Software Architecture of Code Analysis Frameworks Matters: The Frama-C Example

TL;DR

This paper discusses the importance of software architecture in large, extensible code analysis frameworks, using Frama-C as a case study to illustrate design challenges and proposed solutions.

Contribution

It presents the new software architecture of Frama-C aimed at improving development and maintenance of open, collaborative code analysis tools.

Findings

Identified key architectural challenges in extensible analysis frameworks.

Proposed a new architecture for Frama-C to address these challenges.

Demonstrated potential improvements in development and maintenance processes.

Abstract

Implementing large software, as software analyzers which aim to be used in industrial settings, requires a well-engineered software architecture in order to ease its daily development and its maintenance process during its lifecycle. If the analyzer is not only a single tool, but an open extensible collaborative framework in which external developers may develop plug-ins collaborating with each other, such a well designed architecture even becomes more important. In this experience report, we explain difficulties of developing and maintaining open extensible collaborative analysis frameworks, through the example of Frama-C, a platform dedicated to the analysis of code written in C. We also present the new upcoming software architecture of Frama-C and how it aims to solve some of these issues.