Documentation from uncommented C Code

[Susan Brown <sbrown -at- JSCSYS -dot- COM>]

Hi, Hi!!

        This post comes under the heading 'Life is hard: then you die.'

        Due to development overruns, I have been placed in the position of
starting work on the system maintenance manuals for a fairly complex system
without any developer help (initially).

        I have been handed volumes of (mostly) uncommented C code. (I have
never programmed in C, or studied it in any depth, so my knowledge is
basically what I picked up in general about programming when I did my
degree, plus  perusing Kernighan and Ritchie).

        Manually sifting through this has proved time ineffective. I located
a tool (The STX Software Exploration Tool) which is helping me with some of
what I need (functions/routines, and data structure definitions. It is
actually quite useful). However, the developers and client both want
itemized lists of the global variables in the system. I have been unable to
find a tool that will provide this.

        Three questions:

        1) Do any of you know of any C tools that will parse files
(including includes) for Global variable definitions and usage????

        2) Any general tips on constructing technical/maintenance references
        from uncommented code?

        3) More generally, how often have you faced this, and how do
        you cope with it?

Susan Brown
JSC Systems

"Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you
come to the end: then stop."
                                        - Lewis Carroll

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