Pragmatic techniques for program analysis and verification

Abstract

The Program Development System (PDS) is a collection of programming tools created as an extension of the ECL programming system23. It contains components that assist the programmer in the definition and modular structuring of large programs at different levels of algorithmic abstraction. These components are supplemented by a program analysis package that produces an information pool to be used for such tasks as source-to-source optimization, semi-automated program documentation, fault detection and program verification. This paper describes the core of the analyzing package, the Symbolic Evaluator. In its implementation we have incorporated pragmatic methods for handling data sharing patterns, and for characterizing and reasoning about the behaviour of loops and procedures. The impact of these methods upon program verification techniques is briefly discussed.