Finding application errors and security flaws using PQL: a program query language

A number of effective error detection tools have been built in recent years to check if a program conforms to certain design rules. An important class of design rules deals with sequences of events associated with a set of related objects. This paper presents a language called PQL (Program Query Language) that allows programmers to express such questions easily in an application-specific context. A query looks like a code excerpt corresponding to the shortest amount of code that would violate a design rule. Details of the tarication’s precise implementation are abstracted away. The programmer may also specify actions to perform when a match is found, such as recording relevant information or even correcting an erroneous execution on the fly. We have developed both static and dynamic techniques to find solutions to PQL queries. Our static analyzer finds all potential matches conservatively using a context-sensitive, flow-insensitive, inclusion-based pointer alias analysis. Stati...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: OOPSLA
• Authors: Michael C. Martin, V. Benjamin Livshits, Monica S. Lam
• Keywords: Design Rule, Dynamic Analysis, Language Called Pql, OOPSLA 2005