Overview
This course provides an overview of techniques to build correct software, with a strong focus on testing and program analysis. In particular, we will cover topics including:
- Code documentation
- Modularity and coupling (Design patterns)
- Dynamic program analysis (Testing, fuzzing, concolic execution)
- Static program analysis (Numerical abstract interpretation, pointer analysis, symbolic execution)
- Formal modeling (Alloy)
Students apply the learned techniques to solve a group project in the area of program analysis.
Organization
Note that the modalities described below are subject to change throughout the semester.
Lectures
- Lectures will generally be held in-person in HG F 3 and will be recorded.
- Note: On Thu 27th of Feb, the lecture will take place in HG G 3!
- Recordings can be found here.
- However, we cannot guarantee that the recordings will capture all content and activity presented in the lecture, therefore we recommend attending the lectures in person.
Exercises
- Exercise sheets and corresponding solutions will be published here by Wednesday evening. Please solve the exercises before the next topics's exercise block and before looking at the solutions.
- Exercise sessions start on Thursday in the first week of the semester (22.02). There will be identical sessions in Thursday-Monday blocks in person. The exercise sessions will consist of a discussion of the solutions of the previous problem sheet, a brief recap of the current week's topics, and a pre-discussion of the next problem sheet.
- Exercise sessions will not be recorded.
Moodle
- For any additional questions regarding the lectures or exercises, we have prepared a Moodle forum.
Lectures
Use your NETHZ account to access the slides.
| Date | Content | Slides |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 19 | Introduction |
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| Feb 20 | Documentation |
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| Feb 26 | Modularity I |
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| Feb 27 | Modularity II, Testing I (Change: the lecture will be in HG G 3) |
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| Mar 5 | Testing II |
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| Mar 6 | Testing III |
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| Mar 12 | Analysis Intro I |
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| Mar 13 | Analysis Intro II |
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| Mar 19 | Analysis Math I |
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| Mar 20 | Analysis Math II |
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| Mar 26 | Project Introduction |
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| Mar 27 | Intervals I |
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| Apr 2 | Intervals II |
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| Apr 3 | Intervals III & Pointers I |
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| Apr 9 | Pointers II & Determinism I |
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| Apr 10 | Determinism II & Abstract Interpretation Outlook |
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| Apr 16 | Rigorous Testing I |
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| Apr 17 | Project Q&A & Rigorous Testing II |
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| Apr 30 | No lecture | |
| May 1 | No lecture | |
| May 7 | Guest Lecture: Program analysis and Datalog solvers |
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| May 8 | Alloy I |
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| May 14 | Alloy II |
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| May 15 | Alloy III |
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| May 21 | Software Testing, Security, Safety in the LLM era |
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| May 22 | Guest Lecture: Alloy IV |
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| May 28 | Summary | Moodle Announcements |
Exercises
Use your NETHZ account to access the exercises.
| No. | Due Date | Content | Exercises | Solutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 27 | Documentation and Contracts |
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| 2 | Mar 6 | Modularity and Functional Testing |
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| 3 | Mar 13 | Structural Testing |
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| 4 | Mar 20 | First Steps with Abstract Interpretation |
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| 5 | Mar 27 | Mathematical Concepts of Abstract Interpretation |
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| 6 | Apr 3 | Approximation and Transformers |
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| 7 | Apr 10 | Interval Analysis |
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| 8 | Apr 17 | Pointer Analysis |
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| 9 | May 5 | Verifying Determinism |
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10 | May 8 | Symbolic Execution |
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11 | May 15 | Alloy I |
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12 | May 22 | Alloy II |
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13 | May 29 | Alloy III |
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Project
Details on the course project will be communicated in a dedicated lecture.
Previous exams
Previous exams are available in the exam collection of the student association (VIS).