What is Program slicing

Program slicing is a technique used in software development and debugging to

analyze and understand the behavior of a program by extracting a subset of the
code relevant to a particular computation or variable.
The subset extracted is called a slice.
 This technique helps developers focus on specific parts of the code relevant to understanding a
particular behavior or debugging an issue, rather than dealing with the entire program.
 General Workflow of slicing

1. Selection of slicing criterion: Developers choose a criterion such as a specific

variable, statement, or computation that they want to analyze or debug.
2. Slice extraction: The program is analyzed to identify all statements and
control-flow elements that contribute to the computation or the value of the
selected criterion.
3. Pruning: Irrelevant parts of the program that do not influence the selected
criterion are removed from the slice, simplifying the code and focusing
attention on the relevant portions.
 Program slicing
4 Presentation: The extracted slice is often presented as a subset of the original
code, making it easier for developers to understand the behavior of the program with
respect to the selected criterion.
 Program slicing category
 Program slicing can be categorized into different types based on the slicing
criterion and the direction of the slicing. Here are some common types of program
slicing:
 Dynamic Slicing:
 Forward Slicing:
 Static Slicing:
 Dynamic slicing
 Dynamic slicing is used to identify these parts of the program that contribute to the
computation of the selected function for a given program execution (program input).
 Dynamic slicing may help to narrow down this part of the program that contributes to the
computation of the function of interest for particular program input.
Program slicing
 Cont…
 In dynamic program slicing, the slice is determined based on a specific execution of the program.
 Let's say we execute the program with the inputs a = 10 and b = 5. During execution, the value of
c will be computed as 15 (since c = a + b). Consequently, the output will be:

 For dynamic slicing, the resulting slice would include the following statements:

 These statements are considered relevant because they directly affect the execution and output of the program for that
specific run.
 Static Slicing

 In static slicing, the analysis is performed on the source code without executing it.
 It is typically performed using static code analysis techniques like data flow
analysis and control flow analysis.
 Static slicing is useful for identifying potential dependencies in the code without
the need for actual execution.
 Cont…
Step 1:-Let's create a simple Java program that calculates the factorial of a number.

Step 2: Identify Slicing Criterion

Let's choose the slicing criterion as the calculation of the factorial of the number of 5
Step 3: Perform Data Flow Analysis
to identify all statements and variables that contribute to the calculation of the factorial
of 5
 Cont…
Step 4: Extract Relevant Code
Based on the data flow analysis, extract the relevant portion of the code that directly influences
the calculation of the factorial of 5

 This static slicing process helps isolate the relevant portion of the code related to the calculation of the factorial of 5
making it easier to analyze and understand
 Forward slicing
 Forward slicing starts from a slicing criterion and identifies all statements that are
affected by it.
 It traces the flow of data and control from the slicing criterion forward in the
program.
 Forward slicing is useful for understanding how changes to certain variables or
statements propagate through the program.
 Forward slicing
 Let's demonstrate forward slicing with a Java example. We'll consider a simple program that
calculates the sum of the first N natural numbers

Let's choose the slicing criterion as the calculation of the sum of the first 5 natural numbers.
Perform Forward Slicing
Trace the flow of data and control from the slicing criterion (calculation of the sum) forward in the program.
 Forward slicing
Extract Relevant Code
 Based on the forward slicing analysis, extract the relevant portion of the code that directly
contributes to the calculation of the sum of the first 5 natural numbers.

Step 5: Validate the Slice

Ensure that the extracted code snippet retains the behavior of the original program in calculating the sum of
the first 5 natural numbers.
This forward slicing process isolates the relevant portion of the code related to the calculation of the sum of
the first 5 natural numbers, making it easier to analyze and understand how changes to variables like “n” and
“sum” affect the final result.
 Application of program slicing
 Program slicing finds various applications in software engineering and debugging.
Here are some common applications:
1. Debugging: Program slicing helps developers isolate the relevant portion of the code related to a bug or
unexpected behavior, making it easier to identify and fix issues.
2. Understanding Code: It aids in understanding complex code by focusing on specific portions relevant
to a particular functionality or behavior.
3. Code Maintenance: When maintaining or refactoring code, program slicing helps identify
dependencies and understand the impact of changes on other parts of the program.
 Cont…
4.Testing: Program slicing can be used to generate focused test cases by isolating specific portions of the code for
testing, improving test coverage and efficiency.
5.Optimization: It assists in identifying redundant or unnecessary code, allowing for optimization and improve
performance.
6.Security Analysis: Program slicing can be applied in security analysis to identify potential vulnerabilities or points of attack by
analyzing the flow of sensitive data through the program.
7.Understanding Legacy Code: When working with legacy codebases, program slicing can help developers comprehend unfamiliar
or poorly documented code by extracting and focusing on relevant parts.
8.Impact Analysis: Program slicing helps assess the impact of changes by identifying all code that depends on a particular variable,
function, or statement.
9.Parallelization: For parallel computing, program slicing can be used to identify independent portions of the code that can be
executed concurrently, improving performance.
 Reference
1. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-031-17108-6_9#:~:text=Program%20slicing%20is%20a%20static,%2Duse%2C%20and%
20closed%20source
.

2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352220822000797
3. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/295539081.pdf
4. https://mieszko.ece.ubc.ca/slicer4j-esec-fse-2021.pdf