Static analysis tools can aid programmers by reporting potential programming mistakes prior to the execution of a program. Funqual is a static analysis tool that reads C++17 code ``in the wild'' and checks that the function call graph follows a set of rules which can be defined by the user. This sort of analysis can help the programmer to avoid errors such as accidentally calling blocking functions in time-sensitive contexts or accidentally allocating memory in heap-sensitive environments. To accomplish this, we create a type system whereby functions can be given user-defined type qualifiers and where users can define their own restrictions on the call graph based on these type qualifiers. We demonstrate that this tool, when used with hand-crafted rules, can catch certain types of errors which commonly occur in the wild. We claim that this tool can be used in a production setting to catch certain kinds of errors in code before that code is even run.
","abstract_html":"<p>Static analysis tools can aid programmers by reporting potential programming mistakes prior to the execution of a program. Funqual is a static analysis tool that reads C++17 code ``in the wild'' and checks that the function call graph follows a set of rules which can be defined by the user. This sort of analysis can help the programmer to avoid errors such as accidentally calling blocking functions in time-sensitive contexts or accidentally allocating memory in heap-sensitive environments. To accomplish this, we create a type system whereby functions can be given user-defined type qualifiers and where users can define their own restrictions on the call graph based on these type qualifiers. We demonstrate that this tool, when used with hand-crafted rules, can catch certain types of errors which commonly occur in the wild. We claim that this tool can be used in a production setting to catch certain kinds of errors in code before that code is even run.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nelson, Andrew P"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS in Computer Science","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Computer Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Aaron Keen"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:08Z","subjects":["C++","clang","call graph","call tree","static analysis","lint","type system","types","function call","Other Computer Engineering","Programming Languages and Compilers","Software Engineering","Theory and Algorithms"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10.15368/theses.2018.94"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.15368/theses.2018.94","href":"https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2018.94","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1848","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Aaron Keen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nelson, Andrew P"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-06-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Computer Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS in Computer Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["C++","clang","call graph","call tree","static analysis","lint","type system","types","function call","Other Computer Engineering","Programming Languages and Compilers","Software Engineering","Theory and Algorithms"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1848","10.15368/theses.2018.94"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Static analysis tools can aid programmers by reporting potential programming mistakes prior to the execution of a program. Funqual is a static analysis tool that reads C++17 code ``in the wild'' and checks that the function call graph follows a set of rules which can be defined by the user. This sort of analysis can help the programmer to avoid errors such as accidentally calling blocking functions in time-sensitive contexts or accidentally allocating memory in heap-sensitive environments. To accomplish this, we create a type system whereby functions can be given user-defined type qualifiers and where users can define their own restrictions on the call graph based on these type qualifiers. We demonstrate that this tool, when used with hand-crafted rules, can catch certain types of errors which commonly occur in the wild. We claim that this tool can be used in a production setting to catch certain kinds of errors in code before that code is even run.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Funqual: User-Defined, Statically-Checked Call Graph Constraints in C++"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Aaron Keen"],"dc:creator":["Nelson, Andrew P"],"dc:date.available":["2018-06-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Static analysis tools can aid programmers by reporting potential programming mistakes prior to the execution of a program. Funqual is a static analysis tool that reads C++17 code ``in the wild'' and checks that the function call graph follows a set of rules which can be defined by the user. This sort of analysis can help the programmer to avoid errors such as accidentally calling blocking functions in time-sensitive contexts or accidentally allocating memory in heap-sensitive environments. To accomplish this, we create a type system whereby functions can be given user-defined type qualifiers and where users can define their own restrictions on the call graph based on these type qualifiers. We demonstrate that this tool, when used with hand-crafted rules, can catch certain types of errors which commonly occur in the wild. We claim that this tool can be used in a production setting to catch certain kinds of errors in code before that code is even run.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1848","10.15368/theses.2018.94"],"dc:subject":["C++","clang","call graph","call tree","static analysis","lint","type system","types","function call","Other Computer Engineering","Programming Languages and Compilers","Software Engineering","Theory and Algorithms"],"dc:title":["Funqual: User-Defined, Statically-Checked Call Graph Constraints in C++"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Computer Science"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS in Computer Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:08Z"}