Compiler testing via a theory of sound optimisations in the C11/C++11 memory model

International audienceCompilers sometimes generate correct sequential code but break the concurrency memory model of the programming language: these subtle compiler bugs are observable only when the miscompiled functions interact with concurrent contexts, making them particularly hard to detect. In this work we design a strategy to reduce the hard problem of hunting concurrency compiler bugs to differential testing of sequential code and build a tool that puts this strategy to work. Our first contribution is a theory of sound optimisations in the C11/C++11 memory model, covering most of the optimisations we have observed in real compilers and validating the claim that common compiler optimisations are sound in the C11/C++11 memory model. Our second contribution is to show how, building on this theory, concurrency compiler bugs can be identified by comparing the memory trace of compiled code against a reference memory trace for the source code. Our tool identified several mistaken write introductions and other unexpected behaviours in the latest release of the gcc compiler

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationCompilers are indispensable tools to developers. We expect them to be correct. However, compiler correctness is very hard to be reasoned about. This can be partly explained by the daunting complexity of compilers. In this dissertation, I will explain how we constructed a random program generator, Csmith, and used it to find hundreds of bugs in strong open source compilers such as the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure (LLVM). The success of Csmith depends on its ability of being expressive and unambiguous at the same time. Csmith is composed of a code generator and a GTAV (Generation-Time Analysis and Validation) engine. They work interactively to produce expressive yet unambiguous random programs. The expressiveness of Csmith is attributed to the code generator, while the unambiguity is assured by GTAV. GTAV performs program analyses, such as points-to analysis and effect analysis, efficiently to avoid ambiguities caused by undefined behaviors or unspecifed behaviors. During our 4.25 years of testing, Csmith has found over 450 bugs in the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure (LLVM). We analyzed the bugs by putting them into different categories, studying the root causes, finding their locations in compilers' source code, and evaluating their importance. We believe analysis results are useful to future random testers, as well as compiler writers/users

Actes des Sixièmes journées nationales du Groupement De Recherche CNRS du Génie de la Programmation et du Logiciel

National audienceCe document contient les actes des Sixièmes journées nationales du Groupement De Recherche CNRS du Génie de la Programmation et du Logiciel (GDR GPL) s'étant déroulées au CNAM à Paris du 11 au 13 juin 2014. Les contributions présentées dans ce document ont été sélectionnées par les différents groupes de travail du GDR. Il s'agit de résumés, de nouvelles versions, de posters et de démonstrations qui correspondent à des travaux qui ont déjà été validés par les comités de programmes d'autres conférences et revues et dont les droits appartiennent exclusivement à leurs auteurs