Understand 8.1 build notes

New Features

Installer

• Added the understand-cli apt package, offering the Understand command-line tools on their own.
• The Linux .deb package is now published to a signed apt repository on builds.scitools.com.
• Added a .deb package of Understand for Debian and Ubuntu.

Graphs

• Added a "Compare" variant for the File Dependencies graph.
• Added a "Compare" variant to the Architecture graph.

Plugins

• Added a Shared Tasks Lock Order CSV report of lock orders and possible deadlocks.

CodeCheck Checks

• Added FORTRAN_A000: Character dummy arguments shall not be assigned a concatenation that starts with themselves.

API

• Metric plugins can now be aborted using is_aborted().

Metrics

• Added new, changed, and removed comparison count metrics.
• Added the PercentChanged, CountLineNew, CountLineRemoved, and CountLineChanged metrics for architectures and projects.
• Added Metrics > Configure Metrics to open metric settings in the Plugin Manager; double-clicking a metric in the Metrics Browser opens its configuration.

Plugin Manager

• Redesigned the Plugin Manager with a new interface for browsing, filtering, and configuring plugins.

VS Code

• Architectures are now shown, without letting you change them.
• The extension's graphs now match Understand's, with legend, options, node actions, saved graphs, treemap and Compare variants.

Interactive Reports

• Added the "Architecture Metrics CSV" interactive report.

Improvements

Command Line

• Removed und's -commandaddmode option, which made any add it was used with add nothing.
• und add -root now accepts a relative path for a named root, and a database that needs reanalyzing is analyzed after the root is added instead of before.
• und add -root now says why it refuses a root: no value, a value that starts with another root, or an overlap with another root.

AI

• Improved file name handling and searching in the MCP server.

Installer

• The Linux command-line kit now includes Bear.
• The Windows installer now stops the AI server service while updating Understand.

Graphs

• The graph legend's first-run hint now appears the first time you show the legend, not only when a graph opens with it showing.

UI

• The Information Browser's first-run hint now waits until the browser shows an entity instead of appearing over an empty browser.

VS Code

• Metrics are not computed for an entity once the cursor has left it.
• A graph you cancelled now stays cancelled when an analysis ends, until you ask for it again.
• Problems, Violations and References are now faster on large projects.
• High-severity CodeCheck violations now appear as warnings in the Problems panel; only Urgent ones and analysis errors are errors.
• Without GUI Access, the Graphs view now leaves out Understand's plugin graphs.
• Without CodeCheck, violations are now hidden; without Export, metrics are hidden.
• The API Info view now appears only when the license includes the API.

Plugins

• Added a Cost tag to metric plugins to identify metrics that may be slow to compute.

Metrics

• Coverage metrics now read LCOV 2.x function coverage.
• Metrics Export settings are now saved to the session in the GUI, and und takes them from switches on und metrics.
• The "Analysis Errors" and "Analysis Warnings" metrics are now enabled by default.
• Redesigned the Metrics Browser with category grouping, View By options, search, and configurable architecture metrics.
• Built-in metrics are now enabled and disabled through the Plugin Manager instead of project configuration.
• Removed the legacy metrics HTML and architecture metrics CSV exports. Use the interactive Architecture Metrics CSV report instead; project metrics CSV export remains available.
• Added Interactive Reports and Graphical Views shortcuts to the top-level Metrics menu for easier access to metric reports and graphs.

API

• The Git cache (cache("Git")) for a project analyzed at a Git commit now reads history from that commit.
• The Git cache now refreshes after analysis when the repository's HEAD commit has changed.
• A metric plugin script's enabled-by-default setting now applies per metric id.

CodeCheck

• Redesigned the CodeCheck Edit Configuration dialog with a cleaner interface, navigation history, and a dedicated filters page.

Bug Fixes

CodeCheck

• Fixed a deadlock in CodeCheck when a lexer is released.
• Fixed a synced inspection on a UNC share reporting every violation as new and fixed.

Language \- TypeScript

• Fixed a number of syntax errors in valid TypeScript code.
• Fixed analysis hanging on a file that ends with an unclosed parenthesis.
• Fixed type references to names imported from a module that could not be found not being linked to the import.

Language \- JavaScript

• Fixed a number of syntax errors in valid JavaScript code.

Project

• Fixed a machine's internal copy of the watched directory settings overriding the project's.

Omnibar

• Fixed Customize missing from CodeCheck configurations in the Omnibar plugin search.

Plugins

• Fixed the Shared Tasks graph and CSV showing an error when no shared objects are found.

UI

• Fixed a hint being drawn on another monitor for a tab that is not in front.
• Fixed the Entity Filter's first-run hint not appearing; it now shows once the list has entities and the filter is in view.
• Fixed a temporary status bar message being cleared every second before its full time was up.

VS Code

• Fixed a crash when a closed file is opened again and the cursor moves.
• Fixed analysis errors and warnings not being shown when the license does not include CodeCheck.
• Fixed a crash when you move the cursor as an analysis finishes.
• Fixed graph messages showing "&&" in a graph's or variant's name.
• Fixed a start-up crash when the project has a comparison database.

Graphs

• Fixed a potential crash in comparison graphs on analysis.

Editor

• For databases frozen at a git commit, fixed opening editors for files that existed in the commit but have since been removed sometimes opening the wrong file.

Reports

• Fixed a script error in the Outputs Metric report.

Architectures

• Fixed the AI Namespace architecture's entity kinds.

Metrics

• Fixed the DirectFanInNoCache, DirectFanOutNoCache, and VisibleFanOutNoCache metrics to compute the asked-for value.
• Fixed CountDeclModule and CountDeclSubprogram for architectures with directly added modules/subprograms.
• Fixed CountDeclExecutableUnit for architectures to exclude directly added Ada packages without code.
• Fixed CountDeclProgUnits for architectures with directly added program units.
• Fixed CountDeclClass for architectures to count C/C++ structs and unions directly added to the architecture.

Language \- C/C++

• Fixed comment collection in C/C++ when object member creation is enabled.
• Fixed Strict failing to load AST files when using any encoding other than UTF-8.

CodeCheck Checks

• Fixed MISRA12_19.1 flagging memcpy between non-overlapping parts of the same array.
• Fixed MISRA12_17.2 reporting recursion when a function only takes its own address.
• Fixed MISRA08_14-7-1 flagging parameters and local variables of function templates, and reporting them in the wrong file.
• Fixed MISRA12_15.7 flagging else if chains that continue past #if or #endif lines.
• Fixed MISRA12_14.2 flagging a for loop whose body changes the same member of a different object.
• Fixed MISRA12_11.3 missing pointer casts in arguments, initializers and address expressions.

Known Issues

• Fortran: CountDeclSubprogram is always 0 for modules, subroutines, and main programs
• Print preview may not display in the Windows print dialog
• Certain macros aren't being defined when importing VS 2022 SLN and VCXPROJ