Compiler testing via symbolic interpretation

Abstract

A method for compiler testing using symbolic interpretation is presented. This method is a cross between program proving and program testing. It is useful in demonstrating that programs are correctly translated from a high level language to a low level language thereby improving the reliability of the compiler. The term symbolic interpretation is used to describe the process of obtaining an intermediate form of the low level language program that is suitable for further processing by a proof system. Symbolic interpretation is the heart of the system and enables the recording of a transcript of all computations in the program. This process interprets a set of procedures which describe the effects of machine language instructions corresponding to the target machine on a suitable computation model. The highlights and limitations of the process as well as future work are discussed in a framework of a specific LISP implementation on a PDP-10 computer.