Integration of Scripts in Reliable Programs

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Peter Thiemann
• Subject Area: Software Engineering and Programming Languages
• Term: from 2013 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 226160369

The JavaScript programming language is ubiquitous: it is used inmore than 94 percent of all web sites and it is the most used language on community sites like GitHub and Stackoverflow. JavaScript is no longer just the language of the Web, as it sees increasing use in server-sideapplications and in IoT applications. However, developers struggle when maintaining sizable software systems in JavaScript because the language is not equipped for ``Programming in the Large''.TypeScript is an extension of JavaScript developed by Microsoftwhich provides types and typed component interfaces to better support largescale projects. Studies show that the additional documentation andtooling opportunies due to types boost developer productivity by upto 15 percent. However, the migration of JavaScript code to TypeScript ishampered by the fact that typed interfaces for existing JavaScriptprograms, libraries, and frameworks must be constructed and vetted manually.This project will improve on this situation by exploring,developing, and implementing new techniques for automaticallyinferring precise TypeScript interfaces from existing JavaScriptcode bases. Compared to previous work in this area, we will makeuse of a novel combination of simple static and dynamic analysis,combined with techniques from symbolic execution and testgeneration. The goal of this combination is to obtain authentic andprecise type information directly from program execution rather thanfrom separately implemented artifacts like elaborate and error-pronestatic analysis systems.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants