SEMSLICE: Exploiting relational verification for automatic program slicing

Abstract

We present SemSlice, a tool which automatically produces very precise slices for C routines. Slicing is the process of removing statements from a program such that defined aspects of its behavior are retained. For producing precise slices, i.e., slices that are close to the minimal number of statements, the program’s semantics must be considered. SemSlice is based on automatic relational regression verification, which SemSlice uses to select valid slices from a set of candidate slices. We present several approaches for producing candidates for precise slices. Evaluation shows that regression verification (based on coupling invariant inference) is a powerful tool for semantics-aware slicing: precise slices for typical slicing challenges can be found automatically and fast.