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Fix RULE-0-2-4/A0-1-3 false positives for private functions - #1169

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Fix RULE-0-2-4/A0-1-3 false positives for private functions#1169
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castler:fix-rule-0-2-4-unused-limited-visibility-fp

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@castler castler commented Aug 4, 2026

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Description

Three categories of false positive are addressed:

1. **Static call targets not recognised** — the original check used
   only `getTarget(call)` from DynamicCallGraph, which resolves
   virtual dispatch.  For private (non-virtual) member functions and
   private static functions that are called directly, CodeQL sometimes
   cannot resolve a dynamic target and the function was incorrectly
   reported as unused.  The new `functionIsCalled(fn)` predicate
   combines the dynamic-graph result with a direct
   `FunctionCall.getTarget()` lookup so that statically-dispatched
   calls are always counted as a use.

2. **Template instantiations called only via direct dispatch** — the
   template-instantiation guard that suppresses a report when "some
   instantiation is called" was also using only `getTarget(_)`.
   Switching it to `functionIsCalled(_)` makes it consistent.

3. **Pure virtual private member functions** — RULE-0-2-4 and A0-1-3
   require that private member functions be *used*.  A pure virtual
   function (`= 0`) is an interface contract that must be overridden
   by derived classes; it has no body of its own and cannot be
   "called" directly.  Excluding `PureVirtualFunction` from the
   `LocalFunction` class prevents spurious reports on these.

Fixes #1168

Change request type

  • Release or process automation (GitHub workflows, internal scripts)
  • Internal documentation
  • External documentation
  • Query files (.ql, .qll, .qls or unit tests)
  • External scripts (analysis report or other code shipped as part of a release)

Rules with added or modified queries

  • No rules added
  • Queries have been added for the following rules:
    • rule number here
  • Queries have been modified for the following rules:
    • RULE-0-2-4
    • A0-1-3

Release change checklist

A change note (development_handbook.md#change-notes) is required for any pull request which modifies:

  • The structure or layout of the release artifacts.
  • The evaluation performance (memory, execution time) of an existing query.
  • The results of an existing query in any circumstance.

If you are only adding new rule queries, a change note is not required.

Author: Is a change note required?

  • Yes
  • No

🚨🚨🚨
Reviewer: Confirm that format of shared queries (not the .qll file, the
.ql file that imports it) is valid by running them within VS Code.

  • Confirmed

Reviewer: Confirm that either a change note is not required or the change note is required and has been added.

  • Confirmed

Query development review checklist

For PRs that add new queries or modify existing queries, the following checklist should be completed by both the author and reviewer:

Author

  • Have all the relevant rule package description files been checked in?
  • Have you verified that the metadata properties of each new query is set appropriately?
  • Do all the unit tests contain both "COMPLIANT" and "NON_COMPLIANT" cases?
  • Are the alert messages properly formatted and consistent with the style guide?
  • Have you run the queries on OpenPilot and verified that the performance and results are acceptable?
    As a rule of thumb, predicates specific to the query should take no more than 1 minute, and for simple queries be under 10 seconds. If this is not the case, this should be highlighted and agreed in the code review process.
  • Does the query have an appropriate level of in-query comments/documentation?
  • Have you considered/identified possible edge cases?
  • Does the query not reinvent features in the standard library?
  • Can the query be simplified further (not golfed!)

Reviewer

  • Have all the relevant rule package description files been checked in?
  • Have you verified that the metadata properties of each new query is set appropriately?
  • Do all the unit tests contain both "COMPLIANT" and "NON_COMPLIANT" cases?
  • Are the alert messages properly formatted and consistent with the style guide?
  • Have you run the queries on OpenPilot and verified that the performance and results are acceptable?
    As a rule of thumb, predicates specific to the query should take no more than 1 minute, and for simple queries be under 10 seconds. If this is not the case, this should be highlighted and agreed in the code review process.
  • Does the query have an appropriate level of in-query comments/documentation?
  • Have you considered/identified possible edge cases?
  • Does the query not reinvent features in the standard library?
  • Can the query be simplified further (not golfed!)

@castler
castler force-pushed the fix-rule-0-2-4-unused-limited-visibility-fp branch from d16c650 to f7d8332 Compare August 4, 2026 12:44
Three categories of false positive are addressed:

1. **Static call targets not recognised** — the original check used
   only `getTarget(call)` from DynamicCallGraph, which resolves
   virtual dispatch.  For private (non-virtual) member functions and
   private static functions that are called directly, CodeQL sometimes
   cannot resolve a dynamic target and the function was incorrectly
   reported as unused.  The new `functionIsCalled(fn)` predicate
   combines the dynamic-graph result with a direct
   `FunctionCall.getTarget()` lookup so that statically-dispatched
   calls are always counted as a use.

2. **Template instantiations called only via direct dispatch** — the
   template-instantiation guard that suppresses a report when "some
   instantiation is called" was also using only `getTarget(_)`.
   Switching it to `functionIsCalled(_)` makes it consistent.

3. **Pure virtual private member functions** — RULE-0-2-4 and A0-1-3
   require that private member functions be *used*.  A pure virtual
   function (`= 0`) is an interface contract that must be overridden
   by derived classes; it has no body of its own and cannot be
   "called" directly.  Excluding `PureVirtualFunction` from the
   `LocalFunction` class prevents spurious reports on these.

Test coverage added for all three scenarios in
`cpp/common/test/rules/unusedlocalfunction/test.cpp`.

Fixes github#1168
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RULE-0-2-4 / A0-1-3: false positives for friend-accessed members, direct static calls, and pure virtual private methods

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