ASTEC: a new approach to refactoring C

ABSTRACT

The C language is among the most widely used in the world, particularly for critical infrastructure software. C programs depend upon macros processed using the C preprocessor, but these macros are difficult to analyze and are often error-prone[4]. Existing tools that analyze and transform C source code have rudimentary support for the preprocessor, leading to obscure error messages and difficulty refactoring. We present a three part solution: (1) a replacement macro language, ASTEC, that addresses the most important important deficiencies of the preprocessor and that eliminates many of the errors it introduces; (2) a translator, MACROSCOPE, that converts existing code into ASTEC semi-automatically; and (3), an ASTEC-aware refactoring tool that handles preprocessor constructs naturally.ASTEC's primary benefits are its analyzability and its refactorability. We present several refactorings that are enabled by ASTEC. Additionally, ASTEC eliminates many of the sources of errors that can plague C preprocessor macros; Ernst et al.[4] estimate that more than 20% of macros may contain errors. In this paper, we describe our translation and refactoring tools and evaluate them on a suite of programs including OpenSSH and the Linux kernel.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.4 Processors

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.5 Testing and Debugging
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.3 Language Constructs and Features

General Terms:
Algorithms, Languages, Reliability

Keywords:
ASTEC, C, macro, preprocessor, refactoring, translation