Sonar 3.1 shows code problems at a glance

The new dashboards show problems at a glance
Source: SonarSource

SonarSource has announced the latest release of its Sonar code quality assurance tool which includes several new user interface customisation options as well as single sign-on (SSO) capabilities. Sonar is a web application which uses a range of popular static code analysis tools to examine code and create metrics on its quality; it can be integrated with Maven, Ant or continuous integration tools such as Jenkins, Hudson or Bamboo.

The latest version of Sonar gives users more options to see problems in their code base at a glance with the introduction of global dashboards that allow for a completely customisable homepage. Any filter view within Sonar can now be transformed into a widget that can be placed on these dashboards. Another new feature is support for single sign-on schemes – this allows administrators to integrate the tool with their company's authentication infrastructure. Support for OpenID and CAS is also available through plugins.

Sonar 3.1 also introduces improved JIRA integration: users can now automatically create JIRA tickets from within Sonar. An API makes integration with other project tracking systems possible as well. The new version also enables users to inspect and validate unit tests within Sonar and lets them enforce coding standards across the tests. Sonar 3.1 includes more than ten rules for Java unit tests, with support for other languages on the way.

Sonar is licensed under the LGPLv3 and includes plugins for the C, C#, Java and PHP programming languages. Plugins for web development and the Flex and Groovy frameworks are also included, and community plugins enable support for Python, JavaScript, Pascal and Delphi. Commercial options– SonarSource Professional Edition and SonarSource Enterprise Edition – include various levels of support and plugins for PL/SQL, COBOL and Visual Basic 6, as well as other features. These versions are available from €12,500 (£10,000) and €50,000 (£40,300) a year.

Sonar 3.1 can be downloaded from the company's web site and more information about the new features is also available. A detailed list of changes can be found in the release notes on Sonar's open source project site.

See also:

• Sonar 3.0 helps keep source code clean, a report from The H.

(fab)