Modular interprocedural pointer analysis using access paths: Design, implementation, and evaluation

In this paper we present a modular interprocedural pointer analysis algorit hm based on access-paths for C programs. We argue that access paths can red uce the overhead of representing context-sensitive transfer functions and e ffectively distinguish non-recursive heap objects. And when the modular ana lysis paradigm is used together with other techniques to handle type casts and function pointers, we are able: to handle significant programs like tho se in the SPECcint92 and SPECcint95 suites. We have implemented the algorit hm and tested it on a Pentium II 450 PC running Linux. The observed resourc e consumption and performance improvement are very encouraging.