Implicit software dependency analysis

• US 9,678,720 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2016
• Issued: 06/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Semmle Limited (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Hale, Joshua George, Cartey, Luke James
• Primary Examiner(s): Kang, Insun
• Application Number:
  US15/090,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20170090876A1
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3604 Software analysis for verifying properties of programs byte-code verification G06F9/44589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3668 Software testing software testing in telephone exchanges H04M3/242, testing of hardware G06F11/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2237 Vectors, bitmaps or matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2246 Trees, e.g. B+trees
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/22 Procedural
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/24 Object-oriented
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/433 Dependency analysis; Data or control flow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/443 Optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/73 Program documentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/74 Reverse engineering; Extracting design information from source code
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/75 Structural analysis for program understanding
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for generated aggregated dependencies between software elements in a code base. One of the methods includes receiving a request to generate implicit dependencies introduced by remote procedure calls in a project. A registration of a remote procedure call is identified, wherein the registration of the remote procedure call specifies a target function and a name for the remote procedure call. An invocation of the remote procedure call using the name for the remote procedure call is identified, wherein the invocation occurs in a source software element of the project. A definition of the target function of the remote procedure call is identified, wherein the target function is defined in a target software element of the project. A new dependency is generated, the new dependency being a dependency from the source software element to the target software element.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a request to generate implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files in a project;

identifying, in the project, a source software element that references a runtime configuration file, wherein the runtime configuration file specifies a target function that is invoked at runtime;

identifying, in the project, an invocation that references the runtime configuration file, wherein the invocation occurs in the source software element of the project;

identifying, in the project, a definition of the target function referenced by the runtime configuration file, wherein the target function is defined in a target software element of the project;

generating a new dependency in a raw dependency graph, the new dependency representing an implicit dependency of the source software element on the target software element due to the source software element referencing the runtime configuration file specifying the target function defined in the target software element; and

generating data representing an aggregated dependency graph for a plurality of nodes of a hierarchy graph of software elements in the project, the plurality of nodes comprising a first node and a second node, wherein the aggregated dependency graph is different from the raw dependency graph, including generating an aggregated dependency between the first node in the hierarchy graph and the second node in the hierarchy graph, the aggregated dependency representing the implicit dependency in the raw dependency graph of the source software element on the target software element, wherein the first node or a descendent of the first node in the hierarchy graph represents the source software element, and wherein the second node or a descendent of the second node in the hierarchy graph represents the target software element.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting a dependency graph that includes the new dependency between the source software element and the target software element.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the new dependency comprises matching a name of the target function specified in the runtime configuration file with a definition of the target function in the target software element.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the implicit dependency is a dependency from a source software element to a target software element such that building the source software element would not cause a compile-time or link-time error due to an absence of the target software element.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a user interface presentation that presents the aggregated dependency graph.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request to generate implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files in a project comprises receiving a query that defines an implicit dependency introduced by configuration files in the project.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the runtime configuration file is a configuration file of a dependency injection framework.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the user interface presentation visually distinguishes the implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files from other dependencies in the user interface presentation.

9. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving a request to generate implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files in a project;

identifying, in the project, a source software element that references a runtime configuration file, wherein the runtime configuration file specifies a target function that is invoked at runtime;

identifying, in the project, an invocation that references the runtime configuration file, wherein the invocation occurs in the source software element of the project;

identifying, in the project, a definition of the target function referenced by the runtime configuration file, wherein the target function is defined in a target software element of the project;

generating a new dependency in a raw dependency graph, the new dependency representing an implicit dependency of the source software element on the target software element due to the source software element referencing the runtime configuration file specifying the target function defined in the target software element; and

generating data representing an aggregated dependency graph for a plurality of nodes of a hierarchy graph of software elements in the project, the plurality of nodes comprising a first node and a second node, wherein the aggregated dependency graph is different from the raw dependency graph, including generating an aggregated dependency between the first node in the hierarchy graph and the second node in the hierarchy graph, the aggregated dependency representing the implicit dependency in the raw dependency graph of the source software element on the target software element, wherein the first node or a descendent of the first node in the hierarchy graph represents the source software element, and wherein the second node or a descendent of the second node in the hierarchy graph represents the target software element.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

presenting a dependency graph that includes the new dependency between the source software element and the target software element.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein generating the new dependency comprises matching a name of the target function specified in the runtime configuration file with a definition of the target function in the target software element.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the implicit dependency is a dependency from a source software element to a target software element such that building the source software element would not cause a compile-time or link-time error due to an absence of the target software element.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise providing a user interface presentation that presents the aggregated dependency graph.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein receiving the request to generate implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files in a project comprises receiving a query that defines an implicit dependency introduced by configuration files in the project.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the runtime configuration file is a configuration file of a dependency injection framework.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the user interface presentation visually distinguishes the implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files from other dependencies in the user interface presentation.

17. A computer program product, encoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, comprising instructions that when executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request to generate implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files in a project;

identifying, in the project, a source software element that references a runtime configuration file, wherein the runtime configuration file specifies a target function that is invoked at runtime;

identifying, in the project, an invocation that references the runtime configuration file, wherein the invocation occurs in the source software element of the project;

identifying, in the project, a definition of the target function referenced by the runtime configuration file, wherein the target function is defined in a target software element of the project;

generating a new dependency in a raw dependency graph, the new dependency representing an implicit dependency of the source software element on the target software element due to the source software element referencing the runtime configuration file specifying the target function defined in the target software element; and

generating data representing an aggregated dependency graph for a plurality of nodes of a hierarchy graph of software elements in the project, the plurality of nodes comprising a first node and a second node, wherein the aggregated dependency graph is different from the raw dependency graph, including generating an aggregated dependency between the first node in the hierarchy graph and the second node in the hierarchy graph, the aggregated dependency representing the implicit dependency in the raw dependency graph of the source software element on the target software element, wherein the first node or a descendent of the first node in the hierarchy graph represents the source software element, and wherein the second node or a descendent of the second node in the hierarchy graph represents the target software element.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

presenting a dependency graph that includes the new dependency between the source software element and the target software element.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein generating the new dependency comprises matching a name of the target function specified in the runtime configuration file with a definition of the target function in the target software element.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the implicit dependency is a dependency from a source software element to a target software element such that building the source software element would not cause a compile-time or link-time error due to an absence of the target software element.

21. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise providing a user interface presentation that presents the aggregated dependency graph.

22. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein receiving the request to generate implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files in a project comprises receiving a query that defines an implicit dependency introduced by configuration files in the project.

23. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the runtime configuration file is a configuration file of a dependency injection framework.

24. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the user interface presentation visually distinguishes the implicit dependencies introduced by runtime configuration files from other dependencies in the user interface presentation.