Abstract interpretation techniques can be made more precise by distinguishing
paths inside loops, at the expense of possibly exponential complexity.
SMT-solving techniques and sparse representations of paths and sets of paths
avoid this pitfall. We improve previously proposed techniques for guided static
analysis and the generation of disjunctive invariants by combining them with
techniques for succinct representations of paths and symbolic representations
for transitions based on static single assignment. Because of the
non-monotonicity of the results of abstract interpretation with widening
operators, it is difficult to conclude that some abstraction is more precise
than another based on theoretical local precision results. We thus conducted
extensive comparisons between our new techniques and previous ones, on a
variety of open-source packages.Comment: Static analysis symposium (SAS), Deauville : France (2012
