Design of the CodeBoost transformation system for domain-specific optimisation of C++ programs

AbstractWhen writing transformation systems, a significant amount of engineering effort goes into setting up the infrastructure needed to direct individual transformations to specific targets in the data being transformed. Strategic programming languages provide general-purpose infrastructure for this task, which the author of a transformation system can use for any algebraic data structure. The Kansas University Rewrite Engine (KURE) is a typed strategic programming language, implemented as a Haskell-embedded domain-specific language. KURE is designed to support typed transformations over typed data, and the main challenge is how to make such transformations compatible with generic traversal strategies that should operate over any type. Strategic programming in a typed setting has much in common with datatype-generic programming. Compared to other approaches to datatype-generic programming, the distinguishing feature of KURE's solution is that the user can configure the behaviour of traversals based on the location of each datum in the tree, beyond their behaviour being determined by the type of each datum. This article describes KURE's approach to assigning types to generic traversals, and the implementation of that approach. We also compare KURE, its design choices, and their consequences, with other approaches to strategic and datatype-generic programming.

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API Misuse Detection in C Programs: Practice on SSL APIs

International Journal of Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering ◽

10.1142/s0218194019400205 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (11n12) ◽

pp. 1761-1779

Author(s):

Chi Li ◽

Zuxing Gu ◽

Min Zhou ◽

Jiecheng Wu ◽

Jiarui Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Static Analysis ◽

Real World ◽

Large Scale ◽

Secure Socket Layer ◽

C Programs ◽

Security Issues ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Analysis Technique ◽

Api Usage ◽

Analysis Engine

Libraries offer reusable functionality through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) with usage constraints such as call conditions or orders. Constraint violations, i.e. API misuses, commonly lead to bugs and security issues. Although researchers have developed various API misuse detectors in the past few decades, recent studies show that API misuse is prevalent in real-world projects, especially for secure socket layer (SSL) certificate validation, which is completely broken in many security-critical applications and libraries. In this paper, we introduce SSLDoc to effectively detect API misuse bugs, specifically for SSL API libraries. The key insight behind SSLDoc is a constraint-directed static analysis technique powered by a domain-specific language (DSL) for specifying API usage constraints. Through studying real-world API misuse bugs, we propose ISpec DSL, which covers majority types of API usage constraints and enables simple but precise specification. Furthermore, we design and implement SSLDoc to automatically parse ISpec into checking targets and employ a static analysis engine to identify potential API misuses and prune false positives with rich semantics. We have instantiated SSLDoc for OpenSSL APIs and applied it to large-scale open-source programs. SSLDoc found 45 previously unknown security-sensitive bugs in OpenSSL implementation and applications in Ubuntu. Up to now, 35 have been confirmed by the corresponding development communities and 27 have been fixed in master branch.

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Scientific Problem Solving in a Virtual Laboratory: A Comparison Between Individuals and Pairs

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185.67.2.71 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 67 (2) ◽

pp. 71-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Yolanda A. Métrailler ◽

Ester Reijnen ◽

Cornelia Kneser ◽

Klaus Opwis

Keyword(s):

Visual Search ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Process Data ◽

Scientific Problem ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Scientific Problem Solving ◽

Before And After ◽

Verbal Data ◽

Psychological Knowledge ◽

Problem Solving Task

This study compared individuals with pairs in a scientific problem-solving task. Participants interacted with a virtual psychological laboratory called Virtue to reason about a visual search theory. To this end, they created hypotheses, designed experiments, and analyzed and interpreted the results of their experiments in order to discover which of five possible factors affected the visual search process. Before and after their interaction with Virtue, participants took a test measuring theoretical and methodological knowledge. In addition, process data reflecting participants’ experimental activities and verbal data were collected. The results showed a significant but equal increase in knowledge for both groups. We found differences between individuals and pairs in the evaluation of hypotheses in the process data, and in descriptive and explanatory statements in the verbal data. Interacting with Virtue helped all students improve their domain-specific and domain-general psychological knowledge.

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Emotions and health: The impact of emotions, emotions regulation, music, and acculturation on health

Zeitschrift für Gesundheitspsychologie ◽

10.1026/0943-8149.16.3.112 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 112-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephan Bongard ◽

Volker Hodapp ◽

Sonja Rohrmann

Keyword(s):

Stress Responses ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Anger Expression ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Cardiovascular Stress ◽

Expression Behavior ◽

Cardio Vascular ◽

And Coping ◽

Relationship Of ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Our unit investigates the relationship of emotional processes (experience, expression, and coping), their physiological correlates and possible health outcomes. We study domain specific anger expression behavior and associated cardio-vascular loads and found e.g. that particularly an open anger expression at work is associated with greater blood pressure. Furthermore, we demonstrated that women may be predisposed for the development of certain mental disorders because of their higher disgust sensitivity. We also pointed out that the suppression of negative emotions leads to increased physiological stress responses which results in a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases. We could show that relaxation as well as music activity like singing in a choir causes increases in the local immune parameter immunoglobuline A. Finally, we are investigating connections between migrants’ strategy of acculturation and health and found e.g. elevated cardiovascular stress responses in migrants when they where highly adapted to the German culture.

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Measurement Invariance of Divergent Thinking Across Gender, Age, and School Forms

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.25.1.1 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jörg-Tobias Kuhn ◽

Heinz Holling

Keyword(s):

Measurement Invariance ◽

Divergent Thinking ◽

Factor Model ◽

Age Groups ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Specific Model ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Gender And Age ◽

Confirmatory Factor

The present study explores the factorial structure and the degree of measurement invariance of 12 divergent thinking tests. In a large sample of German students (N = 1328), a three-factor model representing verbal, figural, and numerical divergent thinking was supported. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses revealed that partial strong measurement invariance was tenable across gender and age groups as well as school forms. Latent mean comparisons resulted in significantly higher divergent thinking skills for females and students in schools with higher mean IQ. Older students exhibited higher latent means on the verbal and figural factor, but not on the numerical factor. These results suggest that a domain-specific model of divergent thinking may be assumed, although further research is needed to elucidate the sources that negatively affect measurement invariance.

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