Collaborative Research: CRI: A Community Resource Development Project for a Retargetable and Reconfigurable Software Dynamic Translation Infrastructure

这个协作项目开发支持软件动态(在运行时)修改的工具，并探索这些工具的使用，解决了软件开发人员面临的许多关键挑战。这些问题包括软件安全性、软件健壮性、性能、资源感知计算、具有成本效益的软件开发、具有成本效益的软件更新和补丁，以及对不同执行环境的支持。所采用的实用方法软件动态翻译(SDT)是一种技术，它通过提供在应用程序被执行时监视和动态修改应用程序的设施来实现指令级的软件延展性和适应性。研究人员开发了一种SDT系统，正用于各种成功的尖端研究项目。这个社区资源开发项目扩展和改进了现有的SDT系统，以便更广泛的研究社区可以使用它。将原型扩展为更具生产质量的系统将包含以下功能：自动生成的高性能指令解码器将指令集反编译为更中立的格式(RTL)，以支持更丰富的分析和翻译形式RLT上的一套有用的分析，可用作未来分析的模板用于检测和形成热痕迹/路径的工具支持常用目标(例如，x86 Windows)除了基础架构的扩展和改进之外，该工作还支持软件。这一至关重要的支持有助于建立一个活跃、富有成效的用户社区。该项目提供了一个完整的、开放源码的框架，可能会加速开发新的SDT实现技术的研究以及对其新用途的研究。该项目有助于理解支持实施灵活、可重定向的SDT系统所需的关键算法和数据结构。广泛影响：该项目有助于降低国家关键计算基础设施的脆弱性。此外，一个开放的、可扩展的框架允许在编译器、语言、硬件和度量方面进行大量研究。此外，还鼓励代表人数不足的学生利用匹兹堡大学现有的特定招生机制参加。

This collaborative project, developing tools that support the dynamic (as it runs) modification of software and exploring the use of these tools, addresses many critical challenges facing software developers. Such issues include software security, software robustness, performance, resource-aware computation, cost-effective software development, cost-effective software updating and patching, and support for heterogeneous execution environments. The practical approach employed, Software Dynamic Translation (SDT), is a technology that enables software malleability and adaptivity at the instruction level by providing facilities for monitoring and dynamically modifying an application program as it is being executed. The investigators have developed a SDT system that is being used in various successful cutting-edge research projects. This community resource development project extends and refines the existing SDT system so the broader research community can use it. The extended prototype into a more production quality system will contain features such as:Automatically generated high-performance instruction decodersDecompilation of the instruction set into a more neutral format (RTLs) to support richer forms of analysis and translationA useful suite of analyses on the RLT that can serve as templates for future analysisTools for detecting and forming hot traces/pathsSupport for commonly used targets (e.g., x86 Windows)Beyond the extension and refinement of the infrastructure, the work supports software. This crucial support enables the building of an active, productive community of users. Providing a complete, open-source framework, this project might accelerate research in the development of a new SDT implementation techniques as well as research into its novel uses. The project contributes to the understanding of key algorithms and data structures necessary to support the implementation of flexible, retargetable SDT systems.Broader Impact: This project contributes to the reduction of the vulnerability of the nation's vital computing infrastructure. In addition, an open, extensible framework enables a great deal of research in compilers, languages, hardware, and measurements. Moreover, underrepresented students are encouraged to participate utilizing a specific recruitment mechanism in place at U Pittsburgh.