SciTools Understand Guides

Whether you are new to Understand or an experienced user, SciTools have released a set of guides showing how to get the most out of Understand

Measure your code’s performance with Metrics

Metrics give better insight into your code. SciTools Understand is extremely efficient at collecting metrics about the code it analyses. These metrics can be viewed in the GUI, extracted automatically via command line calls, exported to spreadsheets, viewed graphically and even customised via the Understand APIs.

Effortlessly navigate your code using the Information Browser feature provided in SciTools Understand software.

Everything Understand knows about your code, is summarised and shown in the information browser. The information browser is used for all types of entities and will show only the information relevant for that entity’s type. You can quickly see subentities, uses, calls, metrics and even references to where that entity is used within your project. The information browser is always just a few clicks away.

Comment your code without modifying the source using Annotations

Annotations are an easy and convenient way for SciTools Understand users to add documentation without making changes to the source code directly. Jet still having access to it right in context with the code. Annotations make it easy to comment on a specific location in your source code or an individual entity, attach important documents and even save white board images. Keep in mind, your annotations are saved with your project in the .und folder. So when you share your project with others, they’ll be able to see any annotation you’ve made.

Explore your version changes with Git Integration

Git Integration is a convenient and powerful way for SciTools Understand users to view, commit history and unlock information directly in their source code. With Git Integration you’re now able to see who changed or created a file, view version differences side by side and see commit information, all without leaving Understand.

Reorganize your project into customized directory structures using Architectures

SciTools Understand lets you reorganise your code through it’s userto find hierarchies called architectures. These architectures essentially allow you to restructure your project directory for any purpose whatsoever. Different teams use architectures for many different activities. One group could created a complexity report, based on their staff to track which team is working on the most complex code bases. Another could use architectures to keep track of large refactoring projects to regularly query which files have been updated and which still need work. One of the most popular uses is organising the code into functional units and viewing dependencies between those different units to answer questions such as what dependencies do we have on external libraries?

Customize your perfect development environment with Themes and Styles

SciTools Understand offers dark mode compatibility and a highly customisable interface. You can switch between light and dark mode and customise your editor from thousands of style combinations or simply select a predefined theme to turn Understand to into the perfect IDE for you.

Instantly contextualize your code with the Previewer

The SciTools Understand previewer allows you, to quickly pull up any entity separately from the editor, so that you can better visualise it’s context without having to leave or switch from your editor tab.

Find exactly what you need using the Entity Filter

In Understand your project’s data is captured in the form of an entity. Entities are defined as any unit in your project that Understand could gather information on. This includes files, clusters, functions etc. and the filter will automatically recognise language specified entities based on your project configuration. The entity filter gives you immediate access to every entity in your project with a convenient dropdown filter and search box to find exactly the one you want. Once you get in the habit of using SciTools Understand’s entity filter, you’ll notice an instant improvement in your workflow and you’ll be using Understand like a pro.

Strengthen your source code with Codecheck

Codecheck allows you to run your code against published coding standards, for example MISRA, HIS etc, recommended checks or even your own custom standards. These checks can be used to verify naming guidelines, metric requirements, published best practices or any other conventions that may be important to your team.