Navigating through the source is key to understanding; a good approach to this is to use search, which is ideal for all sorts of ad hoc investigation.
One source code search option is Krugle Enterprise, which can crawl and index the entire code base directly out of the SCM tool. It also finds code-related information, such as check-in comments, references to bugs, and can even be pointed out requirements and design documents that caused the code to be written in the first place (assuming those exist!). Because Krugle parses the code, it can tell the difference between a function call, a function definition, a comment, etc. It's then easy to see, for example, how and where a given interface is being used, even if it crosses language and functional boundaries. Krugle serves up search results from inside the wirewall alongside results from over 2.5 billion lines of Open Source code, too.
Disclaimer: I'm an employee of Krugle. You can check out a demo at http://www.krugle.com/.
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Navigating through the source is key to understanding; a good approach to this is to use search, which is ideal for all sorts of ad hoc investigation.
One source code search option is Krugle Enterprise, which can crawl and index the entire code base directly out of the SCM tool. It also finds code-related information, such as check-in comments, references to bugs, and can even be pointed out requirements and design documents that caused the code to be written in the first place (assuming those exist!). Because Krugle parses the code, it can tell the difference between a function call, a function definition, a comment, etc. It's then easy to see, for example, how and where a given interface is being used, even if it crosses language and functional boundaries. Krugle serves up search results from inside the wirewall alongside results from over 2.5 billion lines of Open Source code, too.
Disclaimer: I'm an employee of Krugle. You can check out a demo at http://www.krugle.com/.