4.6.2 lint Libraries

You can use lint libraries to check your program for compatibility with the library functions you have called in it—the declaration of the function return type, the number and types of arguments the function expects, and so on. The standard lint libraries correspond to libraries supplied by the C compilation system, and generally are stored in a standard place on your system. By convention, lint libraries have names of the form llib-lx.ln.

The lint standard C library, llib-lc.ln, is appended to the lint command line by default; checks for compatibility with it can be suppressed by invoking the -n option. Other lint libraries are accessed as arguments to -l. That is:

% lint -lx file1.c file2.c

directs lint to check the usage of functions and variables in file1.c and file2.c for compatibility with the lint library llib-lx.ln. The library file, which consists only of definitions, is processed exactly as are ordinary source files and ordinary .ln files, except that functions and variables used inconsistently in the library file, or defined in the library file but not used in the source files, elicit no complaints.

To create your own lint library, insert the directive NOTE(LINTLIBRARY) at the head of a C source file, then invoke lint for that file with the -o option and the library name given to -l:

% lint -ox file1.c file2.c

causes only definitions in the source files headed by NOTE(LINTLIBRARY) to be written to the file llib-lx.ln. (Note the analogy of lint -o to cc -o.) A library can be created from a file of function prototype declarations in the same way, except that both NOTE(LINTLIBRARY) and NOTE(PROTOLIB(n))must be inserted at the head of the declarations file. If n is 1, prototype declarations are written to a library .ln file just as are old-style definitions. If n is 0, the default, the process is cancelled. Invoking lint with -y is another way of creating a lint library. The command line:

% lint -y -ox file1.c file2.c

causes each source file named on that line to be treated as if it begins with NOTE(LINTLIBRARY), and only its definitions to be written to llib-lx.ln.

By default, lint searches for lint libraries in the standard place. To direct lint to search for a lint library in a directory other than the standard place, specify the path of the directory with the -L option:

% lint -Ldir -lx file1.c file2.c

In enhanced mode, lint produces .ln files which store additional information than .ln files produced in basic mode. In enhanced mode, lint can read and understand all .ln files generated by either basic or enhanced lint modes. In basic mode, lint can read and understand .ln files generated only using basic lint mode.

By default, lint uses libraries from the /usr/lib directory. These libraries are in the basic lint format. You can run a makefile once, and create enhanced lint libraries in a new format, which will enable enhanced lint to work more effectively. To run the makefile and create the new libraries, enter the command:

% cd /opt/SUNWspro/prod/src/lintlib; make

where /opt/SUNWspro/prod is the installation directory. After the makefile is run, lint uses the new libraries in enhanced mode, instead of the libraries in the /usr/lib directory.

The specified directory is searched before the standard place.