Helix QAC facts for kids

Helix QAC is a special computer program that helps other computer programs work better. It's like a super smart assistant for people who write computer code. This tool checks the code for mistakes and makes sure it follows good rules.

What is Helix QAC?

Helix QAC is a software tool that helps programmers find problems in their computer code. It does this by looking at the code without actually running it. This process is called static code analysis. Think of it like a spell checker or grammar checker for your essays, but for computer programs! The "QAC" in its name stands for Quality Assurance and Control.

How Helix QAC Helps Programmers

This tool is really good at making sure computer code is high quality. It can check if the code follows certain rules, like those in MISRA C. MISRA C is a set of guidelines that help make C language programs safer and more reliable, especially for important systems like those in cars.

Helix QAC can also measure different things about the code. These measurements are called software metrics. They help programmers understand how complex their code is or how much of it they have. This is very useful for big projects with lots of code.

How Programmers Use Helix QAC

Programmers can use Helix QAC in a few ways. It has a special window called an integrated development environment (IDE). This IDE helps programmers write, understand, and fix their code. It shows detailed information about the code and even uses pictures to help explain things.

Programmers can also use Helix QAC by typing commands into a command line interface. This is like giving the computer text instructions. After the tool checks the code, the results can then be shown in the graphical IDE.

A Bit of History

Helix QAC was first created in 1986 by a company in the United Kingdom called Programming Research Limited (PRQA). It was made specifically for the C programming language. Later, in May 2018, a company named Perforce Software bought PRQA.

The tool was even used to measure the C language code for a book called Safer C by Les Hatton. This shows how important and trusted Helix QAC is in the world of computer programming.

See also

• List of tools for static code analysis