SOFTWARE UNDERSTANDING AID FOR GENERATING AND DISPLAYIGN SIMIPLIFIED CODE FLOW PATHS WITH RESPECT TO TARGET CODE STATEMENTS

A process implemented in a computer parses source code and displays simplified views of the source code for assistance to a programmer in understanding the instruction flow through the software. The process generates software source code path flow displays relative to a target statement of a source code document and displays these simplified views to a user. The user selects a target statement, perferably interactively by marking a statement on a source code display on a monitor. The underlying process then identifies the target statement in memory; each statement of the source code is thereafter examined to determine if the statement resides in the logic flow path to the target statement, does not reside in the logic flow path to the target statement, or is undefined with respect to whether or not it resides in the logic flow path to the target statement. Each source code statement is then marked as to the logic flow path determination of the examining step. Finally, the simplified displays of the source code document are generated based on the markings of the source code statements.