Method of diagnosing alias violations in memory access commands in source code

A computer implemented method for facilitating debugging of source code, the computer implemented method comprising:

• performing an alias analysis of the source code to generate points-to records having points-to information;
• constructing a directed graph based on the points-to records, wherein the directed graph comprises edges and points-to entries;
• annotating the edges and points-to entries in the directed graph with coordinate information;
• propagating the points-to entries in the directed graph along the edges;
• applying an aliasing rule to identify, using the directed graph, zero or more lines of code containing a potential aliasing violation, wherein in a case in which the zero or more lines of code comprise at least one line of code, the at least one line of code is in the source code;
• generating a report, wherein the report comprises an identification of the zero or more lines of code;
• and
• storing the report.

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer usable medium having computer usable program code for facilitating debugging of source code, the computer program product including:
• computer usable program code for identifying a set of indirect memory references in the source code;
• computer usable program code for generating points-to records for the source code;
• computer usable program code for validating the set of indirect memory references using the points-to records and an aliasing rule to identify zero or more indirect memory references having a potential aliasing problem, wherein in a case in which the zero or more indirect memory references comprise at least one indirect memory reference, the at least one indirect memory reference is in the set of indirect memory references;
• and
• computer usable program code for, responsive to a determination that the zero or more indirect memory references comprise at least one indirect memory reference, generating a report identifying at least one location in the source code associated with the at least one indirect memory reference.

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer usable medium having computer usable program code for facilitating debugging of source code, the computer program product including:
• computer usable program code for performing an alias analysis of the source code to generate points-to records having points-to information;
• computer usable program code for constructing a directed graph based on the points-to records, wherein the directed graph comprises edges and points-to entries;
• computer usable program code for annotating the edges and points-to entries in the directed graph with coordinate information;
• computer usable program code for propagating the points-to entries in the directed graph along the edges;
• computer usable program code for applying an aliasing rule to identify, using the directed graph, zero or more lines of code containing a potential aliasing violation, wherein in a case in which the zero or more lines of code comprise at least one line of code, the at least one line of code is in the source code;
• and
• computer usable program code for generating a report, wherein the report comprises an identification of the zero or more lines of code.

A data processing system comprising:

• a bus;
• at least one processor coupled to the bus;
• a computer usable medium coupled to the bus, wherein the computer usable medium contains a set of instructions for facilitating debugging of source code, wherein the at least one processor is adapted to carry out the set of instructions to:
• identify a set of indirect memory references in the source code;
• generate points-to records for the source code;
• validate the set of indirect memory references using the points-to records and an aliasing rule to identify zero or more indirect memory references having a potential aliasing problem, wherein in a case in which the zero or more indirect memory references comprise at least one indirect memory reference, the at least one indirect memory reference is in the set of indirect memory references;
• and
• responsive to a determination that the zero or more indirect memory references comprise at least one indirect memory reference, generate a report identifying at least one location in the source code associated with the at least one indirect memory reference.

A data processing system comprising:

• a bus;
• at least one processor coupled to the bus;
• a computer usable medium coupled to the bus, wherein the computer usable medium contains a set of instructions for facilitating debugging of source code, wherein the at least one processor is adapted to carry out the set of instructions to:
• perform an alias analysis of the source code to generate points-to records having points-to information;
• construct a directed graph based on the points-to records, wherein the directed graph comprises edges and points-to entries;
• annotate the edges and points-to entries in the directed graph with coordinate information;
• propagate the points-to entries in the directed graph along the edges;
• apply an aliasing rule to identify, using the directed graph, zero or more lines of code containing a potential aliasing violation, wherein in a case in which the zero or more lines of code comprise at least one line of code, the at least one line of code is in the source code;
• and
• generate a report, wherein the report comprises an identification of the zero or more lines of code.