Insure++
| Developer(s) | Parasoft |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 7.4.8 / March 23, 2015 |
| Operating system | Cross Platform |
| Type | Profiler / Memory debugger |
| License | Proprietary software |
| Website | Insure++ at Parasoft.com |
Insure++ is a memory debugger computer program, used by software developers to detect various errors in programs written in C and C++. It is made by Parasoft, and is functionally similar to other memory debuggers, such as Purify, Valgrind and Dr Memory (see DynamoRIO).[1]
Overview
Insure++ can automatically find erroneous accesses to freed memory (use-after-free situations), array-bounds violations, freeing unallocated memory (which often happens when a programmer frees the same memory twice, or when he frees global or stack memory), and many others.[2]
Unlike Purify and Valgrind, Insure++ inserts its instrumentation at the source-code level,[3][4] which allows it to detect errors that the other tools miss.[5] In particular, Insure++ can detect buffer overflows in automatic arrays, and overflows which involve pointers that accidentally "jump" from one valid memory region to another, as in the following example:
#include <stdlib.h>
int main()
{
char *p = malloc(1024); /* first dynamically-allocated block */
char *q = malloc(1024); /* second block */
p += 1200; /* At this point, "p" is likely to point into the second block.
However, false assumptions about the real behaviour lead to mistakes. */
*p = 'a'; /* invalid write (past the end of the first block) */
}
The source-level instrumentation allows it to not only identify that a leak occurred, but where it occurred.[1] Some tools merely provide information about where the memory was allocated, Insure++ also gives a stack trace for when/where the actual leak occurred.
Additionally, Insure++ will produce Linear Code Sequence and Jump Code Coverage metrics for all tested code.
References
- 1 2 "http://jjc.public.iastate.edu/Runtime.errors.Paper.March4.2006.pdf" (PDF). Iowa State University High Performance Computing Group. Retrieved 20 September 2010. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ Metzger, Robert. Debugging by Thinking: A Multidisciplinary Approach. p. 490. ISBN 1555583075.
- ↑ "Parasoft Insure++ at Parasoft website". Retrieved January 29, 2014.
- ↑ Reddy, Martin. API Design for C++. p. 239.
- ↑ Lier, Matthias. Tools for High Performance Computing. p. 147. ISBN 3642112900.