Patent · US Expired

Methods for enhancing flow analysis

US6813761B1 · kind B1 · utility

36Cited by
9References
41Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 30, 2000
Grant dateNov 2, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 10, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F8/433
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Methods and structures are described that enhance flow analysis for programs. Whereas previous methods are complicated by the presence of function pointers, the present methods present a framework that abstracts function pointers as if they were any other program expressions so as to allow a desired level of analytical decision within a desired duration of analysis. One aspect of the present invention includes inferring types from a program, forming a type graph from the types, and forming a flow graph from the type graph to inhibit imprecise paths so as to enhance context-sensitivity of flow analysis. The methods may be used in any analysis tools such as code browsers and slicing tools.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.