Alias analysis for object-oriented programs

Manu Sridharan, Satish Chandra, Julian Dolby, Stephen J. Fink, Eran Yahav

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

We present a high-level survey of state-of-the-art alias analyses for object-oriented programs, based on a years-long effort developing industrial-strength static analyses for Java. We first present common variants of points-to analysis, including a discussion of key implementation techniques. We then describe flow-sensitive techniques based on tracking of access paths, which can yield greater precision for certain clients. We also discuss how whole-program alias analysis has become less useful for modern Java programs, due to increasing use of reflection in libraries and frameworks. We have found that for real-world programs, an under-approximate alias analysis based on access-path tracking often provides the best results for a variety of practical clients.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAliasing in Object-Oriented Programming
Subtitle of host publicationTypes, Analysis, and Verification
Pages196-232
Number of pages37
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume7850

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • General Computer Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Alias analysis for object-oriented programs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this