Parameterized object sensitivity for points-to analysis for Java

ABSTRACT

The goal of points-to analysis for Java is to determine the set of objects pointed to by a reference variable or a reference object field. We present object sensitivity, a new form of context sensitivity for flow-insensitive points-to analysis for Java. The key idea of our approach is to analyze a method separately for each of the object names that represent run-time objects on which this method may be invoked. To ensure flexibility and practicality, we propose a parameterization framework that allows analysis designers to control the tradeoffs between cost and precision in the object-sensitive analysis.Side-effect analysis determines the memory locations that may be modified by the execution of a program statement. Def-use analysis identifies pairs of statements that set the value of a memory location and subsequently use that value. The information computed by such analyses has a wide variety of uses in compilers and software tools. This work proposes new versions of these analyses that are based on object-sensitive points-to analysis.We have implemented two instantiations of our parameterized object-sensitive points-to analysis. On a set of 23 Java programs, our experiments show that these analyses have comparable cost to a context-insensitive points-to analysis for Java which is based on Andersen's analysis for C. Our results also show that object sensitivity significantly improves the precision of side-effect analysis and call graph construction, compared to (1) context-insensitive analysis, and (2) context-sensitive points-to analysis that models context using the invoking call site. These experiments demonstrate that object-sensitive analyses can achieve substantial precision improvement, while at the same time remaining efficient and practical.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.3 Coding Tools and Techniques
          Subjects: Object-oriented programming

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.5 Testing and Debugging
          Subjects: Testing tools (e.g., data generators, coverage testing)
      D.2.7 Distribution, Maintenance, and Enhancement
          Subjects: Restructuring, reverse engineering, and reengineering
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.2 Language Classifications
          Subjects: Object-oriented languages
      D.3.4 Processors
          Subjects: Compilers

  F. Theory of Computation
  F.3 LOGICS AND MEANINGS OF PROGRAMS
      F.3.2 Semantics of Programming Languages
          Subjects: Program analysis

Keywords:
Static analysis, class analysis, context sensitivity, def-use analysis, points-to analysis, side-effect analysis