Home Abstract interpreters for free Matthew Might, "Abstract interpreters for free", Static Analysis Symposium 2010 (SAS 2010). ...we present a two-step method to convert a small-step concrete semantics into a family of sound, computable abstract interpretations. The first step re-factors the concrete state-space to eliminate recursive structure; this refactoring of the state-space simultaneously determines a store-passing-style transformation on the underlying concrete semantics. The second step uses inference rules to generate an abstract state-space and a Galois connection simultaneously. The Galois connection allows the calculation of the â€œoptimalâ€ abstract interpretation. The two-step process is unambiguous, but nondeterministic: at each step, analysis designers face choices. Some of these choices ultimately influence properties such as flow-, field- and context-sensitivity. Thus, under the method, we can give the emergence of these properties a graph-theoretic characterization. The work in this paper provides some context for known static analysis techniques like k-CFA, and also opens up some interesting new directions for static analysis development. Also, as Matt points out, there are some pedagogical benefits to having a systematic process for getting from semantics to abstract interpretation. Comment viewing options Flat list - collapsed Flat list - expanded Threaded list - collapsed Threaded list - expanded Date - newest first Date - oldest first Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.