Linux Programming

• File Comparison (Meld)
• UML Modelling (Umbrello)
• Find in files (GEdit)
• Find memory leaks (valgrind)
• Optimize for speed (kprof and oprofile)
• Other scripts (Command Line)
• Xubuntu editor

Meld

UML Modelling

The class diagramming seems to work pretty well. Both making classes, and reading classes from source code.

The following notes apply to version 2.0. I have compared to MagicDraw and Rational/IBM and this tool is useful for doing single time code generation from initial objects, and then reverse engineering from code to update the drawings. I don't plan to do multiple code generation passes.

• Sorry to have to say this, but there have been frequent crashes, so save often. Just note that I have also had crashes (but fewer) in the 2007 version of Rational tools.
• For some reason, the diagram export doesn't work from the GUI. But there is a command line switch (--export) that works fine. Just use "umbrello --export png [project].xmi. The command line switch doesn't work in Windows, so at work, I am doing a print screen, importing into Paint, and saving as PNG. Definitely ugly, but I do it less than daily just to update documents periodically.
• The main menu in Gnome doesn't work properly. If the menu is displayed from the right side, then it is possible to use, but it is not possible to click directly on File, Edit or half of Diagram.
• If there are extra generalizations in the class diagram, the sequence diagrammer may crash when a message is added. The only way I could find to fix this was to delete all of the UML:Generalization elements from the XMI file, and then add them back using Unbrello. This can also mean that remnant links will also generate extra code, and so either remove the junk generated code, or edit the XMI.
• I couldn't find the place to specify navigability on aggregations. It it is not limited, then an extra member will be generated in the code.
• The enum types do not generate code that I could find. It doesn't seem like the reverse generation will generate enums.
• Adding messages in sequence diagrams can cause methods to be added to the class diagram, even if the methods already exist in the parent super classes. The workaround that worked ok for me was to turn off the show operations in the class diagram. This wouldn't work in some cases, but was ok for what I was doing. If they are deleted from the classes, then the sequence diagrams get messed up.
• There is no way to choose between showing an aggregation/composition as a link or a member. Sometimes it seems like they display both, although I haven't figured out what sequence causes this. It seems to be related to if the class is on the diagram initially or not.
• Moving messages up and down in sequence diagrams is sometimes difficult. It seems like they must be moved slowly or something. Usually it is possible to get them ok, but may require several tries. It is sometimes related to number of items seleccted, so if too many move at once, click on the background.
• Code generation generates destructors with the wrong character. There doesn't appear to be a way to specify include files. These things mean that the code must be edited.
• I didn't fine a way to specify guards on sequence diagrams. This must be done using notes.

Find in files

• Open Gedit and go to Edit/Preferences/Plugin and select external tools.
• Press "Configure plugin".
• Press "New Tool" and add a new tool with the following.
• • Name : Find in files
  • Description : Find in files
  • Command :

      #!/bin/sh
      xargs gnome-search-tool --contains
      

  • Input : Current selection
  • Output: Display in bottom pane
  • Applicability: All documents
• Close the dialog

Find memory leaks

   valgrind --leak-check=yes --log-file=valgmem.txt testprogram

Optimize for speed

   #!/bin/sh
   # depends on packages:  oprofile, kprof
   # this also requires /usr/bin/opcontrol first line to be changed to #!/bin/bash

   #To compile and link with profiling enabled, add these lines to the .pro file:
   #QMAKE_CXXFLAGS_DEBUG += -pg
   #QMAKE_LFLAGS_DEBUG += -pg
   #Rebuild the application in debug mode:
   #$ qmake -config debug
   #$ make clean
   #$ make
   #Run the application as usual. A profile data file called gmon.out is created
   #when the application exits normally (eg. it doesn't crash). Finally, you must
   #run gprof to analyze the profile data:
   #$ gprof executable-file > outfile

   sudo opcontrol --no-vmlinux
   #sudo opcontrol --start-daemon
   sudo opcontrol --start
   bin/testchar manyreps
   sudo opcontrol --stop
   gprof bin/testchar >bin/profreport.txt
   mv gmon.out bin
   #opreport --symbols --debug-info --output-file ./opreport.txt
   kprof -f bin/profreport.txt
   #sudo opcontrol --start ; ./testchar --run ; opcontrol --stop
   #sudo opcontrol --shutdown

Other scripts

   #!/bin/sh
   find ../ -name '*.*~' -exec rm '{}' \;

   find ../ -wholename '*/bin/*' -exec rm '{}' \;

   #!/bin/sh
   find ../ -name '*.cpp' -exec ./untabifyfile.sh '{}' \;
   find ../ -name '*.h' -exec ./untabifyfile.sh '{}' \;

   #!/bin/sh
   expand $1 >$1.tmp
   mv $1.tmp $1

Xubuntu editor