Tools For Understanding Code?

ewhac writes "Having just recently taken a new job, I find myself confronted with an enormous pile of existing, unfamiliar code written for a (somewhat) unfamiliar platform — and an implicit expectation that I'll grok it all Real Soon Now. Simply firing up an editor and reading through it has proven unequal to the task. I'm familiar with cscope, but it doesn't really seem to analyze program structure; it's just a very fancy 'grep' package with a rudimentary understanding of C syntax. A new-ish tool called ncc looks promising, as it appears to be based on an actual C/C++ parser, but the UI is clunky, and there doesn't appear to be any facility for integrating/communicating with an editor. What sorts of tools do you use for effectively analyzing and understanding a large code base?"

Comments

Good open source tool for understanding any code..

[mazanoid]

There's this great opensource package called OpenEyes, and to my knowledge it only requires nominal installation effort by the user. Basically you just have to configure the face.cfg to provide the correct balance of tension and flexion to the ocular.modules.

Hope it helps.
-Mz

Re:The best tool

[teknopurge]

I had a serious response.

The question did not provide the individual's background which leads me to believe this person is looking for something that will tell him/her how the code works. That coupled with the comments about the UI of some other tools not being good, and there is a clear lack of fundamental knowledge.

Everyone has stories about "..some of the best programmers I've worked with didn't have..." - those type of replies are not cute or insightful.

Someone with real CS degree that was focused on theory, language design, algorithm development and analysis and math should make haste with dissecting an application. If they have a "CS" degree that started them learning how Windows Forms work in VB, then well, yeah, expect problems.

I'm not a troll - obviously if I was I would not be replying. I made a serious comment that apparently made light of some individuals' background. I'm sorry but you that took it personally need to grow up.

Regards,