Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A 2005 Vol.6 No.1 P.63-70

http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.2005.A0063


Tools to make C programs safe: a deeper study*


Author(s):  Ji-min Wang1,Ling-di Ping1,Xue-zeng Pan1,Hai-bin Shen2,Xiao-lang Yan2

Affiliation(s):  1. 1. School of Computer Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China more

Corresponding email(s):   bigjim@zju.edu.cn

Key Words:  Unsafe feature, C language, Instrumentation tools, Safe dialect


WANG Ji-min, PING Ling-di, PAN Xue-zeng, SHEN Hai-bin, YAN Xiao-lang. Tools to make C programs safe: a deeper study[J]. Journal of Zhejiang University Science A, 2005, 6(1): 63-70.

@article{title="Tools to make C programs safe: a deeper study",
author="WANG Ji-min, PING Ling-di, PAN Xue-zeng, SHEN Hai-bin, YAN Xiao-lang",
journal="Journal of Zhejiang University Science A",
volume="6",
number="1",
pages="63-70",
year="2005",
publisher="Zhejiang University Press & Springer",
doi="10.1631/jzus.2005.A0063"
}

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%T Tools to make C programs safe: a deeper study
%A WANG Ji-min
%A PING Ling-di
%A PAN Xue-zeng
%A SHEN Hai-bin
%A YAN Xiao-lang
%J Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE A
%V 6
%N 1
%P 63-70
%@ 1673-565X
%D 2005
%I Zhejiang University Press & Springer
%DOI 10.1631/jzus.2005.A0063

TY - JOUR
T1 - Tools to make C programs safe: a deeper study
A1 - WANG Ji-min
A1 - PING Ling-di
A1 - PAN Xue-zeng
A1 - SHEN Hai-bin
A1 - YAN Xiao-lang
J0 - Journal of Zhejiang University Science A
VL - 6
IS - 1
SP - 63
EP - 70
%@ 1673-565X
Y1 - 2005
PB - Zhejiang University Press & Springer
ER -
DOI - 10.1631/jzus.2005.A0063


Abstract: 
The C programming language is expressive and flexible, but not safe; as its expressive power and flexibility are obtained through unsafe language features, and improper use of these features can lead to program bugs whose causes are hard to identify. Since C is widely used, and it is impractical to rewrite all existing C programs in safe languages, so ways must be found to make C programs safe. This paper deals with the unsafe features of C and presents a survey on existing solutions to make C programs safe. We have studied binary-level instrumentation tools, source checkers, source-level instrumentation tools and safe dialects of C, and present a comparison of different solutions, summarized the strengths and weaknesses of different classes of solutions, and show measures that could possibly improve the accuracy or alleviate the overhead of existing solutions.

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Full Text:   <4226>

CLC number: TP314

On-line Access: 2024-08-27

Received: 2023-10-17

Revision Accepted: 2024-05-08

Crosschecked: 0000-00-00

Cited: 0

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Citations:  Bibtex RefMan EndNote GB/T7714

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