Towards a Gold Standard for Points-to Analysis

• Main Author: Gutzmann, Tobias
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för datavetenskap, fysik och matematik, DFM 2010
• Subjects: Points-to Analysis; Dataflow Analysis; Static Analysis; Dynamic Analysis; Gold Standard
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:vxu:diva-7381

Points-to analysis is a static program analysis that computes reference informationfor a given input program. It serves as input to many client applicationsin optimizing compilers and software engineering tools. Unfortunately, the Gold Standard – i.e., the exact reference information for a given program– is impossible to compute automatically for all but trivial cases, and thus, little can been said about the accuracy of points-to analysis. This thesis aims at paving the way towards a Gold Standard for points-to analysis. For this, we discuss theoretical implications and practical challenges that occur when comparing results obtained by different points-to analyses. We also show ways to improve points-to analysis by different means, e.g., combining different analysis implementations, and a novel approach to path sensitivity. We support our theories with a number of experiments.