Proposal: Javac Abstract Syntax Tree Viewer

[Jan Lahoda]

Hi Chris,

On 6.5.2014 12:12, Chris Newland wrote:
> Hi Jan,
>
> Would your AST tool be written in Java? JITWatch is uses Java 7 features

Yes, written in Java.

> and has a JavaFX UI which may be a hurdle to getting it into code-tools.
>
> Given that the other code tools are tightly focussed perhaps we'd be
> better keeping them as separate projects and looking at a possible
> integration further down the line?

That sounds good to me.

Thanks,
    Jan

>
> Kind regards,
>
> Chris
>
>> Hi Chris,
>>
>> On 05/02/2014 02:55 PM, Chris Newland wrote:
>>> Hi Jan,
>>>
>>> Do you mean something like this:
>>> http://www.eclipse.org/jdt/ui/astview/index.php
>>
>> Yes, something like that (inspired more by the NetBeans version of
>> thereof, and providing some more information about javac internal states).
>>
>>>
>>> I'm also working on a tool as part of the Adoption Group
>>> (https://wiki.openjdk.java.net/display/Adoption/Main) that may be
>>> suitable
>>> for code-tools.
>>>
>>> I don't mean to hijack the thread but there may be some crossover.
>>>
>>> I've built a tool called JITWatch[1] for visualising the result of
>>> HotSpot's LogCompilation output but it can also be used for more general
>>> bytecode analysis and I think an AST viewer would be a great addition.
>>>
>>> Happy to work together on this if you like?
>>
>> Not sure how big is the overlap (analysis of compile-time data compared
>> to analysis of run-time data), but if it would make sense, we should
>> collaborate. What are your plans on this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>       Jan
>>
>>>
>>> Kind regards,
>>>
>>> Chris Newland
>>> @chriswhocodes
>>>
>>> [1] https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/jitwatch/wiki
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi Volker,
>>>>
>>>> I was not considering that so far. I might have been confusing saying
>>>> "graphical". What I meant so far was a GUI, not painting the AST as a
>>>> graph. My current prototype is simply a text pane showing the source
>>>> code and a tree view showing the AST for the source code.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>        Jan
>>>>
>>>> On 05/02/2014 07:48 AM, Volker Simonis wrote:
>>>>> Hi Jan,
>>>>>
>>>>> will this new tool integrate with and/or reuse parts of the Ideal
>>>>> Graph
>>>>> Visualizer [1], [2] already used in HotSpot and Graal?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Volker
>>>>>
>>>>> [1] http://ssw.jku.at/General/Staff/TW/igv.html
>>>>> [2]
>>>>> https://wikis.oracle.com/display/HotSpotInternals/IdealGraphVisualizer
>>>>>
>>>>> On Monday, April 28, 2014, Jan Lahoda <jan.lahoda at oracle.com
>>>>> <mailto:jan.lahoda at oracle.com>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>       Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>>       I would like to propose a tool for inclusion to the Code Tools
>>>>> project:
>>>>>
>>>>>       ---
>>>>>       Tool Name: Javac Abstract Syntax Tree Viewer
>>>>>
>>>>>       Summary: Graphical viewer for inspection of AST, and other data,
>>>>>       produced by the standard Java compiler, javac.
>>>>>
>>>>>       Proposed By: Jan Lahoda
>>>>>
>>>>>       Rationale:
>>>>>       The way javac models source code is not always easy to grasp,
>>>>>       despite all attempts to make it as convenient as possible. Being
>>>>>       able to actually see and inspect the AST and related information
>>>>>       using a convenient UI is therefore very useful.
>>>>>
>>>>>       Hereby, a GUI tool to visualize javac ASTs and related
>>>>> information
>>>>>       is proposed for the Code Tools project. The primary target
>>>>> audience
>>>>>       of the tool are clients using the javac source code modeling
>>>>> APIs.
>>>>>       Secondary target audience are javac developers themselves. The
>>>>> tool
>>>>>       should therefore also support inspection of javac internal
>>>>> aspects
>>>>>       of the model.
>>>>>       ---
>>>>>
>>>>>       Thanks,
>>>>>            Jan
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>