Top 10 Static Code Analysis Tool | Best Static Code Analysis Tools List

top-10-static-code-analysis-tool
Software security is a very important concern for todays Software market and for that you need to do code analysis in the development lifecycle. Now we can not imagine ourselves to sit back and do manual reading each line of codes and find issues and bugs. Those days of manual review in the software development lifecycle to find the flaws in the codes are over now.
Now the mindsets has changed and developing quality & secure code from the beginning is on rise. This is the time of automation and developers & programmers are now shifting towards the adoption of tools which auto detects the flaws as soon as possible in the software development lifecycle.
As the process shifting towards the automation, static code analysis (SCA) has become an important part of creating quality code. Now the question here is, What is Static Code Analysis?

Static Code Analysis is a technique which quickly and automatically scan the code line by line to find security flaws and issues that might be missed in the development process before the software or application is released. It functions by reviewing the code without actually executing the code.

There are three main benefits of Static analysis tools
1. Automation —  Automation can save your time and energy which ultimately means you can invest your time and energy in some other aspects of development lifecycle, which will help you to release your software faster.
2. Security — Security is also one of the major concern and by adopting Static analysis you can cut the doubt of security vulnerabilities in your application, which will ensure that you are delivering a secure and reliable software.
3. Implementation — Static analysis can be implemented as early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC) as you have code to scan, it will give more time to fix the issues discovered by the tool. The best thing of static analysis is that it can detect the exact line of code that’s been found to be problematic.
There are so many Static code analysis tools are available to ease our work but to choose good tools among them is really a challenging task. I have done some research and providing you the list of top 10 static code analysis tools:-

1. VisualCodeGrepper

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Visualcodegreeper is an open source automated code security review tool which works with C++, C#, VB, PHP, Java and PL/SQL to track the insecurities and different issues in the code. This tool rapidly review and depicts in detail the issues it discovers, offering a simple to use interface. It allows custom configurations of queries and it’s updated regularly since its creation (2012).
2. Coverity

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Coverity is also an open source static code analysis tool which supports C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Java, Javascript, node.JS, Ruby, PHP & Python. It is an excellent static analysis product with support of 100 compilers & detailed and clear description of the code issues you can use it in your desktop environment to quickly find and resolve the errors before checking in the code.

3. Veracode

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Veracode is also one of the best static code analysis tool which can find security flaws in application binary code – compiled or “byte” code even when the consideration of source code is not available. Veracode supports multi-languages which includes .NET (C#, ASP.NET, VB.NET), Java (Java SE, Java EE, JSP), C/C++, JavaScript (including AngularJS, Node.js, and jQuery), Python, PHP, Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, Classic ASP, including mobile applications on the iOS and Android platforms and written in JavaScript cross platform frameworks.

4. YASCA

static-code-analysis-tool-yasca

“Yet Another Source Code Analyzer (YASCA)” is an open source stactic code analysis tool which supports HTML, Java, JavaScript, .NET, COBOL, PHP, ColdFusion, ASP, C/C++ and some other languages. It is an easy to extend and a flexible tool which can integrate with variety of other tools which includes CppCheck, Pixy, RATS, PHPLint, JavaScript Lint, JLint, FindBugs and various others.
5. Cppcheck

static-code-analysis-tool-cppcheck

Cppcheck is an open source static code analysis tool for C/C++. Cppcheck basically identifies the sorts of bugs that the compilers regularly don’t recognize. The objective is to identify just genuine mistakes in the code. It provides both interface command line mode and graphical user interface (GUI) mode and has possiblitites for environment integration. Some of them are Eclipse, Hudson, Jenkins, Visual Studio.

6. Clang

 

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Clang is also one of the best static code analysis tool for C, C++ and objective-C. This analyzer can be run either as standalone tool or within Xcode. It is an open source tool and a part of the clang project. It utilizes the clank library, hence forming a reusable component and can be utilized by multiple clients.

7. RIPS

 

static-code-analysis-tool-rips
RIPS is a static code analyzer tool to detect different types for security vulnerabilities in PHP codes. RIPS also provide integrated code audit framework for manual analysis. It is an open source tool too and can be controlled via web interface.
8. Flawfinder
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Flawfinder is also one of the best static analysis tool for C/C++. This tool is easy to use and wel designed. It reports possible security vulnerabilities sorted by risk level. It is an open source tool written in python and use command line interface.
9. DevBug
static-code-analysis-tool-devbug
DevBug is an online PHP static code analyser which is very easy to use and written on Javascript. It was intended to make essential PHP Static Code Analysis accessible on the web, to raise security mindfulness and to incorporate SCA into the development procedure. This analyser tool is also available in open source.

10. SonarQube

 

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SonarQube is one of the best and well known open source web based static code analysis tool, it can scan projects written in many different programming languages including  ABAP, Android (Java), C, C++, CSS, Objective-C, COBOL, C#, Flex, Forms, Groovy, Java, JavaScript, Natural, PHP, PL/SQL, Swift, Visual Basic 6, Web, XML, Python and also allows a number of plug ins. What makes SonarQube really stand out is that It provides metrics about your code which will to help you to take the right decision and translates these non-descript values to real business values such as risk and technical debt.
So, above we mentioned top selective static code analysis tools which can be helpful, but if you think this lists should contain some other tools than feel free to share in comment box.
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How to Differentiate Dynamic code analysis and Static code analysis?

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Difference between dynamic code analysis and static code analysis

Static analysis is the testing and evaluation of an application by examining the code without executing the application whereas Dynamic analysis is the testing and evaluation of an application during runtime.

Many software defects that cause memory and threading errors can be detected both dynamically and statically. The two approaches are complementary because no single approach can find every error.

The primary advantage of dynamic analysis: It reveals subtle defects or vulnerabilities whose cause is too complex to be discovered by static analysis. Dynamic analysis can play a role in security assurance, but its primary goal is finding and debugging errors.

Level of in-depth review

The key difference between a static and dynamic code analyser is the how in-depth the code review

process is. By default, static code analysis combs through every single line of source code to find flaws and errors. For dynamic analysis, the lines of code that get reviewed depend upon which lines of source code are activated during the testing process. Unless a line of code is interacted with, the dynamic analysis tool will ignore it and continue checking active codes for flaws. As a result, dynamic analysis is a lot quicker since it is able to review code on the fly and generates real-time data. However, static code analysis provides peace of mind that each and every line of source code has been thoroughly inspected. It may take longer, but static code analysis runs in the background and is crucial for creating a flawless web application.

 

Catching errors early and making recommendations

The primary advantage of static analysis: It examines all possible execution paths and variable values, not just those invoked during execution. Thus static analysis can reveal errors that may not manifest themselves until weeks, months or years after release. This aspect of static analysis is especially valuable in security assurance, because security attacks often exercise an application in unforeseen and untested ways.

As mentioned before, dynamic analysis reviews codes during the testing process and generates real-time results. While it is great for fine-tuning the user experience, it has one major drawback: any errors highlighted by dynamic code analysis tools requires developers to go all the way back to the source code, make changes to the code itself and then make changes to everything that has been modified as a result of changing the source code. This is a very time consuming and expensive process; one that companies and developers like to avoid at all costs. Static code analysis tools highlight any errors immediately and allow developers to makes changes before proceeding any further. Moreover, static code analysis tools are more feature-packed than their dynamic counterparts. One important feature is the number of errors it can detect and the recommendations it can make to fix that error. If configured, static code analysers can automatically make the required changes and let developers know what changes have been made.

 

Cost of code analysis tools

Just like any other business, software application companies have to find a fine balance between application costs and profit margins. With respect to price, static code analysis tools are always cheaper than dynamic analysers. Moreover, having a dynamic code analyser requires a company to hire professionals trained in the use of dynamic analysis tools. A static code analysis tool can be used by any web developer with ease, thus guaranteeing that it won’t turn out to be a long-term expenditure.

Static code analysers are absolutely essential for application developers, whereas dynamic code analysers can only be used in conjunction with static analysis tools.

 

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Dynamic code analysis VS Static code analysis

dynamic-code-analysis-vs-static-code-analysis

Difference between dynamic code analysis and static code analysis

Static analysis is the testing and evaluation of an application by examining the code without executing the application whereas Dynamic analysis is the testing and evaluation of an application during runtime.

Many software defects that cause memory and threading errors can be detected both dynamically and statically. The two approaches are complementary because no single approach can find every error.

The primary advantage of dynamic analysis: It reveals subtle defects or vulnerabilities whose cause is too complex to be discovered by static analysis. Dynamic analysis can play a role in security assurance, but its primary goal is finding and debugging errors.

Level of in-depth review

The key difference between a static and dynamic code analyser is the how in-depth the code review

process is. By default, static code analysis combs through every single line of source code to find flaws and errors. For dynamic analysis, the lines of code that get reviewed depend upon which lines of source code are activated during the testing process. Unless a line of code is interacted with, the dynamic analysis tool will ignore it and continue checking active codes for flaws. As a result, dynamic analysis is a lot quicker since it is able to review code on the fly and generates real-time data. However, static code analysis provides peace of mind that each and every line of source code has been thoroughly inspected. It may take longer, but static code analysis runs in the background and is crucial for creating a flawless web application.

 

Catching errors early and making recommendations

The primary advantage of static analysis: It examines all possible execution paths and variable values, not just those invoked during execution. Thus static analysis can reveal errors that may not manifest themselves until weeks, months or years after release. This aspect of static analysis is especially valuable in security assurance, because security attacks often exercise an application in unforeseen and untested ways.

As mentioned before, dynamic analysis reviews codes during the testing process and generates real-time results. While it is great for fine-tuning the user experience, it has one major drawback: any errors highlighted by dynamic code analysis tools requires developers to go all the way back to the source code, make changes to the code itself and then make changes to everything that has been modified as a result of changing the source code. This is a very time consuming and expensive process; one that companies and developers like to avoid at all costs. Static code analysis tools highlight any errors immediately and allow developers to makes changes before proceeding any further. Moreover, static code analysis tools are more feature-packed than their dynamic counterparts. One important feature is the number of errors it can detect and the recommendations it can make to fix that error. If configured, static code analysers can automatically make the required changes and let developers know what changes have been made.

 

Cost of code analysis tools

Just like any other business, software application companies have to find a fine balance between application costs and profit margins. With respect to price, static code analysis tools are always cheaper than dynamic analysers. Moreover, having a dynamic code analyser requires a company to hire professionals trained in the use of dynamic analysis tools. A static code analysis tool can be used by any web developer with ease, thus guaranteeing that it won’t turn out to be a long-term expenditure.

Static code analysers are absolutely essential for application developers, whereas dynamic code analysers can only be used in conjunction with static analysis tools.

 

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Difference between dynamic code analysis and static code analysis

difference-dynamic-code-analysis-and-static-code-analysis

Difference between dynamic code analysis and static code analysis

Static analysis is the testing and evaluation of an application by examining the code without executing the application whereas Dynamic analysis is the testing and evaluation of an application during runtime.

Many software defects that cause memory and threading errors can be detected both dynamically and statically. The two approaches are complementary because no single approach can find every error.

The primary advantage of dynamic analysis: It reveals subtle defects or vulnerabilities whose cause is too complex to be discovered by static analysis. Dynamic analysis can play a role in security assurance, but its primary goal is finding and debugging errors.

Level of in-depth review

The key difference between a static and dynamic code analyser is the how in-depth the code review

process is. By default, static code analysis combs through every single line of source code to find flaws and errors. For dynamic analysis, the lines of code that get reviewed depend upon which lines of source code are activated during the testing process. Unless a line of code is interacted with, the dynamic analysis tool will ignore it and continue checking active codes for flaws. As a result, dynamic analysis is a lot quicker since it is able to review code on the fly and generates real-time data. However, static code analysis provides peace of mind that each and every line of source code has been thoroughly inspected. It may take longer, but static code analysis runs in the background and is crucial for creating a flawless web application.

 

Catching errors early and making recommendations

The primary advantage of static analysis: It examines all possible execution paths and variable values, not just those invoked during execution. Thus static analysis can reveal errors that may not manifest themselves until weeks, months or years after release. This aspect of static analysis is especially valuable in security assurance, because security attacks often exercise an application in unforeseen and untested ways.

As mentioned before, dynamic analysis reviews codes during the testing process and generates real-time results. While it is great for fine-tuning the user experience, it has one major drawback: any errors highlighted by dynamic code analysis tools requires developers to go all the way back to the source code, make changes to the code itself and then make changes to everything that has been modified as a result of changing the source code. This is a very time consuming and expensive process; one that companies and developers like to avoid at all costs. Static code analysis tools highlight any errors immediately and allow developers to makes changes before proceeding any further. Moreover, static code analysis tools are more feature-packed than their dynamic counterparts. One important feature is the number of errors it can detect and the recommendations it can make to fix that error. If configured, static code analysers can automatically make the required changes and let developers know what changes have been made.

 

Cost of code analysis tools

Just like any other business, software application companies have to find a fine balance between application costs and profit margins. With respect to price, static code analysis tools are always cheaper than dynamic analysers. Moreover, having a dynamic code analyser requires a company to hire professionals trained in the use of dynamic analysis tools. A static code analysis tool can be used by any web developer with ease, thus guaranteeing that it won’t turn out to be a long-term expenditure.

Static code analysers are absolutely essential for application developers, whereas dynamic code analysers can only be used in conjunction with static analysis tools.

 

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Static vs dynamic code analysis: Advantages and Disadvantages

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What are the advantages and limitations of static and dynamic software code analysis? Maj. Michael Kleffman of the Air Force’s Application Software Assurance Center of Excellence spelled it out.

Static code analysis advantages:

  1. It can find weaknesses in the code at the exact location.
  2. It can be conducted by trained software assurance developers who fully understand the code.
  3. It allows a quicker turn around for fixes.
  4. It is relatively fast if automated tools are used.
  5. Automated tools can scan the entire code base.
  6. Automated tools can provide mitigation recommendations, reducing the research time.
  7. It permits weaknesses to be found earlier in the development life cycle, reducing the cost to fix.

Static code analysis limitations:

  1. It is time consuming if conducted manually.
  2. Automated tools do not support all programming languages.
  3. Automated tools produce false positives and false negatives.
  4. There are not enough trained personnel to thoroughly conduct static code analysis.
  5. Automated tools can provide a false sense of security that everything is being addressed.
  6. Automated tools only as good as the rules they are using to scan with.
  7. It does not find vulnerabilities introduced in the runtime environment.

Dynamic code analysis advantages:

  1. It identifies vulnerabilities in a runtime environment.
  2. Automated tools provide flexibility on what to scan for.
  3. It allows for analysis of applications in which you do not have access to the actual code.
  4. It identifies vulnerabilities that might have been false negatives in the static code analysis.
  5. It permits you to validate static code analysis findings.
  6. It can be conducted against any application.

Dynamic code analysis limitations:

  1. Automated tools provide a false sense of security that everything is being addressed.
  2. Automated tools produce false positives and false negatives.
  3. Automated tools are only as good as the rules they are using to scan with.
  4. There are not enough trained personnel to thoroughly conduct dynamic code analysis [as with static analysis].
  5. It is more difficult to trace the vulnerability back to the exact location in the code, taking longer to fix the problem.
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