A Linear Domain for Analyzing the Distribution of Numerical Values

This paper explores the abstract domain of grids, a domain that is able to represent sets of equally spaced points and hyperplanes over an n-dimensional vector space. Such a domain is useful for the static analysis of the patterns of distribution of the values program variables can take. Besides the bare abstract domain, we present a complete set of operations on grids that includes all that is necessary to define the abstract semantics and the widening operators required to compute it in a finite number of steps. The definition of the domain and its operations exploit well-known techniques from linear algebra as well as a dual representation that allows, among other things, for a concise and efficient implementation.