Article
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Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
How Close Is Existing C/C++ Code to a Safe Subset?
Version 1
: Received: 31 October 2023 / Approved: 1 November 2023 / Online: 2 November 2023 (06:57:58 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
DeLozier, C. How Close Is Existing C/C++ Code to a Safe Subset? J. Cybersecur. Priv. 2024, 4, 1-22. DeLozier, C. How Close Is Existing C/C++ Code to a Safe Subset? J. Cybersecur. Priv. 2024, 4, 1-22.
Abstract
Using a safe subset of C++ is a promising direction for increasing the safety of the programming language while maintaining its performance and productivity. In this paper, we examine how close existing C/C++ code is to conforming to a safe subset of C++. We examine the rules presented in existing safe C++ standards and safe C++ subsets. We analyze the code characteristics of 5.8 million code samples from the Exebench benchmark suite and 5 modern C++ applications using a static analysis tool. We find that raw pointers, unsafe casts, and unsafe library functions are used in both C++ code at large and modern C++ applications. In general, C++ code at large does not differ much from modern C++ code, and continued work will be required to transition from existing C/C++ code to a safe subset of C++.
Keywords
programming languages; safe subset; memory safety; C++
Subject
Computer Science and Mathematics, Computer Science
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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