Specifying code analysis tools

Customised code analysis tools for the maintenance and evolution of existing software systems can be created by storing program information in a database, and using an application generator to translate the high-level specifications of the analyses the tools are intended to perform. We present a high-level domain-specific language for the specification of program analysis tools that exploit an algebraic program representation called F(p). The algebraic representation is a compact program view which describes the static composition of the control structures and the set of the resulting potential executions. Operands of the algebraic expression (that represent the program's constructs) are used as indexes to access information stored in the database. The specification language provides facilities for the traversal of the program representation and access to the associated information in the database. The program model and the analysis results are integrated into a unique conceptual model, thus simplifying the reuse of the results of an analysis and the integration of the tools.