Comprehensive Multiplatform Dynamic Program Analysis for Java and Android

Abstract

Dynamic program analysis, such as with profiling, tracing, and bug-finding tools, is essential for software engineering. Unfortunately, implementing dynamic analysis for managed languages such as Java is unduly difficult and error prone because the runtime environments provide only complex low-level mechanisms. Programmers writing custom tooling must expend great effort in tool development and maintenance, while still suffering substantial limitations such as incomplete code coverage or lack of portability. Ideally, programmers should have a framework that lets them express dynamic-analysis tools at a high level, robustly, with high coverage and supporting alternative runtimes such as Android. To satisfy these requirements, ShadowVM, an all-in-one dynamic-program-analysis framework, uses a combination of techniques.