A tool-suite for reachability analysis of concurrent object-oriented programs

Abstract

The object-oriented paradigm provides support for modular and reusable design and is attractive for the construction of large and complex concurrent systems. Reachability analysis is an important and well-known tool for static (pre-run-time) analysis of concurrent programs. However, its direct application to concurrent object-oriented programs has many problems, such as incomplete analysis for reusable classes and increased computational complexity. It also seems impossible to arrive at a single general-purpose strategy that is both safe and effective for all programs. We propose a tool-suite based approach for the reachability analysis of concurrent object-oriented-programs. This approach enables choice of an appropriate `ideal' tool, for the given program and also provides the flexibility for incorporation of additional tools. We have also proposed a novel abstraction-based partitioning methodology for effective reachability analysis of concurrent object-oriented programs. Using this methodology, we have developed a variety of tools, having different degrees of safety, effectiveness and efficiency, for incorporation into the tool-suite. We have formally shown the safety of these tools for appropriate classes of programs and have evaluated their effectiveness and efficiency.