What are gcov files?

Gcov is a source code coverage analysis and statement-by-statement profiling tool. Gcov generates exact counts of the number of times each statement in a program is executed and annotates source code to add instrumentation. Gcov comes as a standard utility with the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) suite.

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How do I get code coverage with gcov?

To use Gcov, perform the following steps:

Compile the code with the -fprofile-arcs and -ftest-coverage flags, for example: $ gcc -fprofile-arcs -ftest-coverage test.c.
Run the instrumented binary and perform functional testing.
Generate a report file based on the data that is stored in the profile output files:

What is LCOV report?

LCOV is a graphical tool for GCC’s coverage testing with gcov. It creates HTML pages containing the source code annotated with coverage information by collecting gcov data from multiple source files. LCOV supports “Lines coverage” and “Functions coverage” measurement.

What does gcov command do in Linux?

DESCRIPTION. gcov is a test coverage program. Use it in concert with GCC to analyze your programs to help create more efficient, faster running code and to discover untested parts of your program. You can use gcov as a profiling tool to help discover where your optimization efforts will best affect your code.

What is gcov in Linux?

How do I get code coverage in Linux?

Code coverage using gcov/lcov in Linux

Enable coverage compile/link flags.
Execute the program.
Generate coverage report using gcov.
Generate coverage report using lcov.
Generate html report.
Merging multiple coverage files.