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{{Short description|Analysis of computer programs without executing them}}
{{Software development process}}
In [[computer science]], '''static program analysis''' (also known as '''static analysis''' or '''static simulation''') is the [[program analysis|analysis]] of computer programs performed without executing them, in contrast with [[dynamic program analysis]], which is performed on programs during their execution in the integrated environment.<ref>{{cite journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927010304/http://www.ida.liu.se/~TDDC90/papers/industrial95.pdf |archive-date=2011-09-27 | title=Industrial Perspective on Static Analysis. |journal=Software Engineering Journal |date=Mar 1995 |pages=69–75 |last1=Wichmann |first1=B. A. |first2=A. A. |last2=Canning |first3=D. L. |last3=Clutterbuck |first4=L. A. |last4=Winsbarrow |first5=N. J. |last5=Ward |first6=D. W. R. |last6=Marsh |volume=10 |issue=2 |doi=10.1049/sej.1995.0010 |url=http://www.ida.liu.se/~TDDC90/papers/industrial95.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Egele|first1=Manuel|last2=Scholte|first2=Theodoor|last3=Kirda|first3=Engin|last4=Kruegel|first4=Christopher|date=2008-03-05|title=A survey on automated dynamic malware-analysis techniques and tools|url=https://doi.org/10.1145/2089125.2089126|journal=ACM Computing Surveys|volume=44|issue=2|pages=6:1–6:42|doi=10.1145/2089125.2089126| s2cid=1863333 |issn=0360-0300|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
The term is usually applied to analysis performed by an automated tool, with human analysis typically being called "program understanding", [[program comprehension]], or [[code review]]. In the last of these, [[software inspection]] and [[software walkthrough]]s are also used. In most cases the analysis is performed on some version of a program's [[source code]], and, in other cases, on some form of its [[object code]].
== Rationale ==
The sophistication of the analysis performed by tools varies from those that only consider the behaviour of individual statements and declarations,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Khatiwada|first1=Saket|last2=Tushev|first2=Miroslav|last3=Mahmoud|first3=Anas|date=2018-01-01|title=Just enough semantics: An information theoretic approach for IR-based software bug localization|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0950584916302269|journal=Information and Software Technology|language=en|volume=93|pages=45–57|doi=10.1016/j.infsof.2017.08.012|url-access=subscription}}</ref> to those that include the complete [[source code]] of a program in their analysis. The uses of the information obtained from the analysis vary from highlighting possible coding errors (e.g., the [[lint programming tool|lint]] tool) to [[formal methods]] that mathematically prove properties about a given program (e.g., its behaviour matches that of its specification).
[[Software metric]]s and [[reverse engineering]] can be described as forms of static analysis. Deriving software metrics and static analysis are increasingly deployed together, especially in creation of embedded systems, by defining so-called ''software quality objectives''.<ref>[http://web1.see.asso.fr/erts2010/Site/0ANDGY78/Fichier/PAPIERS%20ERTS%202010/ERTS2010_0035_final.pdf "Software Quality Objectives for Source Code"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604203133/http://web1.see.asso.fr/erts2010/Site/0ANDGY78/Fichier/PAPIERS%20ERTS%202010/ERTS2010_0035_final.pdf |date=2015-06-04 }} (PDF). ''Proceedings: Embedded Real Time Software and Systems 2010 Conference'', ERTS2010.org, Toulouse, France: Patrick Briand, Martin Brochet, Thierry Cambois, Emmanuel Coutenceau, Olivier Guetta, Daniel Mainberte, Frederic Mondot, Patrick Munier, Loic Noury, Philippe Spozio, Frederic Retailleau.</ref>
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locating potentially [[Vulnerability (computing)|vulnerable]] code.<ref>[http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/livshits/papers/pdf/thesis.pdf ''Improving Software Security with Precise Static and Runtime Analysis''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605125310/http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/livshits/papers/pdf/thesis.pdf |date=2011-06-05 }} (PDF), Benjamin Livshits, section 7.3 "Static Techniques for Security". Stanford doctoral thesis, 2006.</ref> For example, the following industries have identified the use of static code analysis as a means of improving the quality of increasingly sophisticated and complex software:
# [[Medical software]]: The US [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) has identified the use of static analysis for medical devices.<ref>{{cite web |title = Infusion Pump Software Safety Research at FDA |author = FDA |publisher = Food and Drug Administration |date = 2010-09-08 |url = https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/GeneralHospitalDevicesandSupplies/InfusionPumps/ucm202511.htm |access-date = 2010-09-09 |url-status =
# Nuclear software: In the UK the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) recommends the use of static analysis on [[reactor protection system]]s.<ref>Computer based safety systems - technical guidance for assessing software aspects of digital computer based protection systems, {{cite web | title = Computer based safety systems | url=http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/operational/tech_asst_guides/tast046.pdf | archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130104193206/http://www.hse.gov.uk/nuclear/operational/tech_asst_guides/tast046.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 4, 2013 |access-date=May 15, 2013 }}</ref>
# Aviation software (in combination with [[Dynamic program analysis|dynamic analysis]]).<ref>[http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/air_software/cast/cast_papers/media/cast-9.pdf Position Paper CAST-9. Considerations for Evaluating Safety Engineering Approaches to Software Assurance] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006134233/http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/air_software/cast/cast_papers/media/cast-9.pdf |date=2013-10-06 }} // FAA, Certification Authorities Software Team (CAST), January, 2002: "Verification. A combination of both static and dynamic analyses should be specified by the applicant/developer and applied to the software."</ref>
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A study in 2012 by VDC Research reported that 28.7% of the embedded software engineers surveyed use static analysis tools and 39.7% expect to use them within 2 years.<ref>
{{cite web | title=Automated Defect Prevention for Embedded Software Quality | last=VDC Research | publisher=VDC Research | date=2012-02-01 | url=http://alm.parasoft.com/embedded-software-vdc-report/ | access-date=2012-04-10 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411211422/http://alm.parasoft.com/embedded-software-vdc-report/ | archive-date=2012-04-11 }}</ref>
A study from 2010 found that 60% of the interviewed developers in European research projects made at least use of their basic IDE built-in static analyzers. However, only about 10% employed an additional other (and perhaps more advanced) analysis tool.<ref>Prause, Christian R., René Reiners, and Silviya Dencheva. "Empirical study of tool support in highly distributed research projects." Global Software Engineering (ICGSE), 2010 5th IEEE International Conference on. IEEE, 2010
In the application security industry the name [[static application security testing]] (SAST) is also used. SAST is an important part of [[Security Development Lifecycle]]s (SDLs) such as the SDL defined by Microsoft<ref>M. Howard and S. Lipner. The Security Development Lifecycle: SDL: A Process for Developing Demonstrably More Secure Software. Microsoft Press, 2006. {{ISBN|978-0735622142}}</ref> and a common practice in software companies.<ref>Achim D. Brucker and Uwe Sodan. [https://www.brucker.ch/bibliography/download/2014/brucker.ea-sast-expierences-2014.pdf Deploying Static Application Security Testing on a Large Scale] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021065105/http://www.brucker.ch/bibliography/download/2014/brucker.ea-sast-expierences-2014.pdf |date=2014-10-21 }}. In GI Sicherheit 2014. Lecture Notes in Informatics, 228, pages 91-101, GI, 2014. </ref>
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* [[Model checking]], considers systems that have [[finite-state machine|finite state]] or may be reduced to finite state by [[abstraction (computer science)|abstraction]];
* [[Symbolic execution]], as used to derive mathematical expressions representing the value of mutated variables at particular points in the code.
* [[Nullable]] reference analysis
== Data-driven static analysis ==
Data-driven static analysis leverages extensive codebases to infer coding rules and improve the accuracy of the analysis.<ref name="dewes">{{cite web |title=Learning from other's mistakes: Data-driven code analysis. |url=https://www.slideshare.net/japh44/talk-handout-46938511 |website=www.slideshare.net |date=13 April 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite
== Remediation ==
Static analyzers produce warnings. For certain types of warnings, it is possible to design and implement [[Automatic bug fixing|automated remediation]] techniques. For example, Logozzo and Ball have proposed automated remediations for C# ''cccheck''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Logozzo |first1=Francesco |last2=Ball |first2=Thomas |date=2012-11-15 |title=Modular and verified automatic program repair |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2398857.2384626 |journal=ACM SIGPLAN Notices |volume=47 |issue=10 |pages=133–146 |doi=10.1145/2398857.2384626 |issn=0362-1340|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
== See also ==
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