Software specialization via symbolic execution

Coen‐Porisini, Alberto; Paoli, Flavio De; Ghezzi, Carlo; Mandrioli, Dino

doi:10.1109/32.92907

Cited by 40 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This means that the complexity of expressions is kept under control at all times and there is less chance of encountering an expression exceeding the capabilities of the simplifier. The present implementation is limited to low-order polynomials, making it similar in capability to the theorem prover used by Coen-Porisini et al [23]. However, since most of the complexity of the simplifier is in the pattern database, the set of rules can be extended as needed.…”

Section: Algebraic Simplificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using symbolic execution to guide test generation

Lee

Morris

Parker

et al. 2005

Softw. Test. Verif. Reliab.

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SUMMARYAlthough a number of weaknesses of symbolic execution, when used for software testing, have been highlighted in the literature, the recent resurgence of strongly-typed languages has created opportunities for re-examining symbolic execution to determine whether these shortfalls can be overcome. This paper discusses symbolic execution in general and makes two contributions: (a) overcoming one of the key problems, analysing programs with indexed arrays; and (b) describing the incorporation of a symbolic execution module for test case generation into an integrated testing tool. For methods which index arrays, a new approach determines all the possible values of each array index, allowing the generation of equivalence classes for every possible combination of array element aliases. An incremental simplification approach, which converts path expressions to canonical forms in order to identify infeasible paths at the earliest opportunity and thus reduce the analysis time, is also described. Symbolic execution is most effective when included in an integrated test and analysis environment: a component test bench was built with a symbolic execution module integrated into it, providing a toolbox of software component test and code analysis methods aimed at programmers at all levels.

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Section: Algebraic Simplificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using symbolic execution to guide test generation

Lee

Morris

Parker

et al. 2005

Softw. Test. Verif. Reliab.

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“…Earlier, ideas and techniques very similar to program conditioning were introduced by Coen-Porisini et al in [37]. This work uses symbolic execution and theorem proving to specialize Ada programs.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The paper also introduces a new approach to symbolic execution which follows a different form to previous symbolic executors [39][40][41]37] in its handling of loops and which is more closely integrated with the theorem prover than previous approaches [1,25,39] , thereby exploiting the possibility of path-pruning to speed up the conditioning process.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

ConSUS: a light-weight program conditioner

Danicic

Daoudi

Fox

et al. 2005

Journal of Systems and Software

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Program conditioning consists of identifying and removing a set of statements which cannot be executed when a condition of interest holds at some point in a program. It has been applied to problems in maintenance, testing, re-use and re-engineering. Program conditioning relies upon both symbolic execution and reasoning about symbolic predicates. Automation of the process therefore requires some form of automated theorem proving. However, the use of a full-power 'heavyweight' theorem prover would impose unrealistic performance constraints. This paper reports on a lightweight approach to theorem proving using the FermaT simplify decision procedure. This is used as a component to ConSUS, a program conditioning system for the Wide Spectrum Language WSL. The paper describes the symbolic execution algorithm used by ConSUS, which prunes as it conditions. The paper also provides empirical evidence that conditioning produces a significant reduction in program size and, although exponential in the worst case, the conditioning system has low degree polynomial behaviour in many cases, thereby making it scalable to unit level applications of program conditioning.

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“…The authors in [7] view specialization as a technique to enhance reuse of software modules components or software development process products such as, specifications or design manuals based on symbolic execution. In [7], specialization is also justified as a technique for reengineering to maintain and optimize software components. Some examples of generally used components are -configuration of operating systems for specific types of computers; and pre-defined conditional compilation of programs.…”

Section: Program Specializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specialization techniques have been applied to programs using transformation rules as described in [21]. The authors in [7] view specialization as a technique to enhance reuse of software modules components or software development process products such as, specifications or design manuals based on symbolic execution. In [7], specialization is also justified as a technique for reengineering to maintain and optimize software components.…”

Section: Program Specializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Software Documentation

2000

Using Meteorology Probability Forecasts in Operational Hydrology

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Precise mathematical documentation plays a crucial role in safety critical, mission critical, and finance critical software where the cost of failure is very high either in terms of money or human life. Good documentation is an important component of software and is absolutely necessary for maintenance. Tabular notation advocated by Parnas et al. has been found to be more readable and easy to understand when compared to conventional mathematical representations.Tables can sometimes be complex and difficult to comprehend. In such cases "specialization" can simplify them. Some tables can be simplified without loss of generality. For others specialization may be used. Specialization is a technique that reduces the domain for which the expression is valid. For tabular expressions, specialization may allow the removal of rows and/or columns when the domain of predicate (condition) sub-expressions is outside the domain under consideration. User defined constraints narrow the domain under consideration. Specialization may result in several tables depending on the constraints, but each table is usually simpler than the original.This work involves the design and development of a prototype tool to help in understanding specialization and simplification. This tool helps to test intermediate results involving partial evaluation of the mathematical expression.iv

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Software specialization via symbolic execution

Cited by 40 publications

References 18 publications

Using symbolic execution to guide test generation

Using symbolic execution to guide test generation

ConSUS: a light-weight program conditioner

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