CS 3733 Operating Systems: Running Lint

The lint program is not available under Linux. You must run it on one of the Sun Solaris machines. If you are running on Linux, the easiest way to do this is to removely log into a Solaris machine in one of your windows.

To run lint execute:
lint filelist
where filelist is a list of files with extension .c separated by blanks. The list should include exactly one file with a main method.

If lint does not seem to be working, execute the following:
which lint
This should produces something like:
/ropt/SUNWspro/bin/lint
If not, you need to adjust your path.

You must understand all of the warnings generated by running lint.
Some of these warnings can usually be ignored such as the ones listed below:

Some lint warning messages that can usually be ignored:

• Returns a value that is always ignored
• Returns a value that is sometimes ignored

Some lint warnings such as the ones below, usually indicate a critical error in programming.

Some lint warning messages that should never be ignored:

• implicitly declared to return int
• name used but not defined
• function argument (number) used inconsistently
• function falls off end without returning a value
• variable may be used before set

Sime lint warning can be ignored if you understand why they have occurred.

Some lint warning messages that may sometimes be ignored:

• argument unused in function
• declared global, could be static