HOIST: a system for automatically deriving static analyzers for embedded systems

Embedded software must meet conflicting requirements such as being highly reliable, running on resource-constrained platforms, and being developed rapidly. Static program analysis can help meet all of these goals. People developing analyzers for embedded object e a difficult problem: writing an abstract version of each instruction in the target architecture(s). This is currently done by hand, resulting in abstract operations that are both buggy and imprecise. We have developed Hoist: a novel system that solves these by automatically constructing abstract operations using a microprocessor (or simulator) as its own specification. With almost no input from a human, Hoist generates a collection of C funcat are ready to be linked into an abstract interpreter. We demonstrate that Hoist generates abstract operations that are correct, having been extensively tested, sufficiently fast, and substanore precise than manually written abstract operations. Hoist is currently limited to eight-bit...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: ASPLOS
• Authors: John Regehr, Alastair Reid
• Keywords: Abstract Operations, ASPLOS 2004, People Developing Analyzers, Programming Languages, Static Program Analysis