(TPFUG/Visa) Need a mechanism to identify inconsistent views of structure layouts

Consistency of structure definition across all code accessing the structure is critical for correct code. Database corruption or other runtime errors can occur if source component A thinks structure X on file is packed but source component B thinks structure X on file is not packed. Inconsistencies could exist within the same CSO, or across different CSOs.

If packing of structures is done using #pragma pack and someone makes a mistake with its usage (e.g. codes #pragma pack(1) and forgets to code #pragma pack(), or codes #pragma pack(1) before #includes for other headers) then it's easy to end up packing more than was intended, or no longer packing structures that were supposed to be packed. The errors introduced can also be different across different source components.

Packing inconsistencies are very hard to identify and fixes to correct problems are very hard to validate. In fact fixing a #pragma pack issue by moving the #pragma pack or adding a new balancing #pragma pack(1) or #pragma pack() as appropriate can result in new inconsistencies being created inadvertently. So fixes can result in runtime errors or database corruption without a solid means of validating the impact of the changes.

We need a tool that can be used to :
1) identify inconsistent layouts for the same structure across different code components.
- Scope examples for this could include the entire code base, a given directory or set of directories, a TK project.
2) provide a means of comparing the layout of structures across different versions of the same source component (e.g. prod version vs a development version). The need here is to be able to see the consequence of making a change to e.g. correct a prior inconsistency, or simply to ensure that a code change hasn't changed a structure layout by mistake.

Such a tool would ideally be able to be run independently, or as an optional part of the build process.

Such a tool would ideally allow the customer some flexibility in how structure information was recorded. e.g. file system file or specific type of database, such as Mongo