C and C++ SoftBench User's Guide

Using Static Graphs
Simplifying Graph Displays
Chapter 10292
Simplifying Graph Displays
The Static Graphs can display many relationships between items in your
program simultaneously. To use the graphs effectively, you may want to
display only a subset of these relationships. You can filter nodes out
based on topics such as inheritance, containment, type of function call,
declarations, and many others, depending on the graph. To apply filters
to new nodes and arcs that are added to the graph, choose "View:
Filters…". The filters take effect immediately. When you make changes,
such as settings filters, SoftBench Static Analyzer saves the changes
automatically.
The main SoftBench Static Analyzer window also offers filtering
mechanisms. See “Simplifying Query Results” on page 266.
Reducing Graph Complexity
For large software applications, you can control graph complexity by
reducing the number of relationships displayed on the graph or by hiding
relationships of lesser interest after they are displayed.
For example, when you display all functions on the Call Graph, the
resulting graph contains all functions and all "Calls" and "Calls
Within" relationships. Once you see the entire graph, you may decide to
concentrate on a small subsection of the call hierarchy and hide the rest
of the graph:
1. Choose "Graph: All Functions" to display the initial call graph of
all functions.
2. Press Shift, then select the node at the top of the subsection of nodes
that you want to retain. The Shift key causes SoftBench Static
Analyzer to select all nodes in the hierarchy below the selected node.
Alternatively, you can select multiple nodes by pressing the Control
key as you individually select nodes, or you can drag the mouse and
draw a box around the nodes you want to select.
3. Choose "Hide Unselected" from the popup menu.
In this example, you selected the nodes to retain. You can also hide
nodes using reverse logic and select the nodes you want to hide, then
choose "Hide Selected".