Detecting Invalid Layer Combinations Using Control-Flow Analysis for Android

Abstract

In Context-Oriented Programming (COP), it is possible that invalid combinations between layers (a set of activated layers that violates some required properties) occur at runtime. Even though such combinations can be detected using runtime checking, it potentially requires a significant amount of cost for testing. In this paper, we propose a method to detect invalid combinations between layers using state-of-the-art control-flow analysis for Android applications. Using Android specific knowledge, such as the layout file for GUI components, reasonably precise callback sequences in Android applications are actually constructed, and our method applies this fact to the analysis of COP programs. Using a simple example, we demonstrate how our method finds invalid combinations between layers.