aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/lib/dialyzer/doc
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorxsipewe <par.wennstad@combitech.se>2016-09-21 12:50:46 +0200
committerHans Bolinder <hasse@erlang.org>2016-10-11 10:30:58 +0200
commit9f1f9179fb02fd2381e01c7960c082182176fabe (patch)
treec0997caf9ec6c356eea80d91bad998a4b5e6434b /lib/dialyzer/doc
parentae2dc9839aaefa6c50da75917bb82f7a1545d3ad (diff)
downloadotp-9f1f9179fb02fd2381e01c7960c082182176fabe.tar.gz
otp-9f1f9179fb02fd2381e01c7960c082182176fabe.tar.bz2
otp-9f1f9179fb02fd2381e01c7960c082182176fabe.zip
Update Dialyzer documentation
Language cleaned up by the technical writer xsipewe from Combitech. Proofreading and corrections by Hans Bolinder.
Diffstat (limited to 'lib/dialyzer/doc')
-rw-r--r--lib/dialyzer/doc/src/book.xml2
-rw-r--r--lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer.xml828
-rw-r--r--lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer_chapter.xml303
-rw-r--r--lib/dialyzer/doc/src/part.xml3
-rw-r--r--lib/dialyzer/doc/src/ref_man.xml3
5 files changed, 643 insertions, 496 deletions
diff --git a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/book.xml b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/book.xml
index aecc0e5bfa..46df8b81b8 100644
--- a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/book.xml
+++ b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/book.xml
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
<title>Dialyzer</title>
<prepared></prepared>
<docno></docno>
- <date></date>
+ <date>2016-09-19</date>
<rev></rev>
<file>book.xml</file>
</header>
diff --git a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer.xml b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer.xml
index 619db125b1..553bfef41b 100644
--- a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer.xml
+++ b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer.xml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
<erlref>
<header>
<copyright>
- <year>2006</year><year>2015</year>
+ <year>2006</year><year>2016</year>
<holder>Ericsson AB. All Rights Reserved.</holder>
</copyright>
<legalnotice>
@@ -25,341 +25,477 @@
<title>dialyzer</title>
<prepared></prepared>
<docno></docno>
- <date></date>
+ <date>2016-09-20</date>
<rev></rev>
+ <file>dialyzer.xml</file>
</header>
<module>dialyzer</module>
- <modulesummary>The Dialyzer, a DIscrepancy AnalYZer for ERlang programs</modulesummary>
+ <modulesummary>Dialyzer, a DIscrepancy AnaLYZer for ERlang programs.
+ </modulesummary>
<description>
- <p>The Dialyzer is a static analysis tool that identifies software
- discrepancies such as definite type errors, code which has become
- dead or unreachable due to some programming error, unnecessary
- tests, etc. in single Erlang modules or entire (sets of)
- applications. Dialyzer starts its analysis from either
- debug-compiled BEAM bytecode or from Erlang source code. The file
- and line number of a discrepancy is reported along with an
- indication of what the discrepancy is about. Dialyzer bases its
- analysis on the concept of success typings which allows for sound
- warnings (no false positives).</p>
- <p>Read more about Dialyzer and about how to use it from the GUI
- in <seealso marker="dialyzer_chapter">Dialyzer User's
- Guide</seealso>.</p>
+ <p>Dialyzer is a static analysis tool that identifies software
+ discrepancies, such as definite type errors, code that has become dead
+ or unreachable because of programming error, and unnecessary tests,
+ in single Erlang modules or entire (sets of) applications.</p>
+
+ <p>Dialyzer starts its analysis from either
+ debug-compiled BEAM bytecode or from Erlang source code. The file
+ and line number of a discrepancy is reported along with an
+ indication of what the discrepancy is about. Dialyzer bases its
+ analysis on the concept of success typings, which allows for sound
+ warnings (no false positives).</p>
</description>
<section>
- <title>Using the Dialyzer from the command line</title>
- <p>Dialyzer also has a command line version for automated use. Below is a
- brief description of the list of its options. The same information can
- be obtained by writing</p>
- <code type="none">
- dialyzer --help</code>
- <p>in a shell. Please refer to the GUI description for more details on
- the operation of Dialyzer.</p>
- <p>The exit status of the command line version is:</p>
+ <marker id="command_line"></marker>
+ <title>Using Dialyzer from the Command Line</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer has a command-line version for automated use. This
+ section provides a brief description of the options. The same information
+ can be obtained by writing the following in a shell:</p>
+
<code type="none">
- 0 - No problems were encountered during the analysis and no
- warnings were emitted.
- 1 - Problems were encountered during the analysis.
- 2 - No problems were encountered, but warnings were emitted.</code>
- <p>Usage:</p>
+dialyzer --help</code>
+
+ <p>For more details about the operation of Dialyzer, see section
+ <seealso marker="dialyzer_chapter#dialyzer_gui">
+ Using Dialyzer from the GUI</seealso> in the User's Guide.</p>
+
+ <p><em>Exit status of the command-line version:</em></p>
+
+ <taglist>
+ <tag><c>0</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>No problems were found during the analysis and no warnings were
+ emitted.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>1</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Problems were found during the analysis.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>2</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>No problems were found during the analysis, but warnings were
+ emitted.</p>
+ </item>
+ </taglist>
+
+ <p><em>Usage:</em></p>
+
<code type="none">
- dialyzer [--help] [--version] [--shell] [--quiet] [--verbose]
- [-pa dir]* [--plt plt] [--plts plt*] [-Ddefine]*
- [-I include_dir]* [--output_plt file] [-Wwarn]* [--raw]
- [--src] [--gui] [files_or_dirs] [-r dirs]
- [--apps applications] [-o outfile]
- [--build_plt] [--add_to_plt] [--remove_from_plt]
- [--check_plt] [--no_check_plt] [--plt_info] [--get_warnings]
- [--dump_callgraph file] [--no_native] [--fullpath]
- [--statistics] [--no_native_cache]</code>
- <p>Options:</p>
+dialyzer [--add_to_plt] [--apps applications] [--build_plt]
+ [--check_plt] [-Ddefine]* [-Dname] [--dump_callgraph file]
+ [files_or_dirs] [--fullpath] [--get_warnings] [--gui] [--help]
+ [-I include_dir]* [--no_check_plt] [--no_native]
+ [--no_native_cache] [-o outfile] [--output_plt file] [-pa dir]*
+ [--plt plt] [--plt_info] [--plts plt*] [--quiet] [-r dirs]
+ [--raw] [--remove_from_plt] [--shell] [--src] [--statistics]
+ [--verbose] [--version] [-Wwarn]*</code>
+
+ <note>
+ <p>* denotes that multiple occurrences of the option are possible.</p>
+ </note>
+
+ <p><em>Options:</em></p>
+
<taglist>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[files_or_dirs]]></c> (for backwards compatibility also
- as: <c><![CDATA[-c files_or_dirs]]></c>)</tag>
- <item>Use Dialyzer from the command line to detect defects in the
- specified files or directories containing <c><![CDATA[.erl]]></c> or
- <c><![CDATA[.beam]]></c> files, depending on the type of the
- analysis.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-r dirs]]></c></tag>
- <item>Same as the previous but the specified directories are searched
- recursively for subdirectories containing <c><![CDATA[.erl]]></c> or
- <c><![CDATA[.beam]]></c> files in them, depending on the type of
- analysis.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--apps applications]]></c></tag>
- <item>Option typically used when building or modifying a plt as in:
+ <tag><c>--add_to_plt</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>The PLT is extended to also include the files specified with
+ <c>-c</c> and <c>-r</c>. Use
+ <c>--plt</c> to specify which PLT to start from,
+ and <c>--output_plt</c> to specify where to put the PLT.
+ Notice that the analysis possibly can include files from the PLT if
+ they depend on the new files. This option only works for BEAM
+ files.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--apps applications</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>This option is typically used when building or modifying a PLT as
+ in:</p>
<code type="none">
- dialyzer --build_plt --apps erts kernel stdlib mnesia ...</code>
- to conveniently refer to library applications corresponding to the
- Erlang/OTP installation. However, the option is general and can also
- be used during analysis in order to refer to Erlang/OTP applications.
- In addition, file or directory names can also be included, as in:
+dialyzer --build_plt --apps erts kernel stdlib mnesia ...</code>
+ <p>to refer conveniently to library applications corresponding to the
+ Erlang/OTP installation. However, this option is general and can also
+ be used during analysis to refer to Erlang/OTP applications.
+ File or directory names can also be included, as in:</p>
<code type="none">
- dialyzer --apps inets ssl ./ebin ../other_lib/ebin/my_module.beam</code></item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-o outfile]]></c> (or
- <c><![CDATA[--output outfile]]></c>)</tag>
- <item>When using Dialyzer from the command line, send the analysis
- results to the specified outfile rather than to stdout.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--raw]]></c></tag>
- <item>When using Dialyzer from the command line, output the raw analysis
- results (Erlang terms) instead of the formatted result. The raw format
- is easier to post-process (for instance, to filter warnings or to
- output HTML pages).</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--src]]></c></tag>
- <item>Override the default, which is to analyze BEAM files, and
- analyze starting from Erlang source code instead.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Dname]]></c> (or <c><![CDATA[-Dname=value]]></c>)</tag>
- <item>When analyzing from source, pass the define to Dialyzer. (**)</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-I include_dir]]></c></tag>
- <item>When analyzing from source, pass the <c><![CDATA[include_dir]]></c>
- to Dialyzer. (**)</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-pa dir]]></c></tag>
- <item>Include <c><![CDATA[dir]]></c> in the path for Erlang (useful when
- analyzing files that have <c><![CDATA['-include_lib()']]></c>
- directives).</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--output_plt file]]></c></tag>
- <item>Store the plt at the specified file after building it.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--plt plt]]></c></tag>
- <item>Use the specified plt as the initial plt (if the plt was built
- during setup the files will be checked for consistency).</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--plts plt*]]></c></tag>
- <item>Merge the specified plts to create the initial plt -- requires
- that the plts are disjoint (i.e., do not have any module
- appearing in more than one plt).
- The plts are created in the usual way:
+dialyzer --apps inets ssl ./ebin ../other_lib/ebin/my_module.beam</code>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--build_plt</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>The analysis starts from an empty PLT and creates a new one from
+ the files specified with <c>-c</c> and
+ <c>-r</c>. This option only works for BEAM files.
+ To override the default PLT location, use
+ <c>--plt</c> or <c>--output_plt</c>.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--check_plt</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Check the PLT for consistency and rebuild it if it is not
+ up-to-date.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Dname</c> (or <c>-Dname=value</c>)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>When analyzing from source, pass the define to Dialyzer.
+ (**)</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--dump_callgraph file</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Dump the call graph into the specified file whose format is
+ determined by the filename extension. Supported extensions are:
+ <c>raw</c>, <c>dot</c>, and <c>ps</c>. If something else is used as
+ filename extension, default format <c>.raw</c> is used.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>files_or_dirs</c> (for backward compatibility also
+ as <c>-c files_or_dirs</c>)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Use Dialyzer from the command line to detect defects in the
+ specified files or directories containing <c>.erl</c> or
+ <c>.beam</c> files, depending on the type of the
+ analysis.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--fullpath</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Display the full path names of files for which warnings are
+ emitted.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--get_warnings</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Make Dialyzer emit warnings even when manipulating the PLT.
+ Warnings are only emitted for files that are analyzed.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--gui</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Use the GUI.</p></item>
+ <tag><c>--help</c> (or <c>-h</c>)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Print this message and exit.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-I include_dir</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>When analyzing from source, pass the <c>include_dir</c>
+ to Dialyzer. (**)</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--no_check_plt</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Skip the PLT check when running Dialyzer. This is useful when
+ working with installed PLTs that never change.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--no_native</c> (or <c>-nn</c>)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Bypass the native code compilation of some key files that
+ Dialyzer heuristically performs when dialyzing many files.
+ This avoids the compilation time, but can result in (much) longer
+ analysis time.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--no_native_cache</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>By default, Dialyzer caches the results of native compilation
+ in directory <c>$XDG_CACHE_HOME/erlang/dialyzer_hipe_cache</c>.
+ <c>XDG_CACHE_HOME</c> defaults to <c>$HOME/.cache</c>.
+ Use this option to disable caching.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-o outfile</c> (or
+ <c>--output outfile</c>)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>When using Dialyzer from the command line, send the analysis
+ results to the specified outfile rather than to <c>stdout</c>.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--output_plt file</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Store the PLT at the specified file after building it.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-pa dir</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Include <c>dir</c> in the path for Erlang. This is useful
+ when analyzing files that have <c>-include_lib()</c>
+ directives.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--plt plt</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Use the specified PLT as the initial PLT. If the PLT was built
+ during setup, the files are checked for consistency.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--plt_info</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Make Dialyzer print information about the PLT and then quit.
+ The PLT can be specified with <c>--plt(s)</c>.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--plts plt*</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Merge the specified PLTs to create the initial PLT. This requires
+ that the PLTs are disjoint (that is, do not have any module
+ appearing in more than one PLT).
+ The PLTs are created in the usual way:</p>
<code type="none">
- dialyzer --build_plt --output_plt plt_1 files_to_include
- ...
- dialyzer --build_plt --output_plt plt_n files_to_include</code>
- and then can be used in either of the following ways:
+dialyzer --build_plt --output_plt plt_1 files_to_include
+...
+dialyzer --build_plt --output_plt plt_n files_to_include</code>
+ <p>They can then be used in either of the following ways:</p>
<code type="none">
- dialyzer files_to_analyze --plts plt_1 ... plt_n</code>
- or:
+dialyzer files_to_analyze --plts plt_1 ... plt_n</code>
+ <p>or</p>
<code type="none">
- dialyzer --plts plt_1 ... plt_n -- files_to_analyze</code>
- (Note the -- delimiter in the second case)</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wwarn]]></c></tag>
- <item>A family of options which selectively turn on/off warnings
- (for help on the names of warnings use
- <c><![CDATA[dialyzer -Whelp]]></c>).
- Note that the options can also be given in the file with a
- <c>-dialyzer()</c> attribute. See <seealso
- marker="#suppression">Requesting or Suppressing Warnings in
- Source Files</seealso> below for details.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--shell]]></c></tag>
- <item>Do not disable the Erlang shell while running the GUI.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--version]]></c> (or <c><![CDATA[-v]]></c>)</tag>
- <item>Print the Dialyzer version and some more information and
- exit.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--help]]></c> (or <c><![CDATA[-h]]></c>)</tag>
- <item>Print this message and exit.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--quiet]]></c> (or <c><![CDATA[-q]]></c>)</tag>
- <item>Make Dialyzer a bit more quiet.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--verbose]]></c></tag>
- <item>Make Dialyzer a bit more verbose.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--statistics]]></c></tag>
- <item>Prints information about the progress of execution (analysis phases,
- time spent in each and size of the relative input).</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--build_plt]]></c></tag>
- <item>The analysis starts from an empty plt and creates a new one from
- the files specified with <c><![CDATA[-c]]></c> and
- <c><![CDATA[-r]]></c>. Only works for beam files. Use
- <c><![CDATA[--plt]]></c> or <c><![CDATA[--output_plt]]></c> to
- override the default plt location.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--add_to_plt]]></c></tag>
- <item>The plt is extended to also include the files specified with
- <c><![CDATA[-c]]></c> and <c><![CDATA[-r]]></c>. Use
- <c><![CDATA[--plt]]></c> to specify which plt to start from,
- and <c><![CDATA[--output_plt]]></c> to specify where to put the plt.
- Note that the analysis might include files from the plt if they depend
- on the new files. This option only works with beam files.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--remove_from_plt]]></c></tag>
- <item>The information from the files specified with
- <c><![CDATA[-c]]></c> and <c><![CDATA[-r]]></c> is removed
- from the plt. Note that this may cause a re-analysis of the remaining
- dependent files.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--check_plt]]></c></tag>
- <item>Check the plt for consistency and rebuild it if it is not
- up-to-date.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--no_check_plt]]></c></tag>
- <item>Skip the plt check when running Dialyzer. Useful when working with
- installed plts that never change.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--plt_info]]></c></tag>
- <item>Make Dialyzer print information about the plt and then quit. The
- plt can be specified with <c><![CDATA[--plt(s)]]></c>.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--get_warnings]]></c></tag>
- <item>Make Dialyzer emit warnings even when manipulating the plt.
- Warnings are only emitted for files that are actually analyzed.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--dump_callgraph file]]></c></tag>
- <item>Dump the call graph into the specified file whose format is
- determined by the file name extension. Supported extensions are: raw,
- dot, and ps. If something else is used as file name extension, default
- format '.raw' will be used.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--no_native]]></c> (or <c><![CDATA[-nn]]></c>)</tag>
- <item>Bypass the native code compilation of some key files that Dialyzer
- heuristically performs when dialyzing many files; this avoids the
- compilation time but it may result in (much) longer analysis
- time.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--no_native_cache]]></c></tag>
- <item>By default, Dialyzer caches the results of native compilation in the
- <c>$XDG_CACHE_HOME/erlang/dialyzer_hipe_cache</c> directory.
- <c>XDG_CACHE_HOME</c> defaults to <c>$HOME/.cache</c>.
- Use this option to disable caching.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--fullpath]]></c></tag>
- <item>Display the full path names of files for which warnings are emitted.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[--gui]]></c></tag>
- <item>Use the GUI.</item>
+dialyzer --plts plt_1 ... plt_n -- files_to_analyze</code>
+ <p>Notice the <c>--</c> delimiter in the second case.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--quiet</c> (or <c>-q</c>)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Make Dialyzer a bit more quiet.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-r dirs</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Same as <c>files_or_dirs</c>, but the specified
+ directories are searched
+ recursively for subdirectories containing <c>.erl</c> or
+ <c>.beam</c> files in them, depending on the type of
+ analysis.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--raw</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>When using Dialyzer from the command line, output the raw
+ analysis results (Erlang terms) instead of the formatted result.
+ The raw format
+ is easier to post-process (for example, to filter warnings or to
+ output HTML pages).</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--remove_from_plt</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>The information from the files specified with
+ <c>-c</c> and <c>-r</c> is removed from
+ the PLT. Notice that this can cause a reanalysis of the remaining
+ dependent files.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--shell</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Do not disable the Erlang shell while running the GUI.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--src</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Override the default, which is to analyze BEAM files, and
+ analyze starting from Erlang source code instead.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--statistics</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Print information about the progress of execution (analysis phases,
+ time spent in each, and size of the relative input).</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--verbose</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Make Dialyzer a bit more verbose.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>--version</c> (or <c>-v</c>)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Print the Dialyzer version and some more information and
+ exit.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wwarn</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>A family of options that selectively turn on/off warnings.
+ (For help on the names of warnings, use
+ <c>dialyzer -Whelp</c>.)
+ Notice that the options can also be specified in the file with a
+ <c>-dialyzer()</c> attribute. For details, see section <seealso
+ marker="#suppression">Requesting or Suppressing Warnings in
+ Source Files</seealso>.</p>
+ </item>
</taglist>
+
<note>
- <p>* denotes that multiple occurrences of these options are possible.</p>
- <p>** options <c><![CDATA[-D]]></c> and <c><![CDATA[-I]]></c> work both from command-line and in the Dialyzer GUI;
- the syntax of defines and includes is the same as that used by <c><![CDATA[erlc]]></c>.</p>
+ <p>** options <c>-D</c> and <c>-I</c> work both
+ from the command line and in the Dialyzer GUI; the syntax of
+ defines and includes is the same as that used by
+ <seealso marker="erts:erlc">erlc(1)</seealso>.</p>
</note>
- <p>Warning options:</p>
+
+ <p><em>Warning options:</em></p>
+
<taglist>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_return]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings for functions that will never return a
- value.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_unused]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings for unused functions.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_improper_lists]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings for construction of improper lists.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_fun_app]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings for fun applications that will fail.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_match]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings for patterns that are unused or cannot
- match.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_opaque]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings for violations of opaqueness of data types.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_fail_call]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings for failing calls.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_contracts]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings about invalid contracts.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_behaviours]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings about behaviour callbacks which drift from the
- published recommended interfaces.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_missing_calls]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings about calls to missing functions.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wno_undefined_callbacks]]></c></tag>
- <item>Suppress warnings about behaviours that have no
- <c>-callback</c> attributes for their callbacks.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wunmatched_returns]]></c>***</tag>
- <item>Include warnings for function calls which ignore a structured return
- value or do not match against one of many possible return
- value(s).</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Werror_handling]]></c>***</tag>
- <item>Include warnings for functions that only return by means of an
- exception.</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wrace_conditions]]></c>***</tag>
- <item>Include warnings for possible race conditions. Note that the
- analysis that finds data races performs intra-procedural data flow analysis
- and can sometimes explode in time. Enable it at your own risk.
- </item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wunderspecs]]></c>***</tag>
- <item>Warn about underspecified functions
- (the -spec is strictly more allowing than the success typing).</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wunknown]]></c>***</tag>
- <item>Let warnings about unknown functions and types affect the
- exit status of the command line version. The default is to ignore
- warnings about unknown functions and types when setting the exit
- status. When using the Dialyzer from Erlang, warnings about unknown
- functions and types are returned; the default is not to return
- these warnings.</item>
+ <tag><c>-Werror_handling</c> (***)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Include warnings for functions that only return by an exception.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_behaviours</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings about behavior callbacks that drift from the
+ published recommended interfaces.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_contracts</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings about invalid contracts.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_fail_call</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings for failing calls.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_fun_app</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings for fun applications that will fail.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_improper_lists</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings for construction of improper lists.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_match</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings for patterns that are unused or cannot match.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_missing_calls</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings about calls to missing functions.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_opaque</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings for violations of opaqueness of data types.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_return</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings for functions that will never return a value.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_undefined_callbacks</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings about behaviors that have no
+ <c>-callback</c> attributes for their callbacks.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wno_unused</c></tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Suppress warnings for unused functions.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wrace_conditions</c> (***)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Include warnings for possible race conditions. Notice that the
+ analysis that finds data races performs intra-procedural data flow
+ analysis and can sometimes explode in time. Enable it at your own
+ risk.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wunderspecs</c> (***)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Warn about underspecified functions (the specification is strictly
+ more allowing than the success typing).</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wunknown</c> (***)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Let warnings about unknown functions and types affect the
+ exit status of the command-line version. The default is to ignore
+ warnings about unknown functions and types when setting the exit
+ status. When using Dialyzer from Erlang, warnings about unknown
+ functions and types are returned; the default is not to return
+ these warnings.</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wunmatched_returns</c> (***)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Include warnings for function calls that ignore a structured return
+ value or do not match against one of many possible return
+ value(s).</p>
+ </item>
</taglist>
- <p>The following options are also available but their use is not
- recommended: (they are mostly for Dialyzer developers and internal
- debugging)</p>
+
+ <p>The following options are also available, but their use is not
+ recommended (they are mostly for Dialyzer developers and internal
+ debugging):</p>
+
<taglist>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Woverspecs]]></c>***</tag>
- <item>Warn about overspecified functions
- (the -spec is strictly less allowing than the success typing).</item>
- <tag><c><![CDATA[-Wspecdiffs]]></c>***</tag>
- <item>Warn when the -spec is different than the success typing.</item>
+ <tag><c>-Woverspecs</c> (***)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Warn about overspecified functions (the specification is strictly
+ less allowing than the success typing).</p>
+ </item>
+ <tag><c>-Wspecdiffs</c> (***)</tag>
+ <item>
+ <p>Warn when the specification is different than the success typing.</p>
+ </item>
</taglist>
+
<note>
- <p>*** Identifies options that turn on warnings rather than
- turning them off.</p>
+ <p>*** denotes options that turn on warnings rather than
+ turning them off.</p>
</note>
</section>
<section>
- <title>Using the Dialyzer from Erlang</title>
- <p>You can also use Dialyzer directly from Erlang. Both the GUI and the
- command line versions are available. The options are similar to the ones
- given from the command line, so please refer to the sections above for
- a description of these.</p>
+ <title>Using Dialyzer from Erlang</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer can be used directly from Erlang. Both the GUI and the
+ command-line versions are also available. The options are similar to the
+ ones given from the command line, see section
+ <seealso marker="#command_line">
+ Using Dialyzer from the Command Line</seealso>.</p>
</section>
<section>
<marker id="suppression"></marker>
<title>Requesting or Suppressing Warnings in Source Files</title>
- <p>
- The <c>-dialyzer()</c> attribute can be used for turning off
+ <p>Attribute <c>-dialyzer()</c> can be used for turning off
warnings in a module by specifying functions or warning options.
For example, to turn off all warnings for the function
- <c>f/0</c>, include the following line:
- </p>
-<code type="none">
--dialyzer({nowarn_function, f/0}).
-</code>
+ <c>f/0</c>, include the following line:</p>
+
+ <code type="none">
+-dialyzer({nowarn_function, f/0}).</code>
+
<p>To turn off warnings for improper lists, add the following line
- to the source file:
- </p>
-<code type="none">
--dialyzer(no_improper_lists).
-</code>
- <p>The <c>-dialyzer()</c> attribute is allowed after function
- declarations. Lists of warning options or functions are allowed:
- </p>
-<code type="none">
--dialyzer([{nowarn_function, [f/0]}, no_improper_lists]).
-</code>
- <p>
- Warning options can be restricted to functions:
- </p>
-<code type="none">
--dialyzer({no_improper_lists, g/0}).
-</code>
-<code type="none">
--dialyzer({[no_return, no_match], [g/0, h/0]}).
-</code>
- <p>
- For help on the warning options use <c>dialyzer -Whelp</c>. The
- options are also enumerated <seealso
- marker="#gui/1">below</seealso> (<c>WarnOpts</c>).
- </p>
+ to the source file:</p>
+
+ <code type="none">
+-dialyzer(no_improper_lists).</code>
+
+ <p>Attribute <c>-dialyzer()</c> is allowed after function
+ declarations. Lists of warning options or functions are allowed:</p>
+
+ <code type="none">
+-dialyzer([{nowarn_function, [f/0]}, no_improper_lists]).</code>
+
+ <p>Warning options can be restricted to functions:</p>
+
+ <code type="none">
+-dialyzer({no_improper_lists, g/0}).</code>
+
+ <code type="none">
+-dialyzer({[no_return, no_match], [g/0, h/0]}).</code>
+
+ <p>For help on the warning options, use <c>dialyzer -Whelp</c>. The
+ options are also enumerated, see function <seealso marker="#gui/1">
+ <c>gui/1</c></seealso> below (<c>WarnOpts</c>).</p>
+
<note>
- <p>
- The <c>-dialyzer()</c> attribute is not checked by the Erlang
- Compiler, but by the Dialyzer itself.
- </p>
+ <p>Attribute <c>-dialyzer()</c> is not checked by the Erlang
+ compiler, but by Dialyzer itself.</p>
</note>
+
<note>
- <p>
- The warning option <c>-Wrace_conditions</c> has no effect when
- set in source files.
- </p>
+ <p>Warning option <c>-Wrace_conditions</c> has no effect when
+ set in source files.</p>
</note>
- <p>
- The <c>-dialyzer()</c> attribute can also be used for turning on
- warnings. For instance, if a module has been fixed regarding
- unmatched returns, adding the line
- </p>
-<code type="none">
--dialyzer(unmatched_returns).
-</code>
- <p>
- can help in assuring that no new unmatched return warnings are
- introduced.
- </p>
+
+ <p>Attribute <c>-dialyzer()</c> can also be used for turning on
+ warnings. For example, if a module has been fixed regarding
+ unmatched returns, adding the following line can help in assuring
+ that no new unmatched return warnings are introduced:</p>
+
+ <code type="none">
+-dialyzer(unmatched_returns).</code>
</section>
<funcs>
<func>
+ <name>format_warning(Msg) -> string()</name>
+ <fsummary>Get the string version of a warning message.</fsummary>
+ <type>
+ <v>Msg = {Tag, Id, msg()}</v>
+ <d>See <c>run/1</c>.</d>
+ </type>
+ <desc>
+ <p>Get a string from warnings as returned by
+ <seealso marker="#run/1"><c>run/1</c></seealso>.</p>
+ </desc>
+ </func>
+
+ <func>
<name>gui() -> ok | {error, Msg}</name>
<name>gui(OptList) -> ok | {error, Msg}</name>
- <fsummary>Dialyzer GUI version</fsummary>
+ <fsummary>Dialyzer GUI version.</fsummary>
<type>
- <v>OptList -- see below</v>
+ <v>OptList</v>
+ <d>See below.</d>
</type>
<desc>
<p>Dialyzer GUI version.</p>
@@ -368,9 +504,12 @@ OptList :: [Option]
Option :: {files, [Filename :: string()]}
| {files_rec, [DirName :: string()]}
| {defines, [{Macro :: atom(), Value :: term()}]}
- | {from, src_code | byte_code} %% Defaults to byte_code
- | {init_plt, FileName :: string()} %% If changed from default
- | {plts, [FileName :: string()]} %% If changed from default
+ | {from, src_code | byte_code}
+ %% Defaults to byte_code
+ | {init_plt, FileName :: string()}
+ %% If changed from default
+ | {plts, [FileName :: string()]}
+ %% If changed from default
| {include_dirs, [DirName :: string()]}
| {output_file, FileName :: string()}
| {output_plt, FileName :: string()}
@@ -383,76 +522,71 @@ Option :: {files, [Filename :: string()]}
| {warnings, [WarnOpts]}
| {get_warnings, bool()}
-WarnOpts :: no_return
- | no_unused
- | no_improper_lists
+WarnOpts :: error_handling
+ | no_behaviours
+ | no_contracts
+ | no_fail_call
| no_fun_app
+ | no_improper_lists
| no_match
+ | no_missing_calls
| no_opaque
- | no_fail_call
- | no_contracts
- | no_behaviours
+ | no_return
| no_undefined_callbacks
- | unmatched_returns
- | error_handling
+ | no_unused
| race_conditions
- | overspecs
| underspecs
- | specdiffs
- | unknown</code>
+ | unknown
+ | unmatched_returns
+ | overspecs
+ | specdiffs</code>
</desc>
</func>
+
<func>
- <name>run(OptList) -> Warnings</name>
- <fsummary>Dialyzer command line version</fsummary>
- <type>
- <v>OptList -- see gui/0,1</v>
- <v>Warnings -- see below </v>
- </type>
+ <name>plt_info(string()) -> {'ok', [{atom(), any()}]} | {'error', atom()}</name>
+ <fsummary>Return information about the specified PLT.</fsummary>
<desc>
- <p>Dialyzer command line version.</p>
- <code type="none">
-Warnings :: [{Tag, Id, Msg}]
-Tag :: 'warn_behaviour'
- | 'warn_bin_construction'
- | 'warn_callgraph'
- | 'warn_contract_not_equal'
- | 'warn_contract_range'
- | 'warn_contract_subtype'
- | 'warn_contract_supertype'
- | 'warn_contract_syntax'
- | 'warn_contract_types'
- | 'warn_failing_call'
- | 'warn_fun_app'
- | 'warn_matching'
- | 'warn_non_proper_list'
- | 'warn_not_called'
- | 'warn_opaque'
- | 'warn_race_condition'
- | 'warn_return_no_exit'
- | 'warn_return_only_exit'
- | 'warn_umatched_return'
- | 'warn_undefined_callbacks'
- | 'warn_unknown'
-Id = {File :: string(), Line :: integer()}
-Msg = msg() -- Undefined</code>
+ <p>Returns information about the specified PLT.</p>
</desc>
</func>
+
<func>
- <name>format_warning(Msg) -> string()</name>
- <fsummary>Get the string version of a warning message.</fsummary>
+ <name>run(OptList) -> Warnings</name>
+ <fsummary>Dialyzer command-line version.</fsummary>
<type>
- <v>Msg = {Tag, Id, msg()} -- See run/1</v>
+ <v>OptList</v>
+ <d>See <c>gui/0,1</c>.</d>
+ <v>Warnings</v>
+ <d>See below.</d>
</type>
<desc>
- <p>Get a string from warnings as returned by dialyzer:run/1.</p>
- </desc>
- </func>
- <func>
- <name>plt_info(string()) -> {'ok', [{atom(), any()}]} | {'error', atom()}</name>
- <fsummary>Returns information about the specified plt.</fsummary>
- <desc>
- <p>Returns information about the specified plt.</p>
+ <p>Dialyzer command-line version.</p>
+ <code type="none">
+Warnings :: [{Tag, Id, Msg}]
+Tag :: 'warn_behaviour'
+ | 'warn_bin_construction'
+ | 'warn_callgraph'
+ | 'warn_contract_not_equal'
+ | 'warn_contract_range'
+ | 'warn_contract_subtype'
+ | 'warn_contract_supertype'
+ | 'warn_contract_syntax'
+ | 'warn_contract_types'
+ | 'warn_failing_call'
+ | 'warn_fun_app'
+ | 'warn_matching'
+ | 'warn_non_proper_list'
+ | 'warn_not_called'
+ | 'warn_opaque'
+ | 'warn_race_condition'
+ | 'warn_return_no_exit'
+ | 'warn_return_only_exit'
+ | 'warn_umatched_return'
+ | 'warn_undefined_callbacks'
+ | 'warn_unknown'
+Id = {File :: string(), Line :: integer()}
+Msg = msg() -- Undefined</code>
</desc>
</func>
</funcs>
diff --git a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer_chapter.xml b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer_chapter.xml
index c445f2633f..b5acf3732e 100644
--- a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer_chapter.xml
+++ b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/dialyzer_chapter.xml
@@ -25,196 +25,211 @@
<title>Dialyzer</title>
<prepared></prepared>
<docno></docno>
- <date></date>
+ <date>2016-09-19</date>
<rev></rev>
<file>dialyzer_chapter.xml</file>
</header>
<section>
<title>Introduction</title>
- <p><em>Dialyzer</em> is a static analysis tool that identifies software discrepancies
- such as type errors, unreachable code, unnecessary tests, etc in single Erlang modules
- or entire (sets of) applications.</p>
- </section>
-
- <section>
- <title>Using the Dialyzer from the GUI</title>
-
<section>
- <title>Choosing the applications or modules</title>
- <p>In the "File" window you will find a listing of the current directory.
- Click your way to the directories/modules you want to add or type the
- correct path in the entry.</p>
- <p>Mark the directories/modules you want to analyze for discrepancies and
- click "Add". You can either add the <c><![CDATA[.beam]]></c> and <c><![CDATA[.erl]]></c>-files directly, or
- you can add directories that contain these kinds of files. Note that
- you are only allowed to add the type of files that can be analyzed in
- the current mode of operation (see below), and that you cannot mix
- <c><![CDATA[.beam]]></c> and <c><![CDATA[.erl]]></c>-files.</p>
+ <title>Scope</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer is a static analysis tool that identifies software
+ discrepancies, such as definite type errors, code that has become dead
+ or unreachable because of programming error, and unnecessary tests,
+ in single Erlang modules or entire (sets of) applications.</p>
+
+ <p>Dialyzer can be called from the command line, from Erlang,
+ and from a GUI.</p>
</section>
<section>
- <title>The analysis modes</title>
- <p>Dialyzer has two modes of analysis, "Byte Code" or "Source Code".
- These are controlled by the buttons in the top-middle part of the
- main window, under "Analysis Options".</p>
- </section>
-
- <section>
- <title>Controlling the discrepancies reported by the Dialyzer</title>
- <p>Under the "Warnings" pull-down menu, there are buttons that control
- which discrepancies are reported to the user in the "Warnings" window.
- By clicking on these buttons, one can enable/disable a whole class of
- warnings. Information about the classes of warnings can be found on
- the "Warnings" item under the "Help" menu (at the rightmost top corner).</p>
- <p>If modules are compiled with inlining, spurious warnings may be emitted.
- In the "Options" menu you can choose to ignore inline-compiled modules
- when analyzing byte code. When starting from source code this is not a
- problem since the inlining is explicitly turned off by Dialyzer. The
- option causes Dialyzer to suppress all warnings from inline-compiled
- modules, since there is currently no way for Dialyzer to find what
- parts of the code have been produced by inlining. </p>
+ <title>Prerequisites</title>
+ <p>It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the Erlang programming
+ language.</p>
</section>
+ </section>
- <section>
- <title>Running the analysis</title>
- <p>Once you have chosen the modules or directories you want to analyze,
- click the "Run" button to start the analysis. If for some reason you
- want to stop the analysis while it is running, push the "Stop" button.</p>
- <p>The information from the analysis will be displayed in the Log and the
- Warnings windows.</p>
- </section>
+ <section>
+ <marker id="plt"/>
+ <title>The Persistent Lookup Table</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer stores the result of an analysis in a Persistent
+ Lookup Table (PLT). The PLT can then be used as a starting
+ point for later analyses. It is recommended to build a PLT with the
+ Erlang/OTP applications that you are using, but also to include your
+ own applications that you are using frequently.</p>
+
+ <p>The PLT is built using option <c>--build_plt</c> to Dialyzer.
+ The following command builds the recommended minimal PLT for
+ Erlang/OTP:</p>
- <section>
- <title>Include directories and macro definitions</title>
- <p>When analyzing from source you might have to supply Dialyzer with a
- list of include directories and macro definitions (as you can do with
- the <c><![CDATA[erlc]]></c> flags <c><![CDATA[-I]]></c> and <c><![CDATA[-D]]></c>). This can be done either by starting Dialyzer
- with these flags from the command line as in:</p>
- <code type="none">
+ <code type="none">
+dialyzer --build_plt --apps erts kernel stdlib mnesia</code>
- dialyzer -I my_includes -DDEBUG -Dvsn=42 -I one_more_dir
- </code>
- <p>or by adding these explicitly using the "Manage Macro Definitions" or
- "Manage Include Directories" sub-menus in the "Options" menu.</p>
- </section>
+ <p>Dialyzer looks if there is an environment variable called
+ <c>DIALYZER_PLT</c> and places the PLT at this location. If no such
+ variable is set, Dialyzer places the PLT at
+ <c>$HOME/.dialyzer_plt</c>. The placement can also be specified using
+ the options <c>--plt</c> or <c>--output_plt</c>.</p>
- <section>
- <title>Saving the information on the Log and Warnings windows</title>
- <p>In the "File" menu there are options to save the contents of the Log
- and the Warnings window. Just choose the options and enter the file to
- save the contents in.</p>
- <p>There are also buttons to clear the contents of each window.</p>
- </section>
+ <p>Information can be added to an existing PLT using option
+ <c>--add_to_plt</c>. If you also want to include the Erlang compiler in
+ the PLT and place it in a new PLT, then use the following command:</p>
- <section>
- <title>Inspecting the inferred types of the analyzed functions</title>
- <p>Dialyzer stores the information of the analyzed functions in a
- Persistent Lookup Table (PLT). After an analysis you can inspect this
- information. In the PLT menu you can choose to either search the PLT
- or inspect the contents of the whole PLT. The information is presented
- in edoc format.</p>
- </section>
- </section>
+ <code type="none">
+dialyzer --add_to_plt --apps compiler --output_plt my.plt</code>
- <section>
- <title>Using the Dialyzer from the command line</title>
- <p>See <seealso marker="dialyzer">dialyzer(3)</seealso>.</p>
- </section>
+ <p>Then you can add your favorite application my_app to the new
+ PLT:</p>
- <section>
- <title>Using the Dialyzer from Erlang</title>
- <p>See <seealso marker="dialyzer">dialyzer(3)</seealso>.</p>
- </section>
+ <code type="none">
+dialyzer --add_to_plt --plt my.plt -r my_app/ebin</code>
- <section>
- <title>More on the Persistent Lookup Table (PLT)</title>
+ <p>But you realize that it is unnecessary to have the Erlang compiler in this
+ one:</p>
- <p> The persistent lookup table, or PLT, is used to store the
- result of an analysis. The PLT can then be used as a starting
- point for later analyses. It is recommended to build a PLT with
- the otp applications that you are using, but also to include your
- own applications that you are using frequently.</p>
+ <code type="none">
+dialyzer --remove_from_plt --plt my.plt --apps compiler</code>
- <p>The PLT is built using the --build_plt option to dialyzer. The
- following command builds the recommended minimal PLT for OTP.</p>
+ <p>Later, when you have fixed a bug in your application my_app,
+ you want to update the PLT so that it becomes fresh the next time
+ you run Dialyzer. In this case, run the following command:</p>
<code type="none">
+dialyzer --check_plt --plt my.plt</code>
- dialyzer --build_plt -r $ERL_TOP/lib/stdlib/ebin\
- $ERL_TOP/lib/kernel/ebin \
- $ERL_TOP/lib/mnesia/ebin
- </code>
+ <p>Dialyzer then reanalyzes the changed files
+ and the files that depend on these files. Notice that this
+ consistency check is performed automatically the next time you
+ run Dialyzer with this PLT. Option <c>--check_plt</c> is only
+ for doing so without doing any other analysis.</p>
- <p>Dialyzer will look if there is an environment variable called
- $DIALYZER_PLT and place the PLT at this location. If no such
- variable is set, Dialyzer will place the PLT at
- $HOME/.dialyzer_plt. The placement can also be specified using the
- --plt, or --output_plt options.</p>
-
- <p>You can also add information to an existing plt using the
- --add_to_plt option. Suppose you want to also include the compiler
- in the PLT and place it in a new PLT, then give the command</p>
+ <p>To get information about a PLT, use the following option:</p>
<code type="none">
+dialyzer --plt_info</code>
- dialyzer --add_to_plt -r $ERL_TOP/lib/compiler/ebin --output_plt my.plt
- </code>
+ <p>To specify which PLT, use option <c>--plt</c>.</p>
- <p>Then you would like to add your favorite application my_app to
- the new plt.</p>
+ <p>To get the output printed to a file, use option <c>--output_file</c>.</p>
- <code type="none">
+ <p>Notice that when manipulating the PLT, no warnings are
+ emitted. To turn on warnings during (re)analysis of the PLT, use
+ option <c>--get_warnings</c>.</p>
+ </section>
- dialyzer --add_to_plt --plt my.plt -r my_app/ebin
- </code>
+ <section>
+ <title>Using Dialyzer from the Command Line</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer has a command-line version for automated use.
+ See <seealso marker="dialyzer"><c>dialyzer(3)</c></seealso>.</p>
+ </section>
- <p>But you realize that it is unnecessary to have compiler in this one.</p>
+ <section>
+ <title>Using Dialyzer from Erlang</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer can also be used directly from Erlang.
+ See <seealso marker="dialyzer"><c>dialyzer(3)</c></seealso>.</p>
+ </section>
- <code type="none">
+ <section>
+ <marker id="dialyzer_gui"/>
+ <title>Using Dialyzer from the GUI</title>
+ <section>
+ <title>Choosing the Applications or Modules</title>
+ <p>The <em>File</em> window displays a listing of the current directory.
+ Click your way to the directories/modules you want to add or type the
+ correct path in the entry.</p>
- dialyzer --remove_from_plt --plt my.plt -r $ERL_TOP/lib/compiler/ebin
- </code>
+ <p>Mark the directories/modules you want to analyze for discrepancies and
+ click <em>Add</em>. You can either add the <c>.beam</c> and
+ <c>.erl</c> files directly, or add directories that contain
+ these kind of files. Notice that
+ you are only allowed to add the type of files that can be analyzed in
+ the current mode of operation (see below), and that you cannot mix
+ <c>.beam</c> and <c>.erl</c> files.</p>
+ </section>
- <p> Later, when you have fixed a bug in your application my_app,
- you want to update the plt so that it will be fresh the next time
- you run Dialyzer, run the command</p>
+ <section>
+ <title>Analysis Modes</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer has two analysis modes: "Byte Code" and "Source Code".
+ They are controlled by the buttons in the top-middle part of the
+ main window, under <em>Analysis Options</em>.</p>
+ </section>
- <code type="none">
+ <section>
+ <title>Controlling the Discrepancies Reported by Dialyzer</title>
+ <p>Under the <em>Warnings</em> pull-down menu, there are buttons that
+ control which discrepancies are reported to the user in the
+ <em>Warnings</em> window. By clicking these buttons, you can
+ enable/disable a whole class of warnings. Information about the classes
+ of warnings is found on the "Warnings" item under the <em>Help</em>
+ menu (in the rightmost top corner).</p>
+
+ <p>If modules are compiled with inlining, spurious warnings can be
+ emitted. In the <em>Options</em> menu you can choose to ignore
+ inline-compiled modules when analyzing byte code.
+ When starting from source code, this is not a problem because
+ inlining is explicitly turned off by Dialyzer. The option causes
+ Dialyzer to suppress all warnings from inline-compiled
+ modules, as there is currently no way for Dialyzer to find what
+ parts of the code have been produced by inlining.</p>
+ </section>
- dialyzer --check_plt --plt my.plt
- </code>
+ <section>
+ <title>Running the Analysis</title>
+ <p>Once you have chosen the modules or directories you want to analyze,
+ click the <em>Run</em> button to start the analysis. If you for some
+ reason want to stop the analysis while it is running, click the
+ <em>Stop</em> button.</p>
- <p> Dialyzer will then reanalyze the files that have been changed,
- and the files that depend on these files. Note that this
- consistency check will be performed automatically the next time
- you run Dialyzer with this plt. The --check_plt option is merely
- for doing so without doing any other analysis.</p>
+ <p>The information from the analysis is displayed in the <em>Log</em>
+ window and the <em>Warnings</em> window.</p>
+ </section>
- <p> To get some information about a plt use the option</p>
- <code type="none">
+ <section>
+ <title>Include Directories and Macro Definitions</title>
+ <p>When analyzing from source, you might have to supply Dialyzer
+ with a list of include directories and macro definitions (as you can do
+ with the <seealso marker="erts:erlc"><c>erlc</c></seealso> flags
+ <c>-I</c> and <c>-D</c>). This can be done
+ either by starting Dialyzer with these flags from the command
+ line as in:</p>
+
+ <code type="none">
+dialyzer -I my_includes -DDEBUG -Dvsn=42 -I one_more_dir</code>
- dialyzer --plt_info
- </code>
+ <p>or by adding these explicitly using submenu
+ <em>Manage Macro Definitions</em> or
+ <em>Manage Include Directories</em> in the <em>Options</em> menu.</p>
+ </section>
- <p>You can also specify which plt with the --plt option, and get the
- output printed to a file with --output_file</p>
+ <section>
+ <title>Saving the Information on the Log and Warnings Windows</title>
+ <p>The <em>File</em> menu includes options to save the contents of the
+ <em>Log</em> window and the <em>Warnings</em> window. Simply choose the
+ options and enter the file to save the contents in.</p>
- <p>Note that when manipulating the plt, no warnings are
- emitted. To turn on warnings during (re)analysis of the plt, use
- the option --get_warnings.</p>
+ <p>There are also buttons to clear the contents of each window.</p>
+ </section>
+ <section>
+ <title>Inspecting the Inferred Types of the Analyzed Functions</title>
+ <p>Dialyzer stores the information of the analyzed functions in a
+ Persistent Lookup Table (PLT), see section
+ <seealso marker="#plt">The Persistent Lookup Table</seealso>.</p>
+
+ <p>After an analysis, you can inspect this information.
+ In the <em>PLT</em> menu you can choose to either search the PLT
+ or inspect the contents of the whole PLT. The information is presented
+ in <seealso marker="edoc:edoc"><c>EDoc</c></seealso> format.</p>
+ </section>
</section>
<section>
- <title>Feedback and bug reports</title>
- <p>At this point, we very much welcome user feedback (even wish-lists!).
- If you notice something weird, especially if the Dialyzer reports any
- discrepancy that is a false positive, please send an error report
- describing the symptoms and how to reproduce them to:</p>
- <code type="none"><![CDATA[
- tobias.lindahl@it.uu.se, kostis@it.uu.se
- ]]></code>
+ <title>Feedback and Bug Reports</title>
+ <p>We very much welcome user feedback - even wishlists!
+ If you notice anything weird, especially if Dialyzer reports
+ any discrepancy that is a false positive, please send an error report
+ describing the symptoms and how to reproduce them.</p>
</section>
</chapter>
diff --git a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/part.xml b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/part.xml
index 575f77549a..9bfcf21a66 100644
--- a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/part.xml
+++ b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/part.xml
@@ -25,12 +25,11 @@
<title>Dialyzer User's Guide</title>
<prepared></prepared>
<docno></docno>
- <date></date>
+ <date>2016-09-19</date>
<rev></rev>
<file>part.xml</file>
</header>
<description>
- <p><em>Dialyzer</em> is a static analysis tool that identifies software discrepancies such as type errors, unreachable code, unnecessary tests, etc in single Erlang modules or entire (sets of) applications.</p>
</description>
<xi:include href="dialyzer_chapter.xml"/>
</part>
diff --git a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/ref_man.xml b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/ref_man.xml
index 01478cfb40..ddac047f2e 100644
--- a/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/ref_man.xml
+++ b/lib/dialyzer/doc/src/ref_man.xml
@@ -25,11 +25,10 @@
<title>Dialyzer Reference Manual</title>
<prepared></prepared>
<docno></docno>
- <date></date>
+ <date>2016-09-19</date>
<rev></rev>
</header>
<description>
- <p><em>Dialyzer</em> is a static analysis tool that identifies software discrepancies such as type errors, unreachable code, unnecessary tests, etc in single Erlang modules or entire (sets of) applications.</p>
</description>
<xi:include href="dialyzer.xml"/>
</application>