A Comparative Study of Code Query Technologies

When analyzing software systems we are faced with the challenge of how to implement a particular analysis for different programming languages. A solution for this problem is to write a single analysis using a code query language abstracting from the specificities of languages being analyzed. Over the past ten years many code query technologies have been developed, based on different formalisms. Each technology comes with its own query language and set of features. To determine the state of the art of code querying we compare the languages and tools for seven code query technologies: Grok, Rscript, JRelCal, SemmleCode, JGraLab, CrocoPat and JTransformer. The specification of a package stability metric is used as a running example to compare the languages. The comparison involves twelve criteria, some of which are concerned with properties of the query language (paradigm, types, parametrization, polymorphism, modularity, and libraries), and some of which are concerned with the tool itself (output formats, interactive interface, API support, interchange formats, extraction support, and licensing). We contextualize the criteria in two usage scenarios: interactive and tool integration. We conclude that there is no particularly weak or dominant tool. As important improvement points, we identify the lack of library mechanisms, interchange formats, and possibilities for integration with source code extraction components

The Rascal meta-programming language - a lab for software analysis, transformation, generation & visualization

National audienceThis paper summarizes the goals and features of a do- main specific programming language called Rascal. On the one hand it is designed to facilitate software research -- research about software in general. On the other hand Rascal is applied to specific software portfolios as well, as a means to improve them and as a means to learn to understand them. Specifically, Rascal is used create tools that analyze, transform, generate or visualize source code of software products. Such tools are motivated by the need to im- prove quality of existing software or the need to lower its cost-of-ownership. More generally such tools are cre- ated to build laboratory experiments that observe and measure quality, or try and improve software quality, etc. In this paper we provide an overview of Rascal as a "domain specific language for meta programming". We first explain its goals and then its features. We end by highlighting some example applications in the area of software analysis and transformation

Rascal: A domain specific language for source code analysis and manipulation

Many automated software engineering tools require tight integration of techniques for source code analysis and manipulation. State-of-the-art tools exist for both, but the domains have remained notoriously separate because different computational paradigms fit each domain best. This impedance mismatch hampers the development of each new problem solution since desired functionality and scalability can only be achieved by repeated, ad hoc, integration of different techniques. Rascal is a domain-specific language that takes away most of this boilerplate by providing high-level integration of source code analysis and manipulation on the conceptual, syntactic, semantic and technical level. We give an overview of the language and assess its merits by implementing a complex refactoring

Platform Architecture for the Diagram Assessment Domain

Using e-learning and e-assessment environments in higher education bears considerable potential for both students and teachers. In this contribution we present an architecture for a comprehensive e-assessment platform for the modeling domain. The platform – currently developed in the KEA-Mod project – features a micro-service architecture and is based on different inter-operable components. Based on this idea, the KEA-Mod platform will provide e-assessment capabilities for various graph-based modeling languages such as Unified Modeling Language (UML), EntityRelationship diagrams (ERD), Petri Nets, Event-driven Process Chains (EPC) and the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) and their respective diagram types

Program Analysis Scenarios in Rascal

Rascal is a meta programming language focused on the implementation of domain-specific languages and on the rapid construction of tools for software analysis and software transformation. In this paper we focus on the use of Rascal for software analysis. We illustrate a range of scenarios for building new software analysis tools through a number of examples, including one showing integration with an existing Maude-based analysis. We then focus on ongoing work on alias analysis and type inference for PHP, showing how Rascal is being used, and sketching a hypothetical solution in Maude. We conclude with a high-level discussion on the commonalities and differences between Rascal and Maude when applied to program analysis

Rascal: From Algebraic Specification to Meta-Programming

Algebraic specification has a long tradition in bridging the gap between specification and programming by making specifications executable. Building on extensive experience in designing, implementing and using specification formalisms that are based on algebraic specification and term rewriting (namely Asf and Asf+Sdf), we are now focusing on using the best concepts from algebraic specification and integrating these into a new programming language: Rascal. This language is easy to learn by non-experts but is also scalable to very large meta-programming applications. We explain the algebraic roots of Rascal and its main application areas: software analysis, software transformation, and design and implementation of domain-specific languages. Some example applications in the domain of Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) are described to illustrate this.Comment: In Proceedings AMMSE 2011, arXiv:1106.596

Automated analysis of software artefacts - a use case in e-assessment

Automated grading and feedback generation for programming and modeling exercises has become a usual means of supporting teachers and students at universities and schools. Tools used in this context engage general software engineering techniques for the analysis of software artefacts. Experiences with the current state-of-the-art show good results, but also a gap between the potential power of such techniques and the actual power used in current e-assessment systems. This thesis contributes to closing this gap by developing and testing approaches that are more universal than the currently used approaches and provide novel means of feedback generation. It can be shown that these approaches can be used effectively and efficiently for the mass validation of exercises, and that they result in a high feedback quality according to students' perception