Software that provides powerful and secure services is something that users are grateful for. However, such software development tends to be quite complex and the amount of source code increases. Sourcetrail is a free and open source software that visualizes source code dependencies, such as how important functions and variables relate to large-scale development, in an easy-to-understand graph.
As modern software is on the rise, the number of codes handled by developers is increasing significantly. In this flow, a microservice architecture that can simplify management in units of services by dividing services by function is emerging. However, there are also monolithic systems consisting of a multifunctional single service.
It is difficult to understand the whole relationship just by reading the complex source code. Using SourceTrail, you can visualize dependencies such as code functions or variables written in C, C++, Java, or Python in a graph. SourceTrail was originally provided under a commercial license by the developer (Coati Software), but was open sourced in 2019.
If you run Source Trail and load the project, the source code index is processed. If your code base is large, indexing may take some time. When the index build is finished, the object categories to display are displayed. The source rail also has a plug-in for Visual Studio Code, so you can view the functions and classes selected in Visual Studio Code in the source rail. There are other source code visualization tools, of course, but since they are all paid, the simplicity of using them for free is the advantage of Source Trail. Related information can be found here.