Type Error Slicing for Type-based Information Flow Analysis of Imperative Programs

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an algorithm of type error slicing for type-based information flow analysis of imperative programs. Our slicing method is based on the existing one for functional programming languages. Type-based information flow analysis is useful to detect illegal information leaks. However, it is sometimes difficult to understand the reasons why type checking or inference fails. Program slicing helps programmers to locate the cause of a type error. We implemented our proposed algorithm as a prototype tool and applied to some simple programs.