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Type-based flow analysis and context-free language reachability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

MANUEL FÄHNDRICH  and
JAKOB REHOF
MANUEL FÄHNDRICH
Affiliation:
One Microsoft Way, Redmond WA 98052, U.S.A. Email: maf@microsoft.com
JAKOB REHOF
Affiliation:
One Microsoft Way, Redmond WA 98052, U.S.A.
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Abstract

We present a novel approach to computing the context-sensitive flow of values through procedures and data structures. Our approach combines and extends techniques from two seemingly disparate areas: polymorphic subtyping and interprocedural dataflow analysis based on context-free language reachability. The resulting technique offers several advantages over previous approaches: it works directly on higher-order programs; provides demand-driven interprocedural queries; and improves the asymptotic complexity of a known algorithm based on polymorphic subtyping from O(n8) to O(n3) for computing all queries. For intra-procedural flow restricted to equivalence classes, our algorithm yields linear inter-procedural flow queries.

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Paper
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Mathematical Structures in Computer Science , Volume 18 , Special Issue 5: Theory and applications of subtyping , October 2008 , pp. 823 - 894
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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