“cloc” is a command-line tool used to count and compute differences in lines of source code and comments in software projects. It provides a convenient way to analyze and understand the composition of codebases by providing detailed information about the lines of code, comments, and blank lines.
The primary purpose of “cloc” is to assist in software project analysis, particularly in understanding the size and complexity of codebases. By counting lines of code, comments, and blank lines, it can provide insights into the overall structure and composition of a project.
When you run “cloc” on a software project directory or specific files, it recursively scans the files and calculates the number of lines falling into different categories, including:
- Lines of Source Code: These are the lines that contain the actual programming instructions and logic. They constitute the core functionality of the software.
- Lines of Comments: “cloc” identifies lines that include comments. Comments provide explanatory or descriptive information about the code and are not executed as part of the program.
- Blank Lines: Blank lines are empty lines or lines that only contain white spaces. They serve as separators between code blocks and improve code readability.
The tool computes the counts for each of these categories and presents them in a summarized report, often displaying the results in a tabular format. This report allows developers and project managers to quickly gain an understanding of the codebase’s size, the amount of documentation through comments, and the overall structure of the project.
Additionally, “cloc” can compute differences between multiple codebases or versions of a project, helping to track changes in code size and comment density. By comparing the output of “cloc” on different code snapshots or branches, developers can see how the lines of code, comments, and blank lines have evolved over time.
“Cloc” supports a wide range of programming languages and file types, making it applicable to various software projects. It is often used in the software development process, code auditing, project estimation, and codebase maintenance.
cloc Command Examples
1. Count all the lines of code in a directory:
# cloc /path/to/directory
2. Count all the lines of code in a directory, displaying a progress bar during the counting process:
# cloc --progress=1 /path/to/directory
3. Compare 2 directory structures and count the differences between them:
# cloc --diff /path/to/directory/one /path/to/directory/two
4. Ignore files that are ignored by VCS, such as files specified in .gitignore:
# cloc --vcs git /path/to/directory
5. Count all the lines of code in a directory, displaying the results for each file instead of each language:
# cloc --by-file /path/to/directory
Summary
In summary, “cloc” is a command-line tool used to count and analyze lines of source code, comments, and blank lines in software projects. By providing statistics on these aspects, it helps developers and project managers gain insights into the structure, size, and documentation of a codebase. Additionally, “cloc” can be used to compare codebases and track changes in code size and comment density over time.