PT4C : a C program tracer

Program analysis tools can be useful to the software engineer to aid in program understanding. Program understanding can include the discovery of dynamic memory errors, the ability to track pointers, and the ability to follow variable dependencies in a target code. Many program analysis tools exist, but few of them have the capability to perform point specific, inter-procedural program analysis. We present a program analysis tool that is point specific and inter-procedural. In addition, it is also capable of detecting pointer and dynamic memory errors. These errors include unassigned pointers, dangling pointers, memory leaks, and double-frees. The tool\u27s point specific analysis provides detailed statement level data flow information including in-set, read-write pairs, and pointer graphs

Validating year 2000 compliance

Validating year 2000 compliance involves the assessment of the correctness and quality of a year 2000 conversion. This entails inspecting both the quality of the conversion emph{process followed, and of the emph{result obtained, i.e., the converted system. This document provides an overview of the techniques that can be used to validate year 2000 compliance. It includes typical code fragments, and a discussion of existing technology, impact analysis, solution strategies, code correction, testing, and tools

What model(s) for program understanding?

The first objective of this paper is to present and discuss various types of models of program understanding. They are discussed in relation to models of text understanding. The second objective of this paper is to assess the effect of purpose for reading, or more specifically programming task, on the cognitive processes involved and representations constructed in program understanding. This is done in the theoretical framework of van Dijk and Kintsch's model of text understanding (1983)

A software classification scheme

Reusing code is one approach to software reusability. Code is the end product of the software lifecycle. It is delivered in a low level representation that is difficult to reuse unless an almost perfect match exists between available features and required specifications. There is a need to organize large inventories of software such that reusable code is easy to locate and exchange. The relative success in the reuse of code fragments reported by some software factories is due in part to their capacity to encapsulate domain specific functions and create specialized libraries of components classified by these locally standardized functions.A general software classification scheme that organizes reusability related attributes and common functions from different domains is proposed as a partial solution to the software reusability problem. For the problem of selecting from similar, potentially reusable. components, a partial solution based on evaluation of common characteristics is also proposed. A library system is presented that integrates the proposed classification scheme with an evaluation mechanism based on inherent component attributes, programming languages characteristics and reuser experience.The fundamental contribution of this dissertation is a formal treatment of a faceted scheme for software classification leading to better understanding of reusability at the code level. This approach has been prototyped in a library system for the semi-automatic classification of software components. Analysis were performed to evaluate the classification scheme. The results show the potential of the scheme in organizing collections of code fragments, in improving retrieval, and in simplifying the classification process. Tests of the evaluation mechanism showed positive correlation with evaluations conducted by potential reusers