&gt; Yes, except those static analyzers are the compilers for those languages<p>The first linting tool was made in 1979 for C programs and I remember ads for PC-Lint in the back of programming magazines all the time growing up. Static analysis tools catch more than just datatype errors. They look for patterns that identity common logic errors as well. PC-Lint used to cost a couple hundred dollars, and people were plenty willing to pay that much for extra peace of mind.