Method for determining reachable methods in object-oriented applications that use class libraries
US6463581B1 · kind B1 · utility
45Cited by
6References
29Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 14, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 8, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 14, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/4491
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention analyzes an application A and computes a set reachable methods in A by determining the methods in A that may be called from another reachable method in A, or from within a class library L used by A without analyzing the classes in L.The invention may be used as an optimization to reduce application size by eliminating unreachable methods. In the alternative, the invention may be used as a basis for optimizations that reduce execution time (e.g., by means of call devirtualization), and as a basis for tools for program understanding and debugging.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.