A new algorithm for the calculation of transitive dependences

Abstract

AbstractProgram slicing can be used to aid in a variety of software maintenance activities including code understanding, code testing, debugging, and program re‐engineering. Program slicing (as well as other program analysis functions including ripple analysis) can be efficiently performed on an internal program representation called a system dependence graph (SDG). This paper will describe a new method for calculating transitive dependencies in the presence of recursion. This method requires neither the (explicit) calculation of the GMOD and GREF sets nor the construction of a linkage grammar and the corresponding subordinate characteristic graphs of the linkage grammar's nonterminals. Additionally, a beneficial side effect of this method is that it provides us with a new method for performing interprocedural, flow‐sensitive data flow analysis.Finally, this paper will illustrate the versatility of the SDG as an internal program representation by briefly describing a tool that we have developed that permits slicing, dicing, ripple analysis, and other static analysis functions to be performed on programs written in a subset of ANSI C (e.g., C without gotos and pointers).