Experimental evaluation of optimal abstract operators for sharing and linearity analysis

2026-06-08

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenge of balancing precision and efficiency in static analysis for sharing and linearity in logic programs, where theoretically optimal abstract operators are often too complex to implement effectively. Building upon the PLAI analyzer in the CiaoPP preprocessor, this study presents the first implementation and integration of multiple optimal abstract operators for unification and matching within a real-world analysis framework. The authors systematically evaluate the impact of these operators on both analysis precision and runtime performance. Experimental results quantitatively demonstrate the accuracy gains achieved by enhancing operator precision alongside the associated computational overhead, offering crucial empirical evidence for navigating the trade-off between precision and efficiency in static program analysis.

Abstract

In the field of static analysis of logic programs, the optimality of abstract operators is a valuable theoretical property, as it provides insight into the structure of abstract domains and the maximum precision that can be achieved. However, implementing optimal operators is often complex and may significantly impact performance, giving rise to a trade-off between precision and efficiency. We experimentally investigate this trade-off in the context of sharing and linearity analysis of logic programs. Our experiments build on previous work that proposed several optimal operators for unification and matching. We have implemented these abstract operators and the corresponding abstract domains within the PLAI analyzer, part of the CiaoPP preprocessor, and we report the impact of increasing operator precision on the accuracy and performance of the overall analysis.

Problem

• abstract operators
• sharing analysis
• linearity analysis
• precision-efficiency trade-off
• logic programs

Innovation

• abstract interpretation
• optimal abstract operators
• sharing analysis
• linearity analysis
• logic programs