A Framework to Combine Semantic and Structural Information for Static Analysis

Kent State University, Kent OH

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT Jonathan I Maletic Kent State U 0204175 A Framework to Combine Semantic and Structural Information for Static Analysis Jonathan I. Maletic The research involves combining semantic and structural information of program source code for the static analysis of software. Static analysis normally takes into consideration only structural information of the source code. The research investigates the use of information concerning the domain semantics to enhance existing static analysis methods. The semantic information is derived from the comments, documentation, and identifier names associated with the source code. A framework will be developed that allows the combination of semantic and structural information of the source code. The framework will provide means to compute new measures and metrics that describe the software (e.g., cohesion and coupling). Additionally, the research will study different information retrieval methods and how they can be used to extract relevant semantic information from the source code. An empirical assessment of the framework and the use of semantic information for static analysis will be undertaken. Combining semantic information with existing static analysis methods will result in new and improved analysis tools. These tools will help software engineers better analyze, maintain, and assess the quality of large software systems.