1CSCOPE(1) General Commands Manual CSCOPE(1)
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6 cscope - interactively examine a C program
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9 cscope [-bCcdehkLlqRTUuVvX] [-Fsymfile] [-freffile] [-Iincdir] [-iname‐
10 file] [-0123456789pattern] [-pn] [-sdir] [files]
11
13 cscope is an interactive, screen-oriented tool that allows the user to
14 browse through C source files for specified elements of code.
15 By default, cscope examines the C (.c and .h), lex (.l), and yacc (.y)
17 source files in the current directory. cscope may also be invoked for
18 source files named on the command line. In either case, cscope searches
19 the standard directories for #include files that it does not find in
20 the current directory. cscope uses a symbol cross-reference, called
21 cscope.out by default, to locate functions, function calls, macros,
22 variables, and preprocessor symbols in the files.
23 cscope builds the symbol cross-reference the first time it is used on
25 the source files for the program being browsed. On a subsequent invoca‐
26 tion, cscope rebuilds the cross-reference only if a source file has
27 changed or the list of source files is different. When the cross-refer‐
28 ence is rebuilt, the data for the unchanged files are copied from the
29 old cross-reference, which makes rebuilding faster than the initial
30 build.
31
33 Some command line arguments can only occur as the only argument in the
34 execution of cscope. They cause the program to just print out some
35 output and exit immediately:
36 -h View the long usage help display.
38 -V Print on the first line of screen the version number of cscope.
40 --help Same as -h
42 --version
44 Same as -V
45 The following options can appear in any combination:
48 -b Build the cross-reference only.
50 -C Ignore letter case when searching.
52 -c Use only ASCII characters in the cross-reference file, that is,
54 do not compress the data.
55 -d Do not update the cross-reference.
57 -e Suppress the <Ctrl>-e command prompt between files.
59 -Fsymfile
61 Read symbol reference lines from symfile. (A symbol reference
62 file is created by > and >>, and can also be read using the <
63 command, described under ``Issuing Subsequent Requests'',
64 below.)
65 -freffile
67 Use reffile as the cross-reference file name instead of the
68 default "cscope.out".
69 -Iincdir
71 Look in incdir (before looking in $INCDIR, the standard place
72 for header files, normally /usr/include) for any #include files
73 whose names do not begin with ``/'' and that are not specified
74 on the command line or in namefile below. (The #include files
75 may be specified with either double quotes or angle brackets.)
76 The incdir directory is searched in addition to the current
77 directory (which is searched first) and the standard list (which
78 is searched last). If more than one occurrence of -I appears,
79 the directories are searched in the order they appear on the
80 command line.
81 -inamefile
83 Browse through all source files whose names are listed in name‐
84 file (file names separated by spaces, tabs, or new-lines)
85 instead of the default name list file, which is called
86 cscope.files. If this option is specified, cscope ignores any
87 file names appearing on the command line. The argument namefile
88 can be set to ``-'' to accept a list of files from the standard
89 input. Filenames in the namefile that contain whitespace have
90 to be enclosed in "double quotes". Inside such quoted file‐
91 names, any double-quote and backslash characters have to be
92 escaped by backslashes.
93 -k ``Kernel Mode'', turns off the use of the default include dir
95 (usually /usr/include) when building the database, since kernel
96 source trees generally do not use it.
97 -L Do a single search with line-oriented output when used with the
99 -num pattern option.
100 -l Line-oriented interface (see ``Line-Oriented Interface'' below).
102 -[0-9]pattern
104 Go to input field num (counting from 0) and find pattern.
105 -Ppath Prepend path to relative file names in a pre-built cross-refer‐
107 ence file so you do not have to change to the directory where
108 the cross-reference file was built. This option is only valid
109 with the -d option.
110 -pn Display the last n file path components instead of the default
112 (1). Use 0 not to display the file name at all.
113 -q Enable fast symbol lookup via an inverted index. This option
115 causes cscope to create 2 more files (default names
116 ``cscope.in.out'' and ``cscope.po.out'') in addition to the nor‐
117 mal database. This allows a faster symbol search algorithm that
118 provides noticeably faster lookup performance for large
119 projects.
120 -R Recurse subdirectories during search for source files.
122 -sdir Look in dir for additional source files. This option is ignored
124 if source files are given on the command line.
125 -T Use only the first eight characters to match against C symbols.
127 A regular expression containing special characters other than a
128 period (.) will not match any symbol if its minimum length is
129 greater than eight characters.
130 -U Check file time stamps. This option will update the time stamp
132 on the database even if no files have changed.
133 -u Unconditionally build the cross-reference file (assume that all
135 files have changed).
136 -v Be more verbose in line-oriented mode. Output progress updates
138 during database building and searches.
139 -X Remove the cscope reference file and inverted indexes when exit‐
141 ing
142 files A list of file names to operate on.
144 The -I, -c, -k, -p, -q, and -T options can also be in the cscope.files
146 file.
147 Requesting the initial search
149 After the cross-reference is ready, cscope will display this menu:
150 Find this C symbol:
152 Find this function definition:
153 Find functions called by this function:
154 Find functions calling this function:
155 Find this text string:
156 Change this text string:
157 Find this egrep pattern:
158 Find this file:
159 Find files #including this file:
160 Find assignments to this symbol:
161 Press the <Up> or <Down> keys repeatedly to move to the desired input
163 field, type the text to search for, and then press the <Return> key.
164 Issuing subsequent requests
166 If the search is successful, any of these single-character commands can
167 be used:
168 0-9a-zA-Z
170 Edit the file referenced by the given line number.
171 <Space>
173 Display next set of matching lines.
174 <Tab> Alternate between the menu and the list of matching lines
176 <Up> Move to the previous menu item (if the cursor is in the menu) or
178 move to the previous matching line (if the cursor is in the
179 matching line list.)
180 <Down> Move to the next menu item (if the cursor is in the menu) or
182 move to the next matching line (if the cursor is in the matching
183 line list.)
184 + Display next set of matching lines.
186 - Display previous set of matching lines.
188 ^e Edit displayed files in order.
190 > Write the displayed list of lines to a file.
192 >> Append the displayed list of lines to a file.
194 < Read lines from a file that is in symbol reference format (cre‐
196 ated by > or >>), just like the -F option.
197 ^ Filter all lines through a shell command and display the result‐
199 ing lines, replacing the lines that were already there.
200 | Pipe all lines to a shell command and display them without
202 changing them.
203 At any time these single-character commands can also be used:
205 <Return>
207 Move to next input field.
208 ^n Move to next input field.
210 ^p Move to previous input field.
212 ^y Search with the last text typed.
214 ^b Move to previous input field and search pattern.
216 ^f Move to next input field and search pattern.
218 ^c Toggle ignore/use letter case when searching. (When ignoring
220 letter case, search for ``FILE'' will match ``File'' and
221 ``file''.)
222 ^r Rebuild the cross-reference.
224 ! Start an interactive shell (type ^d to return to cscope).
226 ^l Redraw the screen.
228 ? Give help information about cscope commands.
230 ^d Exit cscope.
232 NOTE: If the first character of the text to be searched for matches one
234 of the above commands, escape it by typing a (backslash) first.
235 Substituting new text for old text
237 After the text to be changed has been typed, cscope will prompt for the
239 new text, and then it will display the lines containing the old text.
240 Select the lines to be changed with these single-character commands:
241 0-9a-zA-Z
243 Mark or unmark the line to be changed.
244 * Mark or unmark all displayed lines to be changed.
246 <Space>
248 Display next set of lines.
249 + Display next set of lines.
251 - Display previous set of lines.
253 a Mark or unmark all lines to be changed.
255 ^d Change the marked lines and exit.
257 <Esc> Exit without changing the marked lines.
259 ! Start an interactive shell (type ^d to return to cscope).
261 ^l Redraw the screen.
263 ? Give help information about cscope commands.
265 Special keys
267 If your terminal has arrow keys that work in vi, you can use
268 them to move around the input fields. The up-arrow key is useful
269 to move to the previous input field instead of using the <Tab>
270 key repeatedly. If you have <CLEAR>, <NEXT>, or <PREV> keys they
271 will act as the ^l, +, and - commands, respectively.
272 Line-Oriented interface
274 The -l option lets you use cscope where a screen-oriented interface
275 would not be useful, for example, from another screen-oriented program.
276 cscope will prompt with >> when it is ready for an input line starting
278 with the field number (counting from 0) immediately followed by the
279 search pattern, for example, ``lmain'' finds the definition of the main
280 function.
281 If you just want a single search, instead of the -l option use the -L
283 and -num pattern options, and you won't get the >> prompt.
284 For -l, cscope outputs the number of reference lines cscope: 2 lines
286 For each reference found, cscope outputs a line consisting of the file
288 name, function name, line number, and line text, separated by spaces,
289 for example, main.c main 161 main(argc, argv)
290 Note that the editor is not called to display a single reference,
292 unlike the screen-oriented interface.
293 You can use the c command to toggle ignore/use letter case when search‐
295 ing. (When ignoring letter case, search for ``FILE'' will match
296 ``File'' and ``file''.)
297 You can use the r command to rebuild the database.
299 cscope will quit when it detects end-of-file, or when the first charac‐
301 ter of an input line is ``^d'' or ``q''.
302
304 CSCOPE_EDITOR
305 Overrides the EDITOR and VIEWER variables. Use this if you wish
306 to use a different editor with cscope than that specified by
307 your EDITOR/VIEWER variables.
308 CSCOPE_LINEFLAG
310 Format of the line number flag for your editor. By default,
311 cscope invokes your editor via the equivalent of ``editor +N
312 file'', where ``N'' is the line number that the editor should
313 jump to. This format is used by both emacs and vi. If your edi‐
314 tor needs something different, specify it in this variable, with
315 ``%s'' as a placeholder for the line number. Ex: if your editor
316 needs to be invoked as ``editor -#103 file'' to go to line 103,
317 set this variable to ``-#%s''.
318 CSCOPE_LINEFLAG_AFTER_FILE
320 Set this variable to ``yes'' if your editor needs to be invoked
321 with the line number option after the filename to be edited. To
322 continue the example from CSCOPE_LINEFLAG, above: if your editor
323 needs to see ``editor file -#number'', set this environment
324 variable. Users of most standard editors (vi, emacs) do not need
325 to set this variable.
326 EDITOR Preferred editor, which defaults to vi.
328 HOME Home directory, which is automatically set at login.
330 INCLUDEDIRS
332 Colon-separated list of directories to search for #include
333 files.
334 SHELL Preferred shell, which defaults to sh.
336 SOURCEDIRS
338 Colon-separated list of directories to search for additional
339 source files.
340 TERM Terminal type, which must be a screen terminal.
342 TERMINFO
344 Terminal information directory full path name. If your terminal
345 is not in the standard terminfo directory, see curses and ter‐
346 minfo for how to make your own terminal description.
347 TMPDIR Temporary file directory, which defaults to /var/tmp.
349 VIEWER Preferred file display program (such as less), which overrides
351 EDITOR (see above).
352 VPATH A colon-separated list of directories, each of which has the
354 same directory structure below it. If VPATH is set, cscope
355 searches for source files in the directories specified; if it is
356 not set, cscope searches only in the current directory.
357
359 cscope.files
360 Default files containing -I, -p, -q, and -T options and the list
361 of source files (overridden by the -i option).
362 cscope.out
364 Symbol cross-reference file (overridden by the -f option), which
365 is put in the home directory if it cannot be created in the cur‐
366 rent directory.
367 cscope.in.out
369 cscope.po.out
370 Default files containing the inverted index used for quick sym‐
371 bol searching (-q option). If you use the -f option to rename
372 the cross-reference file (so it's not cscope.out), the names for
373 these inverted index files will be created by adding
374 .in and .po to the name you supply with -f. For example, if you
375 indicated -f xyz, then these files would be named xyz.in and
376 xyz.po.
377 INCDIR Standard directory for #include files (usually /usr/include).
379
381 cscope recognizes function definitions of the form:
382 fname blank ( args ) white arg_decs white {
383 where: fname is the function name
385 blank is zero or more spaces, tabs, vtabs, form feeds or carriage
387 returns, not including newlines
388 args is any string that does not contain a ``"'' or a newline
390 white is zero or more spaces, tabs, vtabs, form feeds, carriage
392 returns or newlines
393 arg_decs
395 are zero or more argument declarations (arg_decs may include
396 comments and white space)
397 It is not necessary for a function declaration to start at the begin‐
399 ning of a line. The return type may precede the function name; cscope
400 will still recognize the declaration. Function definitions that deviate
401 from this form will not be recognized by cscope.
402 The ``Function'' column of the search output for the menu option Find
404 functions called by this function: input field will only display the
405 first function called in the line, that is, for this function
406 e()
408 {
409 return (f() + g());
410 }
411 the display would be
413 Functions called by this function: e
415 File Function Line
416 a.c f 3 return(f() + g());
417 Occasionally, a function definition or call may not be recognized
419 because of braces inside #if statements. Similarly, the use of a vari‐
420 able may be incorrectly recognized as a definition.
421 A typedef name preceding a preprocessor statement will be incorrectly
423 recognized as a global definition, for example,
424 LDFILE *
426 #if AR16WR
427 Preprocessor statements can also prevent the recognition of a global
429 definition, for example,
430 char flag
432 #ifdef ALLOCATE_STORAGE
433 = -1
434 #endif
435 ;
436 A function declaration inside a function is incorrectly recognized as a
438 function call, for example,
439 f()
441 {
442 void g();
443 }
444 is incorrectly recognized as a call to g.
446 cscope recognizes C++ classes by looking for the class keyword, but
448 doesn't recognize that a struct is also a class, so it doesn't recog‐
449 nize inline member function definitions in a structure. It also doesn't
450 expect the class keyword in a typedef , so it incorrectly recognizes X
451 as a definition in
452 typedef class X * Y;
454 It also doesn't recognize operator function definitions
456 Bool Feature::operator==(const Feature & other)
458 {
459 ...
460 }
461 Nor does it recognize function definitions with a function pointer
463 argument
464 ParseTable::Recognize(int startState, char *pattern,
466 int finishState, void (*FinalAction)(char *))
467 {
468 ...
469 }
470The Santa Cruz Operation January 2007 CSCOPE(1)