Saib describes a test tool for FORTRAN and ADA programs that provides “static analysis, dynamic analysis, documentation, and debugging assistance.” The usage of the tool is then justified with information on the cost savings through early software error correction using RXVP.

Unfortunately, all of the features of this tool, as described in this paper, have been available for many years in many other development environments. The six options to RXVP that Saib list include:

• LIST--a Source listing facility with “pretty-printing” and level nesting, a feature found in most compilers.

• SUMMARY--an overview of each module analyzing the type (GOTO, COMMENT, CALL, etc.) of commands used, an invocation summary, and a COMMON SUMMARY, all of which are available in most development environments via a cross-reference or compiler option facility.

• DOCUMENT--a detailed cross reference facility at the module and system level. Much of the information on this report seems to duplicate the SUMMARY reports.

• STATIC--a consistancy checking tool generating warnings for unusual FORTRAN uses and constructs, in much the same way that “lint” checks “C” programs.

• INSTRUMENT AND SELF-METRIC--routines that probe the execution of the various code paths in the FORTRAN program. The information from these probes are collected into reports similiar to the UNIX “prof” profile program.