Book Chapter
Abstract interpretation, symbolic execution and constraints
Roberto Amadini, Graeme Gange, Peter Schachte, Harald Sondergaard, Peter Stuckey
Recent Developments in the Design and Implementation of Programming Languages | Schloss Dagstuhl-Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik | Published : 2020
Abstract
Abstract interpretation is a static analysis framework for sound over-approximation of all possible runtime states of a program. Symbolic execution is a framework for reachability analysis which tries to explore all possible execution paths of a program. A shared feature between abstract interpretation and symbolic execution is that each – implicitly or explicitly – maintains constraints during execution, in the form of invariants or path conditions. We investigate the relations between the worlds of abstract interpretation, symbolic execution and constraint solving, to expose potential synergies.