Distinguishing the potential operands in FORTRAN programs
George E. Estes · ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review · 1982
There are several possible relationships between the number of potential operands and the actual operands used which correlate with available data (such as Akiyama's debugging data). However, additional data is required to distinguish between these hypotheses. Since there is a large body of programs available written in FORTRAN, we wish to develop a mechanical counting procedure to enumerate potential operands in FORTRAN programs. We are currently developing counting rules for these potential operands. Sub-routine parameters and input/output variables are relatively easy to identify. However, a number of FORTRAN features, such as COMMON blocks and EQUIVALENCE'd variables introduce serious complications. Some additional analysis of usage or heuristic approaches are required to differentiate potential operands in these situations.