lintlike

Lintlike is a descriptive term used in software engineering to refer to tools, features, or checks that behave like a linter. A linter analyzes source code to identify potential errors, bad practices, or deviations from a project's coding standards. The term lintlike is not a formal standard; it is used in documentation and discussions to signal lint-style checks that may vary in scope across languages and environments.

Typically lintlike checks perform static analysis by parsing code into an internal representation, applying a rule set, and emitting warnings or notes. Reports usually include file path, line/column, severity, and description, and may offer automated suggestions or fixes. Some lintlike checks are language-specific (for example, enforcing idioms in a given language) while others are generic (such as unused imports, undefined variables, or dead code).

In practice, lintlike functionality is integrated into text editors, IDEs, build pipelines, and continuous integration systems. Configuration is often provided via rule files or configuration sections, with mechanisms to enable, disable, or customize rules. Most implementations support suppression of false positives on a per-line or per-file basis and allow sharing rule sets across projects.

Historically, linting originated with the Unix lint tool in the 1970s. Since then, lint-like checks have evolved into a broad ecosystem of linters and static analysis tools that balance thoroughness with performance. Developers use lintlike checks to improve code quality, catch potential bugs early, and enforce consistency, while noting that such checks can produce false positives and may not replace deeper static analysis or testing.