top directory of the
distribution as appropriate for your platform. On Win32, the script
build_w32vc.bat builds the software with Microsoft Visual C++ version
5 or 6 (locations within the script may need to be modified according
to which you have and whether it is installed at the default position
in the filesystem). On Linux and similar platforms the shell script
build_posixgcc.sh should still work.
As of the last upstream release (ver 3.1.4) the reference build tool for the
Win32 platform is the freely distributed Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003.
As this toolkit does not contain a 'make' style program the script
build_w32vct2003.bat has been written which automates all parts of the build.
If you wish to try the Visual Studio integration, there are some additional
steps to perform. Within Visual Studio, select menu option "Tools/Customize",
then click on the "Macros and AddIns" tab. Within this control, click on the
"Browse" button, change the file type from "*.dsm" to "*.dll", browse to the
directory C:\Program Files\CCCC, and select the CcccDevStudioAddIn.dll file
before pressing "OK". This should cause Visual Studio to load the add-in,
and a tool bar should appear with four different icons containing the text
"C4" and six white icons. The fourth of the "C4" icons has a device like
a steering wheel on it and is used to configure the add-in. Press this
icon and a dialog box should appear containing 8 strings, of which the
first should read "C:\Program Files\CCCC\CCCC.EXE" and the next should
contain some path to Internet Explorer (IEXPLORE.EXE). Verify that the
path to IE is valid (or substitute a path to Netscape, Mozilla, Opera or
any other HTML browser according to your tastes).
The add-in can now be used to run CCCC on either the current file (the "C4"
icon with a "f" subscript), all files in the current active project ("C4"
with a "p" subscript), or all files in any project in the current workspace
("C4" with a "w" subscript). The add-in can also have up to 6 other commands
set in the configuration dialog defined above, which will be bound to
the six blank icons on the toolbar. Each command will run in character
mode and standard output from each should be captured and redirected to
the "Macros" tab in the Visual Studio Output window. This may be useful
for programs which generate messages in the same format as the Visual
Studio compiler error messages or Find in Files, as conformance to this
format allows Visual Studio to implement the convenient "jump to source
line" behaviour. I have on my list of issues for CCCC to convert the
parser syntax error messages to this format, but it hasn't happened yet.
The add-in is experimental at this stage. I am aware of some issues
with projects in locations with spaces in the path, and I have also found
that the logic I am using to deduce the home directories of .dsp and .dsw
files is not always correct.
The add-in requires use of MFC libraries which are not provided as a part
of Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003, hence it is not built by the
build_w32vct2003.bat script, however the add-in should still be buildable
using Visual C++ or Visual Studio 5.0 or 6.0 (and is any case
useless to developers who don't have and IDE of this kind).
As well as the addin, the current version includes a directory which contains
a script to build a wizard-style installer for the program under Win32.
The binary release provides Windows start menu access to a DOS prompt
set up with an environment to enable CCCC to be run easily, and also
provides a shortcut to the HTML documentation. The installer can be
built from the supplied scripts using the splendid free Inno Setup
and Extensions packages by Martijn Laan (Inno Setup) and Jordan
Russell (extensions), available from http://www.jrsoftware.org.
Previous versions of CCCC have been released like PCCTS into the public
domain with no restrictions, other than the pious hope that should anyone
base a derivative work on it I will be given due credit. The current version
is released under the GNU Public License (including the bundled PCCTS source).
The upcoming 3.1.5 release will be a maintenance release to clean up the build and
makefile config (enabling parallel make) and fix a build error with recent gcc.
The pccts build target "mini" builds only the tools required to build cccc,
while the make target "pccts" builds the complete toolset, and "all" will build
cccc and run the tests ("metrics" and "docs" targets should be obvious).
SLA: Among other things, I'm grateful that Tim chose such a cool thesis, and
also produced some useful open source code that rarely seems to exist outside
of (expensive) commercial engineering tools. It has a simple CLI and other
support like Jenkins plugins. Use it to find out your own complexity metrics.
You might be surprised...
The above updates by Stephen L Arnold.
Notes from the original author
==============================
CCCC was originally developed as a proof-of-concept tool for some ideas
relating to software metrics which I was investigating as an academic
research project. I have now completed the project and been awarded
my PhD.
With this release, I am choosing to declare the project in a dormant
state. I have no plans to do further releases, either to add new features
or to correct existing defects. I am happy to provide advice to users of
CCCC via email, and I encourage all users to exercise the rights granted
them under the GPL to tinker with the code if this helps the software
to meet their needs better.
I am grateful to a number of people for assistance on this project, including
Terence Parr and his co-workers, and Tom Moog for the development and ongoing
maintenance of the excellent PCCTS tool; my academic supervisor, Dr Thomas
O'Neill; a number of developers who have contributed source patches; and
many people who have mailed me with constructive suggestions or merely to
confirm that they were using the tool. Feedback on the value or otherwise
of CCCC will always be welcome.
Tim Littlefair (tim_littlefair _At_ hotmail.com) updated January 2005
This and past distributions of CCCC and related tools should be
available for the forseeable future from https://github.com/sarnold/cccc
as well as the original home at http://cccc.sourceforge.net
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