Software Tools for Static Analysis of Pointer Usage

Mistakes made by programmers in the use of pointer variables and dynamic memory allocation is a significant cource of software errors. The development of a suite of tools to aid in the detection of these errors is addressed. These tools will operate both statically and dynamically in order to provide as wide a range of services as possible. The static tool will guarantee that certain pointer based programming errors are not present in the target programs. The dynamic tool will be used to monitor the execution of a program, aiding developers by making the more elusive errors, easier to find. The set of tools depends upon identifying pointer based programming anomalies and unsafe practices. A set of algorithms that discover these anomoalies will be developed. We will devise a set of metrics that will enable programmers to quantify their certainty that the analyzed code is error free. A list of other services that program developers may find useful will be compiled. These steps will culminate in the development of a set of tools enabling programmers to utilize pointer variables and dynamic memory allocation, with quantifiable certainty that the analyzed code is free of some common programming errors.