Using C++ Build Systems for static and dynamic analysis

05 Oct 2023

Static and dynamic analysis tools are essential for identifying and preventing software bugs and vulnerabilities in C++ code. While these tools can be run independently, integrating them into your build system can streamline the analysis process and catch issues early on. In this blog post, we will explore how to use C++ build systems to incorporate static and dynamic analysis for optimal code quality and security.

Introduction
Benefits of Build System Integration
Using Static Analysis Tools
- Example: Integrating Clang Static Analyzer with CMake
Using Dynamic Analysis Tools
- Example: Integrating AddressSanitizer with Meson
Conclusion
References

Introduction

C++ build systems, such as CMake, Meson, and Bazel, provide a way to automate and manage the build process of C++ projects. They define the compilation steps, dependencies, and configuration options necessary to build your code. By leveraging these build systems, you can integrate static and dynamic analysis tools at different stages of the build process.

Benefits of Build System Integration

Integrating static and dynamic analysis tools into your build system offers several benefits, including:

Automated analysis: By integrating the analysis tools into the build system, you can run them automatically during the build process, avoiding the need for manual invocations.
Early bug detection: The build system can be configured to run static analysis tools before the compilation step, enabling early bug detection and reducing development time.
Continuous integration support: Build systems often integrate with continuous integration (CI) tools, allowing you to perform analysis as part of your CI pipeline. This ensures that every code change is automatically analyzed for potential issues.
Consistent analysis configuration: With build system integration, you can define the analysis configuration once and apply it to all developers working on the project. This ensures consistency across multiple development environments.

Using Static Analysis Tools

Static analysis tools analyze the source code without executing it and perform checks for issues such as code complexity, memory leaks, and potential vulnerabilities. Popular C++ static analysis tools include Clang Static Analyzer, Cppcheck, and PVS-Studio.

To integrate static analysis into your build system, follow these general steps:

Add the static analysis tool executable or wrapper script to your project directory or system path.
Modify your build system configuration file (e.g., CMakeLists.txt for CMake or meson.build for Meson) to include a custom target or rule to run the static analysis tool.
Define the source files or directories to analyze using the static analysis tool.

Let’s look at an example of integrating Clang Static Analyzer with CMake.

Example: Integrating Clang Static Analyzer with CMake

# CMakeLists.txt

# Add a custom target to run Clang Static Analyzer
add_custom_target(static_analysis
    COMMAND scan-build cmake --build .    # Run Clang Static Analyzer before the actual build
    WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
    COMMENT "Running Clang Static Analyzer"
)

# Specify the source files or directories to analyze
set(source_files
    src/main.cpp
    src/foobar.cpp
)

# Add the source files to the static analysis target
add_dependencies(static_analysis ${source_files})

In the above example, we add a custom target named static_analysis, which runs Clang Static Analyzer before the actual build process. We also specify the source files that need to be analyzed using the source_files variable and add them as dependencies to the static_analysis target.

Using Dynamic Analysis Tools

Dynamic analysis tools, such as AddressSanitizer, Valgrind, and Intel Inspector, detect runtime issues like memory errors, data races, and undefined behavior. These tools require the code to be executed and monitored during runtime.

To integrate dynamic analysis tools into your build system:

Enable the required compiler flags or options to enable dynamic analysis instrumentation.
Modify your build system configuration file to include the dynamic analysis tool.
Build and run the project using the modified build system configuration.

Let’s take an example of integrating AddressSanitizer with Meson.

Example: Integrating AddressSanitizer with Meson

# meson.build

project('my_project', 'cpp')

cc = meson.get_compiler('cpp')

executable('my_project', 'src/main.cpp',
    dependencies: [],
    c_args: cc.get_supported_sanitizers_args(['address']),   # Enable AddressSanitizer
    link_args: cc.get_supported_sanitizers_link_args(['address']),
)

In the above example, we use the cc.get_supported_sanitizers_args() and cc.get_supported_sanitizers_link_args() functions to enable AddressSanitizer for our project. This ensures that the generated executable is instrumented for dynamic analysis using AddressSanitizer.

Conclusion

Integrating static and dynamic analysis into your C++ build system is a powerful way to improve code quality and eradicate potential bugs early in the development process. By leveraging tools like Clang Static Analyzer and AddressSanitizer, you can catch common programming errors and security vulnerabilities before they make their way into production. Incorporating these analysis techniques into your build system ensures that the analysis is performed consistently across all developers and helps establish a robust codebase.

Remember to regularly update your build system configurations as new versions of these analysis tools are released, as they often bring improvements and bug fixes.

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