Opaque predicate obfuscation, a low-cost and stealthy control flow obfuscation method to introduce superfluous branches, has been demonstrated to be effective to impede reverse engineering efforts and broadly used in various areas of software security. Conventional opaque predicates typically rely on the invariant property of well-known number theoretic theorems, making them easy to be detected...

Detection of a global predicate is a fundamental problem in distributed computing. In this paper we describe new predicate detection algorithms for certain temporal logic predicates. We use a temporal logic, CTL, for specifying properties of a distributed computation and interpret it on a finite lattice of global states. We present solutions to the predicate detection of linear and observer-ind...

We present a new modular shape analysis that can synthesize heap memory specification on a per method basis. We rely on a second-order biabduction mechanism that can give interpretations to unknown shape predicates. There are several novel features in our shape analysis. Firstly, it is grounded on second-order bi-abduction. Secondly, we distinguish unknown pre-predicates in pre-conditions, from...

All languages, both spoken and signed, make a formal distinction between two types of terms in a proposition--terms that identify what is to be talked about (nominals) and terms that say something about this topic (predicates). Here we explore conditions that could lead to this property by charting its development in a newly emerging language--Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL). We examine how hand...

In temporal logic programming, a stream can be speciied by a single-valued, time-varying predicate which, at any given moment in time, represents the corresponding element in the stream. However, due to inherent non-determinism in logic programming, time-varying predicates do not necessarily represent single-valued relations at any given moment in time. Choice predicates are also time-varying p...

In temporal logic programming, a stream can be specified by a single-valued, time-varying predicate which, at any given moment in time, represents the corresponding element in the stream. However, due to inherent nondeterminism in logic programming, time-varying predicates do not necessarily represent single-valued relations at any given moment in time. Choice predicates are also time-varying p...

Generalizing Belnap's system of epistemic states [Bel77] we obtain the system of disjunctive factbases which is the paradigm for all other kinds of disjunctive knowledge bases. Disjunctive factbases capture the nonmonotonic reasoning based on paraminimal models. In the schema of a disjunctive factbase, certain predicates of the resp. domain are declared to be exact, i.e. two-valued, and in turn...

This paper addresses the compositionality puzzle presented by a class of ‘pseudo-resultative’ predicates, such as tight in the sentence She braided her hair tight. The analysis proposed reveals that the modification involved also provides insight into the nature of the lexical roots of verbs and their role in compositional semantics. Pseudo-resultative predicates superficially resemble resultat...

This paper presents a backward type analysis for logic programs. Given type signatures for a collection of selected predicates such as builtin or library predicates, the analysis infers type signatures for other predicates such that the execution of any query satisfying the inferred type signatures will not violate the type signatures for the selected predicates. Thus, the backward type analysi...

Once a failure is observed, the primary concern of the developer is to identify what caused it in order to repair the code that induced the incorrect behavior. Until a permanent repair is afforded, code repair patches are invaluable. The aim of this work is to devise an automated patch generation technique that proceeds as follows: Step1) It identifies a set of failure-causing control dependenc...