Type qualifier inference for java

Abstract. Javari is an extension of Java that supports reference immutability constraints. Programmers write readonly type qualifiers and other constraints, and the Javari typechecker detects mutation errors (incorrect side effects) or verifies their absence. While case studies have demonstrated the practicality and value of Javari, a barrier to usability remains. A Javari program will not typecheck unless all the references in the APIs of libraries it uses are annotated with Javari type qualifiers. Manually converting existing Java libraries to Javari is tedious and error-prone. We present an algorithm for inferring reference immutability in Javari. The flow-insensitive and context-sensitive algorithm is sound and produces a set of qualifiers that typecheck in Javari. The algorithm is precise in that it infers the most readonly qualifiers possible; adding any additional readonly qualifiers will cause the program to not typecheck. We have implemented the algorithm in a tool, Javarifier, that infers the Javari type qualifiers over a set of class files. Javarifier automatically converts Java libraries to Javari. Additionally, Javarifier eases the task of converting legacy programs to Javari by inferring the mutability of every reference in a program. In case studies, Javarifier correctly inferred mutability over Java programs of up to 110 KLOC.

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“…In subsequent work, JQual [14] cites Tschantz's thesis and adopts our approach. JQual's core rules are essentially identical to Javarifier's.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Correa later wrote a complete Javari implementation using the Checker Framework [20] and did case studies involving 13,000 lines of Javari [19]. The JQual inference system [14] (discussed above) can be treated as a type checker. JavaCOP [2] is a framework for writing pluggable type systems for Java.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inference of Reference Immutability

Quinonez¹,

Tschantz²,

Ernst³

ECOOP 2008 – Object-Oriented Programming

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“…Researchers have proposed frameworks for building qualifier systems, e.g., CQual [16], Clarity [9], JQual [18], JavaCOP [4], and the Checker Framework [33]. Qualifier systems have been developed in these frameworks for checking software properties such as null safety [8], [33], tainting [8], [33], format strings [35], [44], internationalization [33], regular expressions [36], UI threading [17], ownership [20], and immutability [21], [33], [40], [46].…”

Section: Type Qualifiersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The burden of annotating code with qualifiers is a major obstacle to the adoption of qualifier systems. Realizing the burden of adding qualifiers, researchers have developed myriad qualifier inference tools [5], [9], [11]- [13], [18], [20], [21], [21]- [23], [26], [30], [34], [37], [38], [40]. These tools employ static analysis, dynamic analysis, or a combination of the two.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cascade: A Universal Programmer-Assisted Type Qualifier Inference Tool

Vakilian¹,

Phaosawasdi²,

Ernst³

et al. 2015

2015 IEEE/ACM 37th IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering

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Abstract-Type qualifier inference tools usually operate in batch mode and assume that the program must not be changed except to add the type qualifiers. In practice, programs must be changed to make them type-correct, and programmers must understand them. CASCADE is an interactive type qualifier inference tool that is easy to implement and universal (i.e., it can work for any type qualifier system for which a checker is implemented). It shows that qualifier inference can achieve better results by involving programmers rather than relying solely on automation.

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“…Greenfieldboyce and Foster [11] present a framework called JQual for inferring user-defined type qualifiers in Java. JQual is effective for source-sink type systems, for which programmers need to add annotations to the sources and sinks and JQual infers the intermediate annotations for the rest of the program.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inference and Checking of Object Ownership

Huang

Dietl

Milanova

et al. 2012

ECOOP 2012 – Object-Oriented Programming

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Abstract. Ownership type systems describe a heap topology and enforce an encapsulation discipline; they aid in various program correctness and understanding tasks. However, the annotation overhead of ownership type systems has hindered their widespread use. We present a unified framework for specification, type inference and type checking of ownership type systems, and instantiate the framework for two such systems: Universe Types and Ownership Types. We present an objective metric defining a "best typing" for these type systems, and develop an inference approach that maximizes the metric. The programmer can influence the inference by adding partial annotations to the program. We implemented the approach on top of the Checker Framework and present the results of an experimental evaluation.

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Type qualifier inference for java

Cited by 38 publications

References 39 publications

Inference of Reference Immutability

Inference of Reference Immutability

Cascade: A Universal Programmer-Assisted Type Qualifier Inference Tool

Inference and Checking of Object Ownership

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