Static Analysis of Programs

Lecturer: Marcelo d'Amorim

Want to find out how a compiler detects uninitialized variables, how tools show dependencies across modules of a system, how to collect data to measure internal quality? If yes, consider taking this class.

Objectives

• Understand fundamental aspects of static analysis (conditions to make it work)
• Obtain hands-on experience with a popular framework for building analysis tool (SOOT)

Grading

Mid-term exam (25%), Demo (20%), Seminar (20%), Project (35%).

References

[PPA]: Principles of Program Analysis. F. Nielson, H. R. Nielson and C. Hankin. Springer Verlag 2005.
[SOD]: SOOT documentation, McGill Univ.
[BRG]: Barbara Ryder's group notes
[ASU]: Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools. A. Aho, R. Sethi, and J. D. Ullman. (Capítulo "Code Optimization")

Announcements --

Seminars & Projects Overview

Lectures

Introduction: motivation, examples, tools, main limitations

• Reading: Dynamic Program Slicing. H. Agrawal and J. R. Horgan. PLDI'90.

Type checking

Partial Correctness

Symbolic execution

Dataflow analysis

• Sets, posets, and lattice
• Intraprocedural analysis
• Chapter 1 of PPA (up to slide 37)
• Chapter 2 of PPA (up to slide 42)
• Interprocedural analysis
• SOOT basics (Samples)