How Ripscope is built

Ripscope is designed and maintained by Peder Bergan. It combines a scanner for written C, a SQLite index and cscope’s line-oriented query protocol. The source and documentation explain how a result is obtained and where the reading has limits.

Written source, without a build

The scanner reads files without invoking a compiler or preprocessor. It records occurrences, declarations, calls and their contexts, including inactive #if branches. It does not resolve types, expand arbitrary macros or prove which calls execute. Every readable file contributes the facts the scanner recognises; uncertainty in one construct does not discard the whole file. See how Ripscope reads C and limitations.

A complete revision for each query

The index is one SQLite file. Updates commit through a transaction, while queries read a complete revision. Stored symbol queries use the index; text searches read the current source files. Ordinary Refresh uses file metadata and identity, plus content hashes for recent edits. --verify reads every source file, including Windows edits that preserve size and restore modification time. The storage and lifecycle guide explains these choices.

Evidence for specific behavior

• A pinned reference. Baseline observations come from a checksum-verified cscope executable. Source reading explains behavior; the executable supplies the captured output.
• Separate intended readings. A Correction changes a bounded reading where cscope is wrong. Paired fixtures keep both the reference observation and the intended result. Ambiguous cases and disabled candidates stay visible.
• Independent source labels. Navigation expectations from written C check correctness separately from agreement with cscope. Unassessed source remains unassessed, and a retained expectation does not mean the product passes it.

The evidence index links these inputs and their scopes. The proof page gives concrete examples, and quality and compatibility describes how to run the checks. Finite fixtures do not establish arbitrary-C accuracy or current corpus-wide performance.

Implementation and checks

Ripscope is written in Rust with unsafe code forbidden, exact dependency pins and a locked build. Unit tests exercise the scanner, query engine, storage and Refresh. Integration tests run the real executable through one-shot queries, sessions, warnings, JSON output and recovery. Separate editor checks drive Vim, Neovim and Emacs in isolated projects.

Design choices and their tradeoffs are recorded in the architecture decisions. Start with the architecture overview for the module boundaries, or Contributing to build and test a change.