Static program analysis is increasingly recognized as a fundamental tool for compiler optimization, bug detection and security analysis (among others). Pointer analysis is the foundation, on which virtually all other analyses are based. In this talk, I will introduce a number of pointer analysis techniques developed in my research group, together with their applications for improving software performance, safety and security. I will conclude my talk by discussing some challenges and opportunities faced in developing practical pointer analyses for real-world applications.

Jingling Xue received his BSc and MSc degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University in 1984 and 1987, respectively, and his PhD degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Edinburgh University in 1992. He is currently a Scientia Professor in the School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Australia, where he leads the Programming Languages and Compilers Group.

Jingling Xue’s main research interest has been programming languages and compilers for over 25 years. He is currently supervising a group of postdocs and PhD students on a number of topics including programming and compiler techniques for multi-core processors and embedded systems, concurrent programming models, static and dynamic program analysis for bugs and security vulnerabilities, security analysis of Android apps, and automatic parallelization of programs for parallel and distributed systems. His research has been supported by Intel, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Huawei and Australian Research Council.

Jingling Xue is interested in sharing the outcomes of his research projects in the form of open-source tools (http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~jingling/tools.html).

Jingling Xue is an Associate Editor for several journals, including IEEE Transactions on Computers (2011 – 2015), Software: Practice and Experience, and Journal of Computer Science and Technology. He has served as a program committee member in numerous conferences in his field.