I have an idea for something. I know I can't be the only one to
think this way but I can't find very much information on it.
Basically, I want compile-time enforcement of semantic rules.
For one example--I asked previously here--if it was possible to
generate a compile-time warning or error if someone used a
function without checking the return value. But that is one
specific implementation of a more abstract idea: Setting up
rulesets to prevent common developer errors in my codebase that
trigger at compile-time.
I'm wondering how to go about a more general-purpose setup.
Now, if I was using C/C++, I could generate the AST (Abstract
Syntax Tree) with Clang. (And if you've never done it, I strongly
recommend it, it's quite beautiful.) Clang also has libclang for
modifying and generating AST on-the-fly which opens up huge
potential--but back to the point: if I can find how to get LDC2
to generate AST, I could write a parser and scan the AST for
patterns.
I've seen DIP50 and AST Macros which are very interesting... but
as far as I know, it's not implemented in any compiler.
So the question is: Is there a way to get LDC2 to generate AST or
similar, and if not, any other way to go about this?
And lastly, is there a proper term for this process, and/or a
field of research? I have found GCC MELT. But documentation is
sparse and it seems restricted to GCC and C/C++. I guess you
could call this "static analysis" with custom rules?
