Efficient Computation of Parameterized Pointer Information for Interprocedural Analyses

This paper presents a modular algorithm that efficiently computes parameterized pointer information, in which symbolic names are introduced to identify memory locations whose addresses may be passed into a procedure. Parameterized pointer information can be used by a client program analysis to compute parameterized summary information for a procedure.T he client can then instantiate such information at each specific callsite by binding the symbolic names.Comp ared to non-parameterized pointer information, in which memory locations are identified using the same name throughout a program, parameterized pointer information lets the client reduce the spurious information that is propagated across procedure boundaries.Suc h reduction will improve not only the precision, but also the efficiency of the client.T he paper also presents a set of empirical studies.Th e studies show that (1) the algorithm is efficient; and (2) using parameterized pointer information may significantly improve the precision and efficiency of program analyses.