Control-flow analysis: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:14, 30 September 2014

Revision as of 17:59, 1 June 2015

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In [[computer science]], '''control flow analysis''' ('''CFA''') is a [[static code analysis]] technique for determining the [[control flow]] of a program. The control flow is expressed as a [[control flow graph]] (CFG). For both [[functional programming language]]s and [[object-oriented programming language]]s, the term CFA, and elaborations such as ''k''-CFA, refer to specific algorithms that compute control flow.{{dubious|date=July 2014}}

For many [[imperative programming language]]s, the control flow{{which|date=July 2014}} of a program is explicit in a program's source code.{{dubious|date=July 2014}} As a result, [[interprocedural analysis|interprocedural]] control-flow analysis implicitly usually refers to a [[static analysis]] technique for determining the receiver(s) of function or method calls in computer programs written in a [[higher-order programming language]].{{dubious|date=July 2014}} For example, in a programming language with [[higher-order functions]] like [[Scheme (programming language)|Scheme]], the target of a function call may not be explicit: in the isolated expression

<source lang="scheme">

(lambda (f) (f x))