Developer Tools & Code Intelligence · core
Static & Dynamic Analysis
ASTs, control/data flow, abstract interpretation, symbolic execution, sanitizers, profiling, and runtime instrumentation.
Mental model
Static analysis reasons over possible executions; dynamic analysis observes actual executions. Combining them trades breadth for concrete evidence.
How to study Static & Dynamic Analysis
Begin by restating the mental model in your own words, then connect it to a concrete system you have built or operated. Name the mechanism, the constraint it addresses, and the trade-off it introduces. Use CodeQL Documentation, Lessons from Building Static Analysis Tools at Google (CACM 2018), Easy Abstract Interpretation with SPARTA (Strange Loop 2019) to check details, but close the source before writing your explanation. Retrieval is the learning step; rereading is only preparation.
Next, compare Static & Dynamic Analysis with Code Review Systems, Testing Infrastructure. Ask what changes in correctness, latency, resource use, operability, and failure recovery. Complete Design exercise: Static & Dynamic Analysis and preserve the command, input, output, and one failed attempt as evidence. Finish by explaining the idea without jargon to someone who has not studied the track.
Proof of understanding
- Explain the mechanism from first principles and identify the state it reads or changes.
- Give one situation where the concept is the right choice and one where it is not.
- Predict a realistic failure mode before running the drill, then compare the prediction with evidence.
- Connect the result to a roadmap or build artifact instead of treating the concept as isolated trivia.
Learn from primary sources
Practice and explain it back
Design exercise: Static & Dynamic Analysis
ASTs, control/data flow, abstract interpretation, symbolic execution, sanitizers, profiling, and runtime instrumentation. Implement designOutline() returning non-empty values for: programModel, analysisRule, runtimeEvidence. Each value must name a concrete mechanism or decision.
Expected evidence: A design outline with programModel, analysisRule, runtimeEvidence plus an explicit failure mode or trade-off.
Open the interactive drill →Review prompts
- Static analysis has false positives and dynamic analysis has false negatives. Explain why each is structural, not a tool defect.
Build evidence
Synthesize: Developer Tools & Code Intelligence
Build repository-aware tools that analyze, test, review, debug, and safely remediate code. Produce one working system, benchmark, or evidence-backed design that integrates the path.
- Implements or precisely models the core mechanisms from all three milestones
- Includes at least one injected failure or adversarial case and demonstrates recovery
- Reports quality, latency, resource, reliability, or usability measurements relevant to the domain
- Ships a concise architecture note explaining decisions, trade-offs, and remaining risks