Contextual def-use associations for object aggregation

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a novel formulation of definitions, uses, and def-use associations for objects in object-oriented programs by exploiting the relations that occur between classes and their instantiated objects due to aggregation. Contextual def-use associations are computed by generating a partial call sequence for each def and use based on object aggregation relations. By extending an escape points-to graph representation of the program, we have developed and implemented three strategies for achieving different levels of context for contextual def-use associations. Our experiments reveal that with all three strategies, multiple unique contextual def-use associations related to the same traditional (context-free) association are often generated. Contextual def-use associations are particularly useful for increasing test coverage and focusing the testing on critical method invocation sequences of object-oriented programs.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  F. Theory of Computation
  F.3 LOGICS AND MEANINGS OF PROGRAMS
      F.3.3 Studies of Program Constructs
          Subjects: Object-oriented constructs

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.5 Testing and Debugging

  F. Theory of Computation
  F.3 LOGICS AND MEANINGS OF PROGRAMS
      F.3.1 Specifying and Verifying and Reasoning about Programs

General Terms:
Algorithms, Performance