The Challenges of Shift Left Static Analysis

Quoc-Sang Phan, KimHao Nguyen, ThanhVu Nguyen

Abstract: In the software development industry, static analysis is used early in the development process, often as soon as a source file is saved or immediately after a commit is submitted. This approach, known as "shifting left," helps identify and address potential issues early on, before they become more difficult and costly to fix. However, implementing this approach can be challenging, as demonstrated through our experience at Meta. One specific challenge is dealing with build issues and figuring out which files and code to give to the static analyzers. These problems arise because the compilation and inclusion of files depend on various configurations, such as compilation flags and the platforms used to build the files. The purpose of this paper is to highlight these challenges and encourage the research community to find solutions.