Jichang Tan

Interests

• My research is largely about programming languages and logic programming. Here are some results of my previous work:
1. Abstract WAM is a very efficient dataflow analyzer for Prolog programs based on the compiling approach to dataflow analysis. In other words, the analysis is executed by reinterpretation of the WAM (Warren Abstract Machine) over the abstract domain of interests.
2. Amanda is a generic dataflow analyzer using the same implementation technique. It is generic in the sense that the abstract domain incorporated can be defined by users under some restrictions. In this package, we provide several domains for analysis of mode and dererferencing information. The archive also contains a technical summary for the idea of recursive modes.
3. Felix is an efficient approach for type inference of logic programs. It infers the types of general logic programs in O(N²) time where N is the number of program variables. Given the mode information, as in Prolog, it can infer more precise types and still has a time complexity of O(N³). The paper appeared at JICSLP'96 and the experimental system (using Amanda) are both available in the archive. The errata wrt the JICSLP'96 paper is in preparation.
4. GatewayBuilder 1.0 is a CGI gateway application builder which generates ANSI C programs by user scripts and templates. The script is a textual description for (Visual Basic like) form input and the template is a DBML-like HTML file describing the intended report from the gateway application. There are extensive features to support structured database (RDBMS) access via ODBC. It's also possible to integrate with full-text database and other types of legacy code.
• I am also working on a project about the next generation of GatewayBuilder.