quality-checker

name	quality-checker
description	Run comprehensive quality checks (static analysis, memory safety, thread safety, build verification) in the standard test container. Use when validating code changes or debugging before committing.

Container-Based Quality Checker

Purpose

Execute comprehensive quality checks on the remote debugger codebase using the same containerized environment as CI pipelines. Ensures consistency between local development and automated testing.

Usage

Invoke this skill when:

• Validating changes before committing
• Debugging build or test failures
• Running quality checks locally
• Verifying memory safety of new code
• Checking for thread safety issues
• Performing static analysis

You can run all checks or select specific ones based on your needs.

What It Does

This skill runs quality checks inside the official test container used by this repository (ghcr.io/rdkcentral/docker-device-mgt-service-test/native-platform:latest), which includes:

• Build tools (gcc, g++, autotools, make)
• Static analysis tools (cppcheck, shellcheck)
• Memory analysis tools (valgrind)
• Thread analysis tools (helgrind)
• Google Test/Mock frameworks

Available Checks

1. Static Analysis

• cppcheck: Comprehensive C/C++ static code analyzer
• shellcheck: Shell script linter
• Output: XML report with findings

2. Memory Safety (Valgrind)

• Memory leak detection: Finds unreleased allocations
• Use-after-free detection: Catches dangling pointer usage
• Invalid memory access: Buffer overflows, uninitialized reads
• Output: XML and log files per test binary

3. Thread Safety (Helgrind)

• Race condition detection: Finds unsynchronized shared memory access
• Deadlock detection: Identifies lock ordering issues
• Lock usage verification: Validates proper synchronization
• Output: XML and log files per test binary

4. Build Verification

• Strict compilation: Builds with -Wall -Wextra -Werror
• Test build: Verifies tests compile
• Binary analysis: Reports size and dependencies
• Output: Build artifacts and size report

Execution Process

Step 1: Setup Container Environment

Pull the latest test container:

docker pull ghcr.io/rdkcentral/docker-device-mgt-service-test/native-platform:latest

Start container with workspace mounted:

docker run -d --name native-platform \
  -v /path/to/workspace:/mnt/workspace \
  ghcr.io/rdkcentral/docker-device-mgt-service-test/native-platform:latest

Step 2: Run Selected Checks

Execute the requested quality checks inside the container:

Static Analysis:

docker exec -i native-platform /bin/bash -c "
  cd /mnt/workspace && \
  cppcheck --enable=all \
           --inconclusive \
           --suppress=missingIncludeSystem \
           --suppress=unmatchedSuppression \
           --error-exitcode=0 \
           --xml \
           --xml-version=2 \
           . 2> cppcheck-report.xml
"

Shell Script Checks:

docker exec -i native-platform /bin/bash -c "
  cd /mnt/workspace && \
  find . -name '*.sh' -type f -exec shellcheck {} +
"

Memory Safety:

docker exec -i native-platform /bin/bash -c "
   cd /mnt/workspace/src/unittest && \
   automake --add-missing && \
   autoreconf --install && \
   ./configure && \
   make -j\$(nproc) && \
   find . -type f -executable -name '*gtest*' 2>/dev/null | while read test_bin; do
    valgrind --leak-check=full \
             --show-leak-kinds=all \
             --track-origins=yes \
             --xml=yes \
             --xml-file=\"valgrind-\$(basename \$test_bin).xml\" \
             \"\$test_bin\" 2>&1 | tee \"valgrind-\$(basename \$test_bin).log\"
  done
"

Thread Safety:

docker exec -i native-platform /bin/bash -c "
   cd /mnt/workspace/src/unittest && \
   find . -type f -executable -name '*gtest*' 2>/dev/null | while read test_bin; do
    valgrind --tool=helgrind \
             --track-lockorders=yes \
             --xml=yes \
             --xml-file=\"helgrind-\$(basename \$test_bin).xml\" \
             \"\$test_bin\" 2>&1 | tee \"helgrind-\$(basename \$test_bin).log\"
  done
"

Build Verification:

docker exec -i native-platform /bin/bash -c "
   cd /mnt/workspace && \
   sh -e cov_build.sh && \
   if [ -f 'src/remotedebugger' ]; then
      ls -lh src/remotedebugger
      file src/remotedebugger
      size src/remotedebugger
   fi
   if [ -f 'src/unittest/remotedebugger_gtest' ]; then
      ls -lh src/unittest/remotedebugger_gtest
      file src/unittest/remotedebugger_gtest
      size src/unittest/remotedebugger_gtest
   fi
"

Step 3: Report Results

Parse and summarize results for the user:

• Number of issues found by category
• Critical issues requiring immediate attention
• Warnings that should be addressed
• Memory leaks with stack traces
• Race conditions or deadlock risks
• Build errors or warnings

Step 4: Cleanup

Stop and remove the container:

docker stop native-platform
docker rm native-platform

Interpreting Results

Static Analysis (cppcheck)

• error: Critical issues that must be fixed
• warning: Potential problems to review
• style: Code style improvements
• performance: Optimization opportunities

Memory Safety (Valgrind)

• definitely lost: Memory leaks requiring fixes
• indirectly lost: Leaks from lost parent structures
• possibly lost: Potential leaks to investigate
• still reachable: Memory held at exit (usually OK)
• Invalid read/write: Buffer overflow (CRITICAL)
• Use of uninitialized value: Must initialize before use

Thread Safety (Helgrind)

• Possible data race: Unsynchronized access to shared data
• Lock order violation: Potential deadlock scenario
• Unlocking unlocked lock: Synchronization bug
• Thread still holds locks: Resource leak

Build Verification

• Compilation errors: Must fix before proceeding
• Warnings: Review and fix (builds with -Werror)
• Binary size: Monitor for embedded constraints

User Interaction

When invoked, ask the user:

1. Which checks to run?

   • All checks (comprehensive)
   • Static analysis only (fast)
   • Memory safety only
   • Thread safety only
   • Build verification only
   • Custom combination

2. Scope:

   • Full codebase
   • Specific directories
   • Recently changed files

3. Report detail:

   • Summary only (counts and critical issues)
   • Detailed (all findings)
   • Full raw output

Example Invocations

User: "Run quality checks"

• Default: Run all checks on full codebase, provide summary

User: "Check memory safety"

• Run only valgrind checks, detailed report

User: "Quick static analysis"

• Run cppcheck and shellcheck, summary only

User: "Verify my changes build"

• Run build verification with strict warnings

User: "Full analysis on src"

• Run all checks scoped to the remote debugger sources

Best Practices

1. Run before committing: Catch issues early
2. Start with static analysis: Fastest feedback
3. Run memory checks on test binaries: Most effective
4. Review thread safety for concurrent code: Essential for multi-threaded components
5. Monitor binary size: Important for embedded targets

Integration with Development Workflow

1. Pre-commit: Quick static analysis
2. Pre-push: Full quality check suite
3. Debugging: Targeted memory/thread analysis
4. Code review: Validate reviewer feedback
5. Refactoring: Ensure no regressions

Advantages Over Manual Testing

• Consistency: Same environment as CI/CD
• Completeness: All tools in one command
• Reproducibility: Container ensures identical results
• Efficiency: No local tool installation needed
• Confidence: Pass locally = pass in CI

Output Files Generated

• cppcheck-report.xml: Static analysis findings
• valgrind-<testname>.xml: Memory issues per test
• valgrind-<testname>.log: Detailed memory logs
• helgrind-<testname>.xml: Thread safety issues per test
• helgrind-<testname>.log: Detailed concurrency logs

These files can be uploaded as artifacts or reviewed locally.

Limitations

• Requires Docker with GitHub Container Registry access
• Container pulls can be slow on first run (cached afterward)
• Full suite can take several minutes depending on codebase size
• Valgrind slows execution significantly (expected)

Tips for Faster Execution

1. Use cached container images (don't pull every time)
2. Run static analysis first (fastest)
3. Scope checks to changed directories
4. Run memory/thread checks only on affected tests
5. Use parallel execution where possible

Skill Execution Logic

When user invokes this skill:

1. Check local image first

   • Reuse the existing native-platform image when present
   • Pull only when needed and only with user approval outside CI

2. Start container

   • Mount workspace at /mnt/workspace
   • Use unique container name (quality-checker-)
   • Run in detached mode

3. Execute requested checks

   • Run checks in sequence
   • Capture output
   • Continue on errors (collect all findings)

4. Collect results

   • Copy result files from container
   • Parse XML/log outputs
   • Categorize findings

5. Report to user

   • Summary count
   • Critical issues highlighted
   • Link to detailed reports
   • Next steps recommendations

6. Cleanup

   • Stop container
   • Remove container
   • Optional: clean up result files

Error Handling

• Container pull fails: Report error, suggest manual pull
• Container start fails: Check Docker daemon, ports, permissions
• Build fails: Report build errors, stop further checks
• Tools missing: Verify container version, report missing tools
• Out of memory: Suggest increasing Docker memory limit