FindBugs

FindBugs is a free software, which searches in Java programs according to error patterns. Such error patterns suggest most out factual errors. The program was initiated by the University of Maryland and originally developed by Bill Pugh and David Hovemeyer.

Operation

The program can be started from the command line, a standalone GUI, or via plugins for development environments such as Eclipse. FindBugs analyzes Java bytecode by means of static code analysis on the search for known error patterns. Static here means that the search for errors only happened by examining the bytecode, without the need to run the program to be analyzed. Since compiled code is scanned, it does not require source code.

Error patterns, or collections from those usually arise due to complicated programming language functions, interfaces misunderstood, misunderstood program sequences with revisions and typos.

FindBugs categorizes the errors found to distinguish hoaxes from actual errors better. This is achieved by an additional prioritization ( eg high priority ) further support.

The project will be used, among other GlassFish and Java Server Faces and financially supported by the University of Maryland, Google and Sun Microsystems.

With version 2.0, FindBugs finds a new set of error patterns. In addition, FindBugs support from version 2.0 Plugins for cloud computing and improves the connection to error management systems such as Jira or Google Code.

Example

In the following program section FindBugs would report an error of type "Value is null and guaranteed to be dereferenced on exception path".

/ / ...      Object anObject = new Object ();      / / ...      if ( anObject == null )          System.out.println (" hash =" einObjekt.hashCode ()); In this Abprüfung of the object to zero a little carelessness is undermined: the correct fusing should read on if ( anObject = null ).