GLOBAL ANALYSIS OF CONSTRAINT LOGIC PROGRAMS

This article presents and illustrates a practical approach to the data flow analysis of constraint logic programming languages using abstract interpretation. It is first argued that, from the framework point of view, it suffices to propose relatively simple extensions of tradition al analysis methods which have already been proved useful and practica l and for which efficient fixpoint algorithms exist. This is shown by proposing a simple extension of Bruynooghe's traditional framework whi ch allows it to analyze constraint logic programs. Then, and using thi s generalized framework, two abstract domains and their required abstr act functions are presented: the first abstract domain approximates de finiteness information and the second one freeness. Finally, an approa ch for combining those domains is proposed. The two domains and their combination have been implemented and used in the analysis of CLP(R) a nd Prolog-III applications. Results from this implementation showing i ts performance and accuracy are also presented.