Transformations over assembly code are common in many compilers. These transformations are also some of the most bug-dense compiler components. Such bugs could be elim- inated by formally verifying the compiler, but state-of-the- art formally verified compilers like CompCert do not sup- port assembly-level program transformations. This paper presents Peek, a framework for expressing, verifying, and running meaning-preserving assembly-level program trans- formations in CompCert. Peek contributes four new com- ponents: a lower level semantics for CompCert x86 syntax, a liveness analysis, a library for expressing and verifying peephole optimizations, and a verified peephole optimiza- tion pass built into CompCert. Each of these is accompanied by a correctness proof in Coq against realistic assumptions about the calling convention and the system memory alloca- tor. Verifying peephole optimizations in Peek requires prov- ing only a set of local properties, which we have proved are sufficient to ensure global transformation correctness. We have proven these local properties for 28 peephole transfor- mations from the literature. We discuss the development of our new assembly semantics, liveness analysis, representa- tion of program transformations, and execution engine; de- scribe the verification challenges of each component; and detail techniques we applied to mitigate the proof burden.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.