File: README.API

# README.API

Path: | README.API
Last Update: | Wed Aug 18 17:39:46 -0600 2010

# `rcov`

`rcov` is a:

1. tool for code coverage analysis for Ruby
2. library for collecting code coverage and execution count information introspectively

If you want to use the command line tool, the output from

     rcov -h

is self-explicative.

If you want to automate the execution of `rcov` via Rake or Rant, take a look at README.rake or README.rant, respectively.

If you want to use the associated library, read on.

## Usage of the `rcov` runtime/library

`rcov` is primarily a tool for code coverage analysis, but since 0.4.0 it exposes some of its code so that you can build on top of its heuristics for code analysis and its capabilities for coverage information and execution count gathering.

The main classes of interest are Rcov::FileStatistics, Rcov::CodeCoverageAnalyzer and Rcov::CallSiteAnalyzer.

Rcov::FileStatistics can use some heuristics to determine which parts of the file are executable and which are mere comments.

Rcov::CodeCoverageAnalyzer is used to gather code coverage and execution count information inside a running Ruby program.

Rcov::CallSiteAnalyzer is used to obtain information about where methods are defined and who calls them.

The parts of `rcov`‘s runtime meant to be reused (i.e. the external API) are documented with RDoc. Those not meant to be used are clearly marked as so or were deliberately removed from the present documentation.

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