Application of Formal Methods to the Development of a Software Maintenance Tool

Partial evaluation is an optimization technique traditionally used in compilation. We have adapted this technique to the understanding of scientic application programs during their maintenance and we have implemented a tool. This tool analyzes Fortran 90 application programs and performs an interprocedural pointer analysis. This paper presents how we have specied this analysis with different formalisms (inference rules with global denitions and set and relational operators). Then we present the tool implementing these specications. It has been implemented in a generic programming environment and a graphical interface has been developed to visualize the information computed during the partial evaluation (values of variables, already analyzed procedures, scope of variables, removed statements, ...).

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1997
• Where: KBSE
• Authors: Sandrine Blazy, Philippe Facon
• Keywords: Application Programs, KBSE 1997, Partial Evaluation, Scientic Application Programs, Software Engineering