TE1200 | TwinCAT 3 PLC Static Analysis

With the integration of static code analysis, TwinCAT 3.1 provides a further programming tool to optimize the PLC software development process.

Static code analysis

Static code analysis can be regarded as a supplement to the compiler. It helps the programmer to write well-structured code and to identify potential error sources early on during programming. The source code of a PLC project is checked for deviations from certain coding rules, naming conventions or unauthorized symbols. For example, it can report if a pointer variable has not been checked for nonzero before dereferencing. The user is thus alerted to possibly unintentional and incorrect implementations and can correct affected program sections at an early stage. The automatic control of the user-specific naming conventions also ensures that the control programs can be developed in a standardized manner with regard to type and variable names. This gives different PLC projects implemented on the basis of the same naming conventions a uniform look and feel, which greatly improves the readability of programs.

Standard metrics

In addition, selected metrics, which the static code analysis determines from the program code, can be displayed to assess the code quality. The calculated parameters characterize the different program parts or name the characteristics of the software and help to evaluate the software quality. For example, the tabular output contains metrics for the number of statements or the proportion of comments.