https://www.nist.gov/publications/sate-vi-ockham-sound-analysis-criteria-0
Paul E. Black, Kanwardeep S. Walia
Static analyzers examine the source or executable code of programs to find problems. Many static analyzers use heuristics or approximations to examine programs with millions of lines of code for hundreds of classes of problems. The Ockham Sound Analysis Criteria recognizes static analyzers that are precise. In brief the criteria are (1) the analyzer's findings are claimed to always be correct, (2) it produces findings for most of a program, and (3) even one incorrect finding disqualifies an analyzer. This document begins by explaining the background and requirements of the Ockham Criteria and how we determine if a tool satisfies it. As part of Static Analysis Tool Exposition (SATE) VI, we examined two tools: Astree and Frama-C with the Evolved Value Analysis (Eva) plug-in. Examining the tool outputs led us to find several systematic mistakes in the Juliet 1.3 test suite and thousands of mistakes in its manifest of known errors. Our conclusion is that Astree and Frama-C with Eva satisfied the SATE VI Ockham Sound Analysis Criteria.
Ockham Criteria, software assurance, software measurement, software testing, sound analysis, static analysis
Black, P. and Walia, K. (2020), SATE VI Ockham Sound Analysis Criteria, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8304 (Accessed December 9, 2021)