[swframe2]

I wrote several scripts that temporarily add call tracing to the source code. The scripts take a few days to write but I've used them on many projects. Note there are code parsing libraries that can help you.

For example:

def foo(args):

   trace_func("foo", args)

   # rest of the function

(NOTE There is call tracing logic built into some languages but it doesn't always work for some complex code bases; try it before you write your own.)

If the code creates html elements, my script adds attributes to the html element to link back the source code location so I can look at the html and figure out where the elements were created. If the html is built using templates, then I add html comments to the template so I can tell where they are used in the final page.

Then I test the app and look at the traces to figure how it works.

At first I trace everything but once I get to know the code I add the tracing to the areas that matter. I don't check in this code.