Static Analysis

Some of the implementation techniques of formal static analysis include:

  • Model checking considers systems that have finite state or may be reduced to finite state by abstraction;

  • Data-flow analysis is a lattice-based technique for gathering information about the possible set of values;

  • Abstract interpretation models the effect that every statement has on the state of an abstract machine (i.e., it 'executes' the software based on the mathematical properties of each statement and declaration). This abstract machine over-approximates the behaviours of the system: the abstract system is thus made simpler to analyze, at the expense of incompleteness (not every property true of the original system is true of the abstract system). If properly done, though, abstract interpretation is sound (every property true of the abstract system can be mapped to a true property of the original system). The Frama-c value analysis plugin and Polyspace heavily rely on abstract interpretation.

  • Use of assertions in program code as first suggested by Hoare logic. There is tool support for some programming languages (e.g., the SPARK programming language (a subset of Ada) and the Java Modeling Language — JML — using ESC/Java and ESC/Java2, Frama-c WP (weakest precondition) plugin for the C language extended with ACSL (ANSI/ISO C Specification Language)).