Automatic generation of library bindings using static analysis

Ravitch, Tristan; Jackson, Steve; Aderhold, Eric; Liblit, Ben

doi:10.1145/1542476.1542516

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…We have experimented with using the CIL C parser [21] to import C header files directly into Cmeleon and with interrogating DWARF debug information to extract types from compiled objects. Making these work robustly and expose clean OCaml interfaces is the topic of future work, perhaps based on similar work in this space [24].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A modular foreign function interface

Yallop

Sheets

Madhavapeddy

2018

Science of Computer Programming

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Foreign function interfaces (FFIs) between high-level languages and system libraries typically intertwine the actions of describing the interface of a system library and selecting a binding strategy for linking to it. This tight coupling makes it difficult for programmers to switch between different binding strategies, and discourages the development of new approaches to binding, since more exotic approaches are unlikely to attract sufficient users to justify the cost of development.We present Cmeleon, a replacement for the standard OCaml FFI that exposes typed constructors that correspond to the operations of the type algebra of C, and binding strategies that interpret this type structure as separate program stages. Cmeleon parameterises external calls across binding strategies, isolating interface descriptions from choices relating to call construction (code generation vs dynamic call frames), concurrency style (blocking, cooperatively or preemptively threaded), and separation (in-process, address space or a network connection).This flexibility enables significant code reuse of bindings in many different contexts, from rapid interactive development in a REPL to production deployments with generated code and privilege separation. Cmeleon has been used for the past two years to bind to a broad variety of real-world OCaml libraries, and entirely supplants the need for the low-level C FFI for the vast majority of applications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A modular foreign function interface

Yallop

Sheets

Madhavapeddy

2018

Science of Computer Programming

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“…To improve the potential impact of our work, we could analyze translation of more programming languages. Ravitch et al [18] proposed an approach that generates bindings to expose low-level languages to high-level languages. In future work, we plan to adapt their wrappers, so that we can analyze translation of more programming languages, even if the two languages under analysis are fundamentally different.…”

Section: Discussion and Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposing Behavioral Differences in Cross-Language API Mapping Relations

Zhong

Thummalapenta

Xie

2013

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Abstract. Due to various considerations, software vendors often translate their applications from one programming language to another, either manually or with the support of translation tools. Both these scenarios require translation of many call sites of API elements (i.e., classes, methods, and fields of API libraries). API mapping relations, either acquired by experienced programmers or already incorporated in translation tools, are much valuable in the translation process, since they describe mapping relations between source API elements and their equivalent target API elements. However, in an API mapping relation, a source API element and its target API elements may have behavioral differences, and such differences could lead to defects in the translated code. So far, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no previous study for exposing or understanding such differences. In this paper, we make the first attempt to expose and analyze behavioral differences in cross-language API mapping relations. From our result, we summarize eight findings and their implications that can improve effectiveness of translation tools, and also assist programmers in understanding the differences between mapped API elements of different languages during the translation process. Some exposed behavioral differences can indicate defects in translation tools, and four such new defects were confirmed by the developers of those tools.

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“…Gunawi et al [26] and Rubio-González et al [27] have studied faults in the detection and propagation of error values. Our work is complementary, in that we focus on the contents of blocks of error-handling code, while they focus only on the return values.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hector: Detecting Resource-Release Omission Faults in error-handling code for systems software

Saha

Lozi

Thomas

et al. 2013

2013 43rd Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN)

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Omitting resource-release operations in systems error handling code can lead to memory leaks, crashes, and deadlocks. Finding omission faults is challenging due to the difficulty of reproducing system errors, the diversity of system resources, and the lack of appropriate abstractions in the C language. To address these issues, numerous approaches have been proposed that globally scan a code base for common resource-release operations. Such macroscopic approaches are notorious for their many false positives, while also leaving many faults undetected. We propose a novel microscopic approach to finding resourcerelease omission faults in systems software. Rather than generalizing from the entire source code, our approach focuses on the error-handling code of each function. Using our tool, Hector, we have found over 370 faults in six systems software projects, including Linux, with a 23% false positive rate. Some of these faults allow an unprivileged malicious user to crash the entire system.

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Automatic generation of library bindings using static analysis

Cited by 15 publications

References 13 publications

A modular foreign function interface

A modular foreign function interface

Exposing Behavioral Differences in Cross-Language API Mapping Relations

Hector: Detecting Resource-Release Omission Faults in error-handling code for systems software

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