Querying Source Code using an Algebraic Query Language

Querying and analyzing source code interactively is a critical task in reverse engineering and program understanding. Current source code query systems lack sufficient formalism and offer limited query capabilities. In this paper, we introduce the formal framework of Source Code Algebra (SCA), and outline a source code query system based on it. SCA provides a formal data model for source code, an algebraic expression-based query language, and opportunities for query optimization. An algebraic model of source code addresses the issues of conceptual integrity, expressive power, and performance of a source code query system within a unified framework. Keywords: Reverse engineering, source code query, query language, many-sorted algebra. 1 Overview The answers are in the source code. Mark Weiser, in Source Code [28]. Software reverse engineering, code re-engineering, and program understanding have begun to emerge as the latest challenges in the field of software engineering. Interest in ..