GenE: A Benchmark Generator for WCET Analysis

The fact that many benchmarks for evaluating worst-case execution time (WCET) analysis tools are based on real-world applications greatly increases the value of their results. However, at the same time, the complexity of these programs makes it difficult, sometimes even impossible, to obtain all corresponding flow facts (i.e., loop bounds, infeasible paths, and input values triggering the WCET), which are essential for a comprehensive evaluation. In this paper, we address this problem by presentingGenE, a benchmark generator that in addition to source code also provides the flow facts of the benchmarks created. To generate a new benchmark, the tool combines code patterns that are commonly found in real-time applications and are challenging for WCET analyzers. By keeping track of how patterns are put together, GenE is able to determine the flow facts of the resulting benchmark based on the known flow facts of the patterns used. Using this information, it is straightforward to synthesize the accurate WCET, which can then serve as a baseline for the evaluation of WCET analyzers