Driver Generation for Java EE Web Applications

Abstract

Program analyses typically need to identify a single entry method that triggers program executions. However, many modern applications do not have such a single entry point. Instead, they have to be deployed in a container that interacts with them through an application programming interface (API). We present a tool that generates a driver that supplies such an entry method for Java EE web applications. The generated driver simulates an arbitrary client interacting with the web application through the container. We describe the modular design of the driver generator, and existing support for features like Java server pages, servlets, filters and listeners. We report on our experience of using the driver generator for large real-world web applications.