Detection of Static Flaws in Changesets

Abstract

<p>When performing static analysis checks intended to find flaws in software, information on the</p> <p>software's history is often ignored in the identification of bugs. This history information can</p> <p>improve the identification of the introductions several types of bugs, and can be used to reduce the</p> <p>false-positive rate of simple analysis tools.</p> <p>A method for static detection of null pointer dereferences by examining changes in a distributed</p> <p>development environment is presented. A static analysis used to detect null pointer dereferences is extended to highlight potentially dangerous state changes that point to the accidental introduction</p> <p>of such flaws.</p>