Review of Recent Heap Specification and Verification Techniques

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the existing methods of dynamic memory verification; a comparative analysis is carried out; the applicability for solving problems of control, monitoring, and verification of dynamic memory is evaluated. This article is divided into eight sections. The first section introduces formal verification, followed by a section that discusses dynamic memory management problems. The third section discusses Hoare's calculus resumed by heap transformations to the stack. The fifth and sixth sections introduce the concept of dynamic memory shape analysis and the rotation of pointers. The seventh is on separation logic. The last section discusses possible areas of further research, particularly the recognition at recording level of various instances of objects; automation of proofs; "hot" code, that is, software code that updates itself when the program runs; expanding intuitiveness, for instance, on proof explanations.