News: 0001470062

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Google Open-Sources GWPSan As A New Sanitizer Framework

([Programming] 6 Hours Ago GWPSan)


Google is known for their many contributions to open-source compilers and particular many different sanitizer efforts over the years. Their newest project they have made open-source in this area is GWPSan as a sampling-based sanitizer framework.

GWPSan is described by the project's README as:

"GWPSan is a framework for low-overhead sampling-based dynamic binary instrumentation, designed for implementing various bug detectors (also called "sanitizers") suitable for production uses. GWPSan does not modify the executed code, but instead performs dynamic analysis from signal handlers."

This sampling-based sanitizer framework is separate from GWP-ASan as a lower-overhead alternative to LLVM's AddressSanitizer (ASAN). GWPSan does depend upon the Bazel build system, supports various tunable flags with otherwise off by default behavior, and is under an Apache license.

GWPSan currently provides tools for a use-after-return detector (UAR), data race detector (TSan), and use of uninitialized memory detector (LMSan).

Those wishing to learn more about Google's GWPSan sanitizer framework can learn more via the [1]GitHub repository .



[1] https://github.com/google/gwpsan


mathletic

Increased Electricity Consumption Blamed on Linux

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The US Department of Energy claims Linux is partially
responsible for the increased demand for electricity during the past year.
Electricity use was up 2.5% from January to September of 1998 compared with
the same period in 1997. "While some of the increase can be attributed to
higher temperatures over the summer," one Department bureaucrat explained,
"Linux is certainly a contributor to the increased demand for power."

When asked for clarification, the bureaucrat responded, "In the past, most
PCs have been turned off when not in use. Linux users, on the other hand,
usually don't turn off their computers. They leave them on, hoping to
increase their uptime to impress their friends. And since Linux rarely
crashes the entire system, those computers stay on for weeks, months, even
years at a time. With Linux use continuing to grow, we expect demand for
electricity to increase steadily over the next several years."

In response to the news, several utility companies have announced plans to
give away free Linux CDs to paying customers who request them. One anonymous
executive said, "The more people who use Linux, the more power they consume.
The more electricity they use, the more money we make. It's a win-win
combination." Yesterday Linus Torvalds was nominated as a candidate for the
Assocation of American Utility Companies Person of the Year.