CAT - CallGraph Analysis Tool

CAT (CallGraph Analysis Tool) is a Java tool that constructs call graphs using Class Hierarchy Analysis (CHA). Cat is built upon ExtendJ and JastAdd.

This repository relates to the artifact submitted at SLE 2024: Efficient Demand Evaluation of Fixed-Point Attributes Using Static Analysis. The tool was first introduced in the following paper:

Efficient Demand Evaluation of Fixed-Point Attributes Using Static Analysis Idriss Riouak, Niklas Fors, Jesper Öqvist, Görel Hedin, Christoph Reichenbach Proceedings of the 17th ACM SIGPLAN International Conference on Software Language Engineering (SLE 2024). DOI: 10.1145/3687997.3695644

The artifact associated with this work is available on Zenodo: 13365896.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Examples
• Contributing
• License

Introduction

CAT (CallGraph Analysis Tool) computes call graphs for Java programs, where nodes represent methods and edges denote method calls. It employs CHA and RTA techniques to ensure accurate graph construction and includes a web-based visualization tool for interactive exploration of the generated graphs.

Features

• Call Graph Generation: Generate call graphs for Java programs using CHA.
• Web-based Visualization: Interactive browser-based visualization of call graphs.
• Command-line Interface: Simple CLI for generating call graphs.
• JSON Output: Export call graphs in JSON format for easy integration with other tools.
• CSV Output: Export some metadata in CSV format.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/IdrissRio/cat
   

2. Navigate to the cloned repository:

    cd cat
   

3. Initialize submodules:

   git submodule update --init --recursive
   

4. Build the project:

    ./gradlew build -x test -PenableOptimization
   

Java Version

CAT has been tested with Java 8.0.372.fx-zulu installed via SDKMAN. Ensure you have a compatible Java environment before building or running the tool.

Usage

CAT provides a command-line interface for generating and visualizing call graphs. The tool requires the path to the Java program, the output file, and the entry point (package name, class name, and method name) to generate a call graph.

Generate a Call Graph

 java -jar cat.jar <path-to-java-program> -o <output-file.json> -entryPoint <package-name>.<class-name> <method-name>

The -o flag specifies the output file where the call graph will be saved. The file has to end with .json to be correctly recognized by the visualization tool. CAT will also generate a lightweight CSV file with the same name as the output file.

Visualize a Call Graph

java -jar cat.jar <path-to-java-program> -visualise -entryPoint <package-name>.<class-name> <method-name>

Access the visualization tool at http://localhost:8080.

Simple Java Example

Consider the following Java program saved as ~/Example.java:

// Example from http://web.cs.ucla.edu/~palsberg/tba/papers/dean-grove-chambers-ecoop95.pdf
public class Example {
  public void main() {
    H h = new H();
    h.m();
    A a = new C();
    a.m();
  }
}
class H extends F {}
class G extends F {}
class F extends C {
  @Override
  void p() {}
}
class E extends C {
  @Override
  void m() {}
}
class D extends B {}
class C extends A {
  static { final A G = new G(); }
  @Override
  void m() {}
}
class B extends A {
  @Override
  void m() {}
}
class A {
  void m() {}
  void p() {}
}

Generate a call graph:

 java -jar cat.jar ~/Example.java -o ~/Example.json -entryPoint Example main

Visualize the call graph:

> java -jar cat.jar ~/Example.java -visualise -entryPoint Example main

Open a browser and visit http://localhost:8080 to explore the generated graph:

Running CAT on CAT

We provide a script, ./run_cat.sh, that simplifies running CAT on CAT itself. This script automates the entire process, from setting up the required environment to running the analysis.

To use the script, simply execute the following command:

./run_cat.sh

The script will start a local server, and you can visualize the generated call graph by navigating to http://localhost:8080 in your web browser. No additional configuration is required—just run the script and wait for the results!

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Follow these steps to contribute:

1. Fork this repository.
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature.
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m "Add feature XYZ".
4. Push to your forked repository.
5. Open a pull request detailing your changes.

License

CAT is released under the BSD 3-Clause License.