Perforce offers two advanced static analysis solutions, Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork, so you can choose the approach that best fits your requirements.
Use this guide to compare Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork and determine which solution is right for your project, or where both could support different development needs across your organization.
Try Perforce Static Analysis Now
Quick Answer:
- Perforce QAC is best suited to highly safety-critical software where deep, rigorous analysis, coding standard compliance, and strong tool qualification evidence are priorities. It’s an abstract interpretation solver that proves the absence of issues.
- Perforce Klocwork is optimized for speed and scalability, making it ideal for large and complex codebases, mixed-language environments, and projects where development velocity is a priority. It uses a symbolic execution algorithm to highlight the most impactful issues, ensuring high developer efficiency.
- QAC and Klocwork also work together, supporting multiple teams and projects based on their requirements for analysis depth, speed, scale, standards, security, and language support.
Why Does Perforce Offer Two Static Analysis Solutions?
Static analysis requirements can vary significantly from one project to another. That’s why Perforce offers two purpose-built solutions, giving organizations the flexibility to prioritize analysis depth with QAC, or speed and scale with Klocwork.
Both solutions support functional safety and cybersecurity goals. Organizations can choose the solution that fits their primary development needs or use both across multiple projects. For example, Tier 1 automotive suppliers already use QAC for highly safety-critical components and Klocwork for infotainment systems development — never having to leave the Perforce ecosystem.
Choose the Right Static Analysis Solution for Your Industry
Static analysis requirements don’t just vary between industries; they can vary significantly between systems and components within the same company. Here are examples of where QAC and Klocwork fit into common development scenarios.
Automotive
Perforce QAC
Choose QAC for highly safety-critical automotive systems and components where deep analysis and rigorous functional safety processes are priorities, such as braking systems and critical ECUs.
Perforce Klocwork
Choose Klocwork for large, complex, or feature-rich automotive software where scale and fast developer feedback are priorities, such as infotainment and climate control systems.
“We had no hesitation in choosing Perforce QAC, as it was already the de facto static code analysis tool within the automotive industry.”
Sugiyama Kimihiko, Manager, Sanei Hytechs
Aerospace and Avionics
Perforce QAC
Choose QAC for highly critical aerospace and avionics software, such as flight control and flight management systems, where software acceptance requires rigorous analysis and safety assurance.
Perforce Klocwork
Choose Klocwork for large, feature-rich aerospace software environments, including applications such as in-flight entertainment and cabin systems, where scalability across platforms and development efficiency are key considerations.
“With Klocwork, our productivity has dramatically increased, leaving us with more time to mitigate any potential problems leveraging the ‘what if’ testing. As a result, our end product is stronger, and Raytheon can get the end product to our customers more quickly than before.”
Robert Young, Software Engineer, Raytheon
Medical Devices
Perforce QAC
Choose QAC for software that controls highly safety-critical medical device functions, such as pacemakers and infusion pumps, where software quality, compliance, and rigorous analysis are essential.
Perforce Klocwork
Choose Klocwork for larger or feature-rich medical technology applications, such as diagnostic imaging systems and connected health applications, where teams need to balance software quality with scale and development velocity.
“From the beginning, I found Perforce QAC’s user interface very helpful and exceptionally useful in how it allows us to review results and explore the data.”
Dana Sawyer, Senior Software Developer, Abiomed
Industrial Automation
Perforce QAC
Choose QAC for safety-critical industrial systems and components where software failure could create significant operational or safety risk, such as robotics and emergency shutdown systems.
Perforce Klocwork
Choose Klocwork for complex industrial applications that require scalable analysis and fast feedback across large development environments, such as HMI software and predictive maintenance systems.
“The ability to find and fix issues as the code is being written, before it leaves developers’ desktops, is very powerful. I’m really pleased with the amount of real defects that are being found, and the ratio of warnings to defects is good.”
John Hudepohl, Software Development Improvement Program Co-Lead, ABB
Decision Guide
Choose Perforce QAC if:
Maximum analysis depth and proving the absence of errors are your primary requirements because your project has demanding safety assurance or qualification requirements. QAC is designed for projects where deep interprocedural code analysis and identifying potential compliance and quality issues takes priority over analysis speed.
Choose Perforce Klocwork if:
Development velocity and fast feedback are priorities because you continuously analyze an extremely large or complex codebase, including tens of millions of lines of code and multiple languages. Klocwork balances deep interprocedural analysis with the speed needed to provide actionable feedback within modern development workflows.
Still Unsure?
Your project may not fit neatly into one category, especially if you have multiple software teams, product lines, or levels of criticality. Talk to a Perforce static analysis expert to determine whether QAC, Klocwork, or a combination of both engines is the right fit.
Talk to a Static Analysis Expert
Back to top
See Perforce QAC and Klocwork in Action
Explore interactive product tours to see how each static analysis solution can fit into your development workflow (pick a chapter to begin).
Perforce QAC vs. Perforce Klocwork Feature Comparison
Both QAC and Klocwork provide advanced static analysis designed for complex software development. The key differences lie in how each solution balances analysis depth, performance, and scalability across functional safety and security use cases. Last updated: October 9, 2026.
-
Analysis Engine
Perforce QAC
Perforce Klocwork
-
Analysis Engine
-
Best Fit For
Prioritizing deep analysis and rigorous safety assurance over analysis speed and scale
Prioritizing analysis speed and efficiency for compliance, scalable to large and complex codebases
-
Supported Languages
C, C++, Rust
C, C++, C#, Rust, Java, JavaScript, Kotlin, Python
-
How It Works
Abstract interpretation solver that can be configured for soundness
Deep interprocedural data flow as well as structural analysis
Symbolic execution algorithm that evaluates program paths and states relevant to specific issues
Deep interprocedural data flow as well as structural analysis
-
Analysis Priority
Maximum confidence and depth
Proves the absence of issues
Balance between speed and scalability
Highlights the most impactful issues, ensuring high developer efficiency
-
Analysis Speed
Deeper analysis may require more time, depending on the project
More computationally efficient and faster, depending on the project
-
Codebase Fit
Tightly controlled embedded systems
Very large software systems, including codebases with tens of millions of LOC and multiple languages
-
Functional Safety Use Cases
-
Best Fit For
Typically used for higher-criticality systems/components requiring extensive qualification evidence
Typically used for lower-criticality or feature-rich systems
-
DO-330
Qualified at TQL-4 for criteria 2
Supports DO-178B/C; often used for DAL A, B
Supports DO-278A; often used for AL 1, 2
Qualified at TQL-5 for criteria 2
Supports DO-178B/C; often used for DAL C, D, E
Supports DO-278A; often used for AL 3, 4, 5, 6
-
IEC 61508
Qualified for levels 1-4; often used for levels 3, 4
Qualified for levels 1-4; often used for levels 1, 2
-
ISO 26262
Qualified for levels A-D; often used for levels C, D
Qualified for levels A-D; often used for levels A, B
-
EN 50716
Qualified for levels 1-4; often used for levels 3, 4
Qualified for levels 1-4; often used for levels 1, 2
-
IEC 60880
Qualified for categories A-C
Not supported
-
IEC 62304
Qualified for levels A-C; often used for levels B, C
Qualified for levels A-C; often used for levels A, B
-
MISRA C/C++
Used when completeness is the priority: Greater depth and coverage within individual rules, including undecidable rules
Used when analysis speed is the priority: Allows development teams to achieve MISRA coverage across large code bases efficiently
-
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Use Cases
-
Best Fit For
Typically used for embedded systems requiring security compliance in addition to functional safety certification
Typically used by development and security teams for SAST that scales across large, complex codebases to find security vulnerabilities without sacrificing developer velocity
-
Standards & Compliance Coverage
-
Security Standards
None
PCI DSS
-
Security Coding Standards Support
CERT C, CERT C++, CWE, CWE Top 25, HKMC Secure C, HKMC Secure C++, ISO/IEC TS 17961
CERT C, CERT C++, CERT Java, CWE, CWE Top 25, HKMC Secure C, HKMC Secure C++, OWASP Top 10, DISA STIG, ISO/IEC TS 17961
-
Safety Standards Support
DO-330, EN 50716, IEC 60880, IEC 61508, IEC 62304, ISO 26262
DO-178B/C, EN 50716, IEC 61508, IEC 62304, ISO 26262
-
Safety Coding Standards Support
AUTOSAR C++14, Barr-C, JSF AV C++, MISRA C:2025, MISRA C:2023, MISRA C:2012, MISRA C:2004, MISRA C++:2023, MISRA C++:2008
AUTOSAR C++14, JSF AV C++, MISRA C:2025, MISRA C:2023, MISRA C:2012, MISRA C:2004, MISRA C++:2023, MISRA C++:2008
-
Certifications
TÜV SÜD: IEC 61508, ISO 26262, IEC 62304, EN 50716, IEC 60880
Other: ISO 9001, ISO 27001
TÜV SÜD: IEC 61508, ISO 26262, IEC 62304, EN 50716
Other: ISO 9001, ISO 27001
What Do Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork Have in Common?
While QAC and Klocwork are optimized for different development priorities, both provide advanced capabilities for improving code quality, accelerating issue resolution, and helping developers address problems earlier in development.
AI-Assisted Code Remediation
Help developers understand and fix issues faster with AI-assisted code remediation that’s accurate, context-aware, and developer-approved before anything else enters your codebase.
Perforce Static Analysis MCP Server
Connect any MCP-compatible host to QAC and Klocwork to apply code remediations using its own configured LLM. Support for private, air-gapped environments keeps source code and sensitive data inside your network, making it safer to take advantage of AI while maintaining control over the safety and security of your systems.
Automatic Risk Prioritization
SmartRank helps development teams focus on the issues that present the greatest risk rather than treating every finding equally.
Mixed-Language Analysis
Support development environments where software projects span multiple programming languages, providing cross-language visibility within a single workflow.
Differential Analysis
Focus analysis on changed code to help developers find and address new issues earlier in the development lifecycle without incurring the cost of full analysis runs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork provide deep interprocedural data flow analysis but use different approaches to meet different development priorities. Perforce QAC prioritizes deep analysis and rigorous safety assurance, making it well-suited to highly safety-critical, compliance-driven embedded software. Perforce Klocwork prioritizes speed and scalability, making it a strong choice for large, complex, and mixed-language codebases where development velocity is important.
Both Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork support C++ development, but the right choice depends on your project. Choose QAC when deep analysis, functional safety, and rigorous coding standard compliance are the priority. Choose Klocwork when you need fast, scalable C++ analysis across a large or complex codebase, or support for additional languages such as C, Rust, C#, Java, JavaScript, Kotlin, and Python.
Both Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork support automotive software development, including ISO 26262 and MISRA compliance. QAC is typically used for highly safety-critical systems and components, such as braking systems and critical ECUs, while Klocwork is well suited to large, feature-rich applications such as infotainment and climate control systems where scalability and fast developer feedback are priorities. Automotive organizations can also use both solutions across projects with different requirements.
Both Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork support secure software development and security coding standards. QAC is typically used for embedded systems requiring security compliance alongside functional safety, while Klocwork is better suited to organizations looking for enterprise SAST that can find security vulnerabilities across large, complex, and mixed-language codebases without sacrificing developer velocity.
Both Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork support MISRA compliance, including all MISRA C and MISRA C++ editions. Choose QAC when completeness and depth of MISRA analysis are the priority, including deeper analysis of undecidable rules. Choose Klocwork when you need to efficiently achieve MISRA coverage across large codebases and development speed is a greater priority.
Perforce QAC and Perforce Klocwork are both static analysis solutions for finding software issues earlier, but they are optimized for different development and compliance priorities. QAC is built for analysis depth and rigorous safety assurance, while Klocwork emphasizes speed and scalability across large and complex codebases. Organizations can choose one based on their requirements or use both for different projects and teams.