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On the desirable link between theory and practice in abstract interpretation (extended abstract)

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Static Analysis (SAS 1997)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1302))

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Abstract

Abstract interpretation was originally introduced by Patrick and Radhia Cousot as a unifying mathematical framework underlying the design of practical program analyses. In this paper, we reconsider some theoretical concepts and assumptions most often used in abstract interpretation. We argue that they impose too strong mathematical conditions on the abstract semantics of programs and so do not allow a practical and provably correct implementation of complex analyses. As a solution, we advocate the use of a weaker and more general methodology, which is essentially based on the concept of (explicit) specification. We illustrate the methodology through a historical review of the abstract interpretation system GAIA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut d'Informatique, University of Namur, B-5000, Namur, Belgium

    Baudouin Le Charlier

  2. Department of Computer Engineering and Information Science, Bilkent University, 06533, Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey

    Pierre Flener

Authors
  1. Baudouin Le Charlier
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  2. Pierre Flener
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Pascal Van Hentenryck

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Le Charlier, B., Flener, P. (1997). On the desirable link between theory and practice in abstract interpretation (extended abstract). In: Van Hentenryck, P. (eds) Static Analysis. SAS 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1302. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0032758

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0032758

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-63468-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69576-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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