Tactics for Analysing Complex Java Code

Complex Java code can be analysed quickly using the following methods.

1. Create a temp file with the code in Visual J# Express. Compress the code, refactor logically.
2. Use the program and get an idea of how it works: inputs and outputs.
3. Identify critical control paths, frequently used and unused areas of the code. (perhaps only 20% of the code is actually interesting or relevant).
4. Write up the program in Python-style pseudocode.
5. Use set theory concepts (e.g. partitions) to break up the code into mutex sections (e.g. partitions of the input space, partitions of inner classes etc).