oxidecomputer / oxidecomputer/p4

Add a static analysis check for uninitialized reads

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diagnostics
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
137
Forks
12
Avg merge
4d 22h
Merged PRs (30d)
3

Description

For context see this wiki entry.

https://github.com/oxidecomputer/p4/wiki/P4-Specification-Notes#reading-uninitialized-values

The P4 language design working group has stated that P4 is an unsafe language. So what I suggested as a better alternative in the wiki entry above will likely not be realized in the foreseeable future. However, we can try to detect these sorts of uses as much as possible at compile time.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the linked P4 Specification Notes wiki entry, especially the section on reading uninitialized values, to understand the proposed analysis. Then locate the compiler entry point and existing static-analysis checks; done means the compiler detects applicable uninitialized reads at compile time, with scope and coverage agreed by maintainers.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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