Researchers presented a tutorial at POPL 2026 on analyzing POSIX shell scripts, focusing on the shell's unique characteristics like bimodal semantics and dynamic command composition. The tutorial teaches fundamental techniques for shell research and practical tool-building, including building a hybrid static/dynamic analysis to find catastrophic rm bugs. Materials including a screen recording and source code are available online for self-study.
Background
The POSIX shell is a widely used but complex scripting environment with unique characteristics that differ significantly from conventional programming languages, making it challenging to analyze and optimize.
- Source
- Lobsters
- Published
- Mar 27, 2026 at 04:45 AM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10