Re: Data flow analysis

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004, Craig S. Ugoretz wrote:
> I am interested in learning more about data flow analysis. In
> particular, I have an idea for a Java application that would "wrap"
> another Java application. This would enable a user to click on a
> pixel on the screen and find out which object in the "child"
> application owns the pixel. Would data flow analysis be applicable to
> this type of problem? I am thinking that a piece of data may have to
> go through several transforms until it gets "stamped" upon the screen
> as a pixel. In general, does anyone know if this type of problem has
> been attempted?


I'm not really sure how this could be done through data-flow analysis,
which is for tracking the flow of values symbolically. The systems which
have done similar things did so dynamically, through a mechanism called
`presentations' which was really meant for use by GUIs. CLIM
(http://www.cliki.net/CLIM) and its predecessor, Symbolics's Dynamic
Windows, are systems that allow you to associate particular objects with
some kind of visual representation. When that type of object is required
as input, the graphical appearance of it becomes selectable (through mouse
clicks or some mechanism), and the system remembers the exact object
which was responsible for that particular output.


If, for other reasons, you are still interested in data-flow analysis, I
recommend Muchnick, _Advanced Compiler Design & Implementation_.

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