Points-to and Side-Effect Analyses for Programs Built with Precompiled Libraries

Large programs are typically built from separate modules. Traditional whole-program analysis cannot be used in the context of such modular development. In this paper we consider analysis for programs that combine client modules with precompiled library modules. We define separate analyses that allow library modules and client modules to be analyzed separately from each other. Our target analyses are Andersen’s points-to analysis for C [1] and a side-effect analysis based on it. We perform separate points-to and side-effect analyses of a library module by using worst-case assumptions about the rest of the program. We also show how to construct summary information about a library module and how to use it for separate analysis of client modules. Our empirical results show that the separate points-to analyses are practical even for large modules, and that the cost of constructing and storing library summaries is low. This work is a step toward incorporating practical points-to and side-effect analyses in realistic compilers and software productivity tools.