Summary: This document provides information about the extension providing Flex support.
Extension ID
com.castsoftware.flex
What's new?
Description
This extension provides support for applications written using Flex languages. If your application contains source code written using Flex and you want to view these object types and their links with other objects, then you should install this extension.
Although this extension is officially supported by CAST, please note that it has been developed within the technical constraints of the CAST Universal Analyzer technology and to some extent adapted to meet specific customer needs. Therefore the extension may not address all of the coding techniques and patterns that exist for the target technology and may not produce the same level of analysis and precision regarding e.g. quality measurement and/or function point counts that are typically produced by other CAST analyzers.
| Version | Supported |
|---|---|
Flex 3.x |  |
Function Point, Quality and Sizing support
| Function Points (transactions) | | A green tick indicates that OMG Function Point counting and Transaction Risk Index are supported. |
|---|---|---|
| Quality and Sizing | | A green tick indicates that CAST can measure size and that a minimum set of Quality Rules exist. |
| Release | Operating System | Supported |
|---|---|---|
| 8.3.x | Microsoft Windows | |
Supported file types
Only files with following extensions will be analyzed:
- * .as
- *.mxml
Download and installation instructions
The extension will be automatically installed by CAST Imaging Console when at least one of the supported file types is delivered for analysis.
Source code discovery
A discoverer is provided with the extension to automatically detect Flex code: when one of the supported file types is found in a folder, one "Flex" project will be discovered, resulting in a corresponding Universal Technology Analysis Unit in CAST Imaging Console.
Tools
Flex preprocessor
Flex source code needs to be preprocessed so that CAST can understand it and analyze it correctly. This code preprocessing is actioned automatically when an analysis is launched or a snapshot is generated (the code is preprocessed before the analysis starts). Flex Preprocessor log file is stored in the following location:
%PROGRAMDATA%\CAST\CAST\Logs\<application_name>\Execute_Analysis_<guid>\com.castsoftware.flex.<_extension_version>.prepro_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.log
FlexPMD
Metrics/Rule data are generated using an external tool provided by Adobe called FlexPMD. The FlexPMD log file is stored in the following location:
%PROGRAMDATA%\CAST\CAST\Logs\<application_name\Execute_Analysis_<guid>\com.castsoftware.flex.plugin<_extension_version>_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.log
The license for this tool is listed below:
Copyright (c) 2009, Adobe Systems, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
- Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
- Neither the name of the Adobe Systems, Incorporated. nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Errors and Warnings
The Flex configuration included in the extension uses external plugins. During the analysis, the Universal Analyzer or the plugin may throw errors or warnings. The table below list the most significant errors/warnings and lists a suggested remediation action:
| Tool | Error or Warning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Flex Plugin | UA Plugin : No property (......) found in meta model for Flex... | No action required. The analyzer is telling you that not all the properties are considered to be injected into the Analysis Service. |
What results can you expect?
Objects
| Icon | Metamodel description |
|---|---|
| FLEX Class |
| FLEX Field |
| FLEX Function |
| FLEX Getter |
| FLEX Package |
| FLEX Script | |
| FLEX Setter |
Structural rules
The following structural rules are provided:
You can also find a global list here:
https://technologies.castsoftware.com/rules?sec=t_1007000&ref=||
Limitations
Duplicate Object of type … is detected warnings
The analysis log will contain the warning "Duplicate Object of type … is detected" in the following situations:
- When members or functions are overloaded using "static" - this is partially a limitation inherent in the Universal Analyzer (the "engine" used for Flex analyses).
- When functions/variables are defined using different cases (for example "sort" and "Sort").
String support
Strings are not supported in:
- XMLList
- ActionScript regex for example: var filterVal:String = aText.toLowerCase().replace( /\\/g, '/');
In both cases, if these strings contain single/double quote marks, the file may be skipped.
Name matching links - Universal Analyzer limitation
Due to a limitation in the Universal Analyzer (the "engine" used for Flex analyses), links will be created from any name to any matching name. At a minimum the following rule may be impacted and give erroneous results: Avoid artifacts having recursive calls (7388).
Dynamic links which require dataflow/interpretation of parameters across multiple artifacts
Because of way the Universal Analyzer (analysis engine used by the Flex extension)functions, dynamic links which require dataflow/interpretation of parameters across multiple artifacts are not supported. If links are required for these situations, a custom reference pattern can be created to manually create the links.
