ek9_find_unused_code

Answers first: deadNames and deadByOwner (owner -> its dead members), complete workspace-wide - then each finding classified.

Category: Enquiry · Compare: Code → Inspect Code → Dead Code (IntelliJ)

When to use it

'What can I delete' / 'which methods of X are never called' is one call, no arguments - every construct, method and constant nothing reaches, by owner.

When not to use it

Checking usage of ONE specific symbol, not a whole-workspace scan - use ek9_query_references.
Actually removing a construct once found unused - use ek9_safe_delete.
You want compiler errors/warnings (incl. unused-parameter E08091/E11018), not the reachability scan - use ek9_query_diagnostics.
You want the inventory of EXISTING constructs, not the unused subset - use ek9_query_workspace.

Details

Covered kinds: 'construct' (dead top-level functions) + 'method' (dead methods/constructors); 'field'/'reference' return empty+note (not yet wired), 'parameter' is compiler-owned (E08091/E11018). Each finding carries reachability (dead|production-dead|test-helper|dead-test|untested-public-api), recommendation (delete|relocate-to-test|none|add-test), definedIn, reachedBy, reason and ONE nextStep (for 'delete' the literal ek9_safe_delete(symbols:[...]) call); a dead callable still called names its callers in calledOnlyFrom - each itself dead, deleted with it by that nextStep; library-aware - with no production roots (programs/service operations) the tests are the root set, while application mode adds ungroundedTests[] (@Test programs whose closure never touches production code a release runs). Requires the workspace to reach PRE_IR_CHECKS (where the call graph is built); below that the tool errors rather than guessing.

Arguments

Argument	Type	What it is
`among`	array of string	Names to answer FOR: 'which of these ...' - the name lists shrink to these and amongUnmatched names the ones that are not in the answer. Bare names, 'mod::Type' or 'Type.member'; a MODULE name stands for every construct in it ('which in scale.m07 do not ...' = amongUnmatched).
`excludePublic`	boolean	When true, excludes public-visibility findings (intentional library API). Default false. Useful when scanning a library.
`fileFilter`	string	Optional source-file substring to scope the scan. Omit to scan all source.
`kind`	string: all \| construct \| method \| constant \| field \| reference \| parameter	Filter by what kind of unused code to find. Default 'all'. 'construct' = dead top-level functions; 'method' = dead members (methods/constructors); 'constant' = a 'defines constant' entry nothing references (each finding carries the `ek9_safe_delete` call). 'field'/'reference' are not yet covered (empty + note); 'parameter' is owned by the compiler (E08091/E11018).

It also takes the arguments every tool takes.

Recorded calls

Real calls, recorded against small projects and checked on every build - a changed answer fails it. 3 of the 14 recorded are shown.

Scan kind parameter note

Request

{
  "kind" : "parameter"
}

Response

{
  "byKind" : { },
  "deadByOwner" : { },
  "deadNames" : [ ],
  "deadNamesCover" : "every construct, method and constant no program or test reaches - workspace-wide, nothing to verify",
  "findings" : [ ],
  "meta" : {
    "serverMs" : "<timing>"
  },
  "note" : "Unused parameters are already a compile error in EK9 (E08091 / E11018) — the compiler owns this; nothing for the scan to report.",
  "reachabilityComplete" : true,
  "scanCount" : 0,
  "status" : "empty"
}

Nothing dead is empty

Request

{ }

Response

{
  "actionableCount" : 0,
  "byKind" : {
    "constant" : 0,
    "construct" : 0,
    "method" : 0
  },
  "byReachability" : { },
  "deadByOwner" : { },
  "deadNames" : [ ],
  "deadNamesCover" : "every construct, method and constant no program or test reaches - workspace-wide, nothing to verify",
  "findings" : [ ],
  "meta" : {
    "serverMs" : "<timing>"
  },
  "reachabilityComplete" : true,
  "scanCount" : 0,
  "status" : "empty",
  "summary" : {
    "byVisibility" : {
      "private" : 0,
      "protected" : 0,
      "public" : 0
    },
...

Cut short here: 4 more lines. The whole recorded call.

Type used only as a generic argument

Request

{ }

Response

{
  "actionableCount" : 0,
  "byKind" : {
    "constant" : 0,
    "construct" : 0,
    "method" : 0
  },
  "byReachability" : { },
  "deadByOwner" : { },
  "deadNames" : [ ],
  "deadNamesCover" : "every construct, method and constant no program or test reaches - workspace-wide, nothing to verify",
  "findings" : [ ],
  "meta" : {
    "serverMs" : "<timing>"
  },
  "reachabilityComplete" : true,
  "scanCount" : 0,
  "status" : "empty",
  "summary" : {
    "byVisibility" : {
      "private" : 0,
      "protected" : 0,
      "public" : 0
    },
...

Cut short here: 4 more lines. The whole recorded call.

When to use it

When not to use it

Details

Arguments

Recorded calls

Scan kind parameter note

Nothing dead is empty

Type used only as a generic argument

See also