Symbolically Computing MostPrecise Abstract Operations for Shape Analysis

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Symbolically Computing Most-Precise Abstract
Operations for Shape Analysis

• Greta Yorsh
• Thomas Reps
• Mooly Sagiv

Tel Aviv University
University of Wisconsin
Tel Aviv University
TACAS04
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Motivation

• New approach to using symbolic techniques in
  abstract interpretation
• for shape analysis
• for other analyses
• What does it mean to harness a decision procedure
  for use in static analysis?
• what are the requirements ?
• what does it buy us ?

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What are the requirements ?
Is ?(a) empty?
Formulas
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What does it buy us ?

• Guarantee the most-precise result w.r.t. to the
  abstraction
• best transformer
• other abstract operations
• Modular reasoning
• assume-guarantee reasoning
• scalability

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Assume-Guarantee Reasoning
T bar() void foo() T p ... p
bar() ...
prebar, postbar prefoo, postfoo assumepre
foo assertprebar ----------- assumepost
bar assertpostfoo





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The assume?(a) Operation
?(?(a)????)
a
?
Abstract
Concrete
Formulas
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The abstraction operation ?(?)

?
???
Abstract
Concrete
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The idea behind ?(?)

ans
?
?
???
Abstract
Concrete
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Reminder of the talk

• Shape analysis
• Canonical abstraction
• Algorithm for abstraction ? - example
• Abstract operations using ?
• Further work

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Shape Analysis

• Static program analysis
• Determine shape invariants
• all possible memory configurations
• Can be used to
• Verify programs (partially)
• Detect memory errors
• Prove properties about dynamically allocated data
• Detect logical errors
• Code optimizations

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Why is Shape Analysis Difficult?

• Destructive updating through pointers
• p?next q
• Produces complicated aliasing relationships
• Dynamic memory allocation
• No bound on the size of run-time data structures
• Abstract domain of 3-valued structures with
  canonical abstraction Sagiv,Reps,Wilhelm

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3-Valued Logical Structures

• Relation meaning over 0, 1, ½
• Kleene
• 1 True
• 0 False
• ½ Unknown
• A join semi-lattice 0 ? 1 ½

½
?
?
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Canonical Abstraction
u2
u1
FOTC
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Example of ?(?)

y x-n
?
?

?(?)
???
Concrete
Abstract
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Example - Materialization
y x-n
x
u2
u1
y
y
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Example Refinement
y x-n
? concrete stores ? pair of nodesn(a1, a2) 1
or n(a1, a2) 0
?concrete stores ? two pairs of nodes n(a1, a2)
1 and n(b1, b2) 0
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Abstract Operations

• ?(?) best abstract value that represents ?
• What does it buy us ?
• assume?(a) ?( ?(a) ? ? )
• assume-guarantee reasoning
• pre- and post-conditions specified by logical
  formulas
• BT(t,a) ?( ?(extend(a)) ? t )
• best abstract transformer
• parametric abstractions
• meet(a1, a2) ?( ?(a1) ? ?(a2) )

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SPASS Experience

• Handles arbitrary FO formulas
• Can diverge
• use timeout
• Converges in our examples
• Captures older shape analysis algorithms
• How to handle FOTC ?
• Overapproximations lead to too many structures

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Decidable Transitive-closure Logic

• Neil Immerman (UMASS), Alexander Rabinovich (TAU)
• ??(TC,f) is subset of FOTC
• exist-forall form
• arbitrary unary relations
• single function f
• Decidable for satisfiability
• NEXPTIME-complete
• Any reasonable extension is undecidable
• Rather limited

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Simulation Technique CAV04

• Neil Immerman (UMASS), Alexander Rabinovich (TAU)
• Simulate realistic data structures using
  decidable logic over tractable structures
• Singly linked list - shared/cyclic/nested
• Doubly linked list
• Trees
• Preserved under mutations
• Abstract interpretation, Hoare-style verification

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Further Work

• Implementation
• Decidable logic for shape analysis
• Assume-guarantee of real programs
• case study Java Collection
• specification language
• write procedure specifications
• Extend to other domains
• Infinite-height

gretay
www.cs.tau.ac.il/gretay