Copyright © 1998-2010 Ecocion®, Inc.

Feature

List PB Code Analyzer (PBCA)

PBCA Feature List

1

PB CODE ANALYZER OVERVIEW

The PB Code Analyzer (PBCA) suite consists of

many useful tools integrated together in a

simple to use, yet powerful interface.

Nowhere else can you find all of these

essential PowerBuilder™ tools bundled

together for such a low price. The entire suite

has been thoroughly tested with code from

PowerBuilder™ versions 4 and above

(including versions 4, 5, 6, 6.5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10.5,

11, 11.1, and 11.5).

FEATURES

Below is the list of features available in PBCA.

We are continuously upgrading and improving

the application, so please contact us if you don’t see what you need.

CODE ANALYZER

The Code Analyzer tool scans your application code against

the developer, corporate, and date standards that you

specify. You may choose to use our default industry-

accepted standards or your own. It then provides a detailed,

easy to read report so you can easily modify your code to

conform to the imposed standards. This is ideal for code

reviews and ensuring consistency among your developers

and applications, allowing for simpler cross-training and

more straightforward maintenance.

The following are examples of the standards that may be set

for each application that you analyze:

LIBRARY ANALYSIS

• Maximum library size

• Maximum number of objects in a library

OBJECT ANALYSIS

• Name prefix (object, event, function)

• Maximum object size

• Maximum number of global, instance, local, and shared variables

• Ancestor checking

• Unnamed window objects

PBCA Feature List

2

• Support for every PowerBuilder™ object

and their properties

• Support for every PowerBuilder™ window

object and their properties

SCRIPT ANALYSIS

• Comment block verification for functions

and events

• Prefix checking for every PowerBuilder™

data type (with multiple prefix support)

• Support for argument, global, instance,

local, and shared variables

• Support for constant variables

• Ability to find unused local variables

• Checking for maximum number of lines for functions and events

DATE ANALYSIS

• DataWindow™ date format verification

• DataWindow™ datetime format verification

• User customizable date keyword search (Some examples are: Day, Date, Month, of_Gregorian, of_Julian, Today, Week,

Year, etc.)

MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES

• Ability to save and load the analysis settings

• Detailed report of all items that violate the analysis parameters

• Extremely fast analysis of objects

CODE ANALYSIS SETTINGS REPORT

The Code Analysis Settings report provides a

detailed list showing the current Code Analyzer

tool settings. This report is used to document

your corporate or development standards and

may be distributed to developers in preparation

of a code review.

PBCA Feature List

3

METRIC REPORTING

With the various metric reports, you can quickly document

your application and find problem areas.

AVAILABLE METRIC REPORTS

• DataWindow™ Columns without Labels - This report lists

the DataWindow™ columns that do not have an

associated label (a label is a text object with the same

name as the column with a '_t' suffix). Many foundation

classes (including the PFC), use this convention to

determine the display name of a column.

• Duplicate Objects - This report lists the selected objects

that exist in more than one library. PowerBuilder™ uses

the object that is found first in the library list, so if you

need to keep more than one copy of an object, this report will help you determine which one is in use.

• Library Object Directory - This report lists the objects in the selected libraries, grouped by library. Additional object

information includes: object type, the date the object was last modified, and object comments.

• Library Object Dispersion - This report lists the number of objects (by object type) for the selected libraries. The object

counts are grouped by library with a summary section for all libraries.

• Object Methods - This report lists the events and functions in the selected objects. The methods are grouped by

library and object.

• Object Variable Dispersion - This report lists the number of global, shared, and instance variables for the selected

objects, grouped by library.

• Script Comment Metrics - This report lists the line count for C style comments (/* */), C++ style comments (//), total

comments, total lines, and percentage of comments verses the total line count for the methods in the selected objects.

The metrics are grouped by library, object, and method.

• Script Metrics by Library - This report lists the line count and percentage of the total line count for the methods in the

selected objects. The metrics are grouped by library.

• Script Metrics by Library/Object - This report lists the line count and percentage of the total line count for the methods

in the selected objects. The metrics are grouped by library and object.

• Script Metrics by Library/Object/Method - This report lists the line count and percentage of the total line count for the

methods in the selected objects. The metrics are grouped by library, object, and method.

• Unused Instance Variables - This report lists the unused instance variables in the selected objects, grouped by library

and object. An instance variable is considered unused if it is not referenced by any of the object's events or functions.

• Unused Local Variables - This report lists the unused local variables in the selected objects. The variables are grouped

by library, object, and location.

• Unused Objects - This report lists the selected objects that are not used in the application, grouped by library. An

object is considered unused if it is not referenced by any other object in the application.

PBCA Feature List

4

OBJECT BROWSER

With the Object Browser, you may quickly view the object

properties and source for your entire application.

SUPPORTED OBJECT PROPERTIES

• Exported Source - This property displays the exported

source code for the object (similar to the export feature

within PowerBuilder™). This property is available for all

of the object types.

• Events - This property lists all of the events in the object.

Selecting an event displays the source code. This

property is available for all of the object types that can

have methods (application, menu, userobject, and window).

• Functions - This property lists all of the functions in the object. Selecting a function displays the source code. This

property is available for all of the object types that can have methods (application, menu, userobject, and window).

• External Functions - This property displays all of the external functions for the object. This property is available for all

of the object types that can have methods (application, menu, userobject, and window).

• Global Variables - This property displays all of the global variables for the object. This property is available only for

application objects.

• Instance Variables - This property displays all of the instance variables for the object. This property is available for all

of the object types that can have methods (application, menu, userobject, and window).

• Shared Variables - This property displays all of the shared variables for the object. This property is available for all of

the object types that can have methods (application, menu, userobject, and window).

OBJECT CROSS REFERENCE FINDER

With the advanced Object Cross Reference utility, you may

easily determine where one or more objects are referenced

within other objects. This is especially useful when

determining the impact of modifying or deleting an object.

FEATURES

• Ability to ignore self-references

• Ability to ignore project objects

• Detailed report of all the found cross references with the

object, location, line, and column where it was found

• Extremely fast searching of objects

PBCA Feature List

5

OBJECT EXPORTER

With the advanced Object Export utility, you can easily export

your objects to text, HTML, or PowerBuilder™ Export (*.sr*)

files. You can quickly generate technical design documents or

web pages for your entire application, or selected objects.

FEATURES

• Export objects to Text, HTML, or PowerBuilder™ Export

(*.sr*) files

• Ability to create one export file per object, library, or

application

• The following items may optionally be included in the

export:

o Object Header

o Global Variables

o Instance Variables

o Shared Variables

o Local External Functions

o Event Headers

o Event Source

o Function Headers

o Function Source

o Entire Object's Exported Source

• Ability to create an index file (with hyperlinks for HTML files)

• Extremely fast exporting of objects

OBJECT SEARCHER

With the advanced Object Search utility, you can easily search

your objects for one or more search strings.

FEATURES

• Ability to search for one or more strings at a time (no

upper limit)

• Ability to choose to ignore the case for each search string

• Ability to choose to ignore partial words for each search

string

• Ability to save and load the search settings

• Detailed report of all the found search strings with the

library, object, line, column, and context where it was

found

• Extremely fast searching of objects

PBCA Feature List

6

PBDEBUG FILE VIEWER

With the PBDebug File Viewer, you can quickly

navigate your PBDebug trace files. When you

enable the PBDebug logging for your application,

PowerBuilder™ writes a sequential log of the

activities an application performs to a text file.

This is very useful when you need to know

exactly what is going on in your application.

These files are usually very large, and extremely

difficult to navigate in a simple text editor (such

as Notepad™). When implemented in PBDebug

File Viewer's treeview, they become much simpler to interpret.

FEATURES

• Progress bar to detail the file processing

• Ability to cancel the file processing at any time

• Ability to expand entire tree branches

• Ability to print the tree

POWERBUILDER™ INI MAINTENANCE

With the PowerBuilder™ INI Maintenance utility, you can

quickly identify the projects that are defined in your PB.INI

file. You can also remove or fix any applications that are no

longer in use, or libraries that have been renamed or no

longer exist. Note that newer versions of PowerBuilder™ no

longer use the INI file for storing application information.

PROJECT SUMMARY

• Quickly view all of the projects defined in the PB.INI file

• Easily view the status of each project

• Ability to fix an invalid project

• Ability to remove any project

PROJECT DETAIL

• Displays each of the libraries in the project library list

• Displays the status of each library

• Displays the steps that are necessary to fix the project

PBCA Feature List

7

SQL TRACE FILE VIEWER

With the SQL Trace File Viewer, you can quickly

navigate your SQL trace files. When you enable

the SQL logging for your application,

PowerBuilder™ writes a sequential log of the

activities between an application and the

database to a text file. This is very useful when

you need to know exactly what is going on in

your application. These files are usually very

large, and extremely difficult to navigate in a

simple text editor (such as Notepad). When

implemented in this viewer, they become much simpler to interpret.

FEATURES

• Progress bar to detail the file processing

• Ability to cancel the file processing at any time

• Ability to print the data

• SQL Trace File Viewer Features

TABLE LOCATOR

With the advanced Table Locator, you can easily locate all of

the database tables in your application scripts (embedded

SQL) and DataWindows™.

FEATURES

• Ability to save and load the locate settings

• Detailed report of all of the found tables including

such information as library, object, location, and name

• Extremely fast searching of objects

VARIABLE LOCATOR

With the advanced Variable Locator, you can easily locate all

of the variables (or just the data types you select) in your

application scripts and DataWindows™.

FEATURES

• Ability to select the method variable areas to search

(argument, global, instance, local, or shared)

PBCA Feature List

8

• Ability to select the DataWindow™ variable areas to search (retrieval arguments or columns)

• Ability to select the variable types to search for (all of the PowerBuilder™ types are supported)

• Ability to select the DataWindow™ variable types to search for (all of the PowerBuilder™ DataWindow™ types are

supported)

• Ability to save and load the locate settings

• Detailed report of all of the found variables including such information as library, object, scope, location, type, and

name

• Extremely fast searching of objects

ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONALITY

Only the major functionality is described in this document. Some of the other noteworthy functionality is listed below:

Functionality Description

Library and Object

Selection

A common interface is used when selecting the libraries and objects throughout the various

tools. Features include:

• Selection list of all of your PowerBuilder™ applications

• Easily select libraries and objects to scan within an application

• Easily select or deselect all libraries, objects, or objects within a library

• Advanced sorting of libraries and objects

• Support for PFC (PowerBuilder™ Foundation Class) and PFC-OS (Open Source

PowerBuilder™ Foundation Class) libraries

• Support for most invalid or corrupt PowerBuilder™ projects or libraries

Data Export When viewing report information, you have the ability to save the data into any of over 25

available formats.

AWARDS

Ecocion is very proud to announce that PB Code Analyzer received the SEAL OF

EXCELLENCE award from PowerBuilder Developers Journal. The award was presented

in the October 2002 issue. Thank you PBDJ!

Ecocion is also proud to announce that PB Code Analyzer received the LITTLE HELPER

OF THE YEAR award from PowerTimes magazine. The award was presented in the

December 1998 issue. Thank you PowerTimes!

PBCA Feature List

9

PB Code Analyzer was entirely designed and developed by a Brainbench Certified

Master PowerBuilder™ Developer.

REVISION HISTORY

Want to know what's new in this version, or what's changed from the version you have? Visit the revision history page at:

http://www.ecocion.com/pbca-powerbuilder-code-analyzer/revision-history.

QUESTIONS?

Still have questions? Please check out our:

• Product page at http://pbca.ecocion.com

• FAQ (frequently asked questions) page at http://www.ecocion.com/pbca-powerbuilder-code-analyzer/faq-

frequently-asked-questions

• Send an email to PBCA@ecocion.com

DEMO DOWNLOAD

For a fully functional demo of PB Code Analyzer, download and run the installation file at:

http://www.ecocion.com/sites/default/files/PBCA_Setup.exe.

PURCHASING A COPY

If you would like to purchase a copy of PB Code Analyzer, please visit the pricing and ordering area at:

http://www.ecocion.com/pbca-powerbuilder-code-analyzer/ordering-information.