Downloading Bound-T

NOTE NOTE NOTE

Since January 2014 Tidorum supplies Bound-T as free of charge, open-source software. Thus, Bound-T will be downloadable in source-code form (with the exception of some optional modules, specific to some cross-compilers, as described here). Some precompiled, binary, directly executable versions of Bound-T may also be provided for downloading, probably through third-party compilation servers.

The page here below is an old one which provides download access to some precompiled but limited versions of Bound-T which were offered as one way to evaluate Bound-T before purchase. Tidorum will replace this page with access to unlimited Bound-T versions. If you have an urgent need for an unlimited version of Bound-T, please contact Tidorum to ask for one.

Downloading limited Bound-T versions (out of date)

Tidorum provides no-cost downloads of limited versions of Bound-T for evaluation and for use on small target programs. If you want to evaluate Bound-T for larger target programs please ask Tidorum for an evaluation copy that is not limited to small programs. If you work at an academic institution and want to use Bound-T only for academic research and teaching you can get an unlimited, no-cost academic licence for Bound-T.

Licence conditions and support

These no-cost versions of Bound-T are offered for any kind of use, whether professional, commercial, evaluation, or hobby. However, Tidorum does not promise technical support for these no-cost versions. For commercial use of Bound-T Tidorum recommends purchasing technical support from Tidorum.

Nevertheless, please do no hesitate to tell us about any problems that you may run into with these versions of Bound-T, nor to ask for help in using them. Tidorum will answer and assist you as our resources allow.

How the size limitation works

These no-cost versions of Bound-T are limited ("crippled" as some would say) with regard to the amount of target code they can analyse at a time (in one run). For example, the "1k" versions can analyse up to about 1024 instructions in one run.

Note that unlike most size-limited cross-compilers this is not a limit on the entire size of the target program, only on the part that is analysed in one run.

To be precise, the "1k" versions of Bound-T are limited to a total of 1024 "steps" in the control-flow graphs of the subprograms (functions) that are analysed in one run. This can be a "root" subprogram with 1024 instructions, or a root subprogram of 224 instructions that calls two other subprograms with 400 instructions each, and so on.

The correspondence between "steps" and instructions is not quite exact, as some instructions on some targets are modelled by two or more steps, while some idiomatic instruction pairs, or longer idiomatic sequences, can be modelled by one step.

What to download

Bound-T consists of one main executable program, different for each target processor, and two to four support programs that are the same for all target processors. There are different versions of all these programs for each host platform — the PC on which Bound-T itself runs. For Unix-style hosts there are four support programs, for Microsoft Windows hosts only two.

To use Bound-T for one target processor you must download and install (a) the support programs, and (b) the main Bound-T program for that target, for the host PC that you will use. If you then want to use Bound-T for another target processor, too, you only have to (c) download and install the main Bound-T program for the new target processor, for your host PC.

To view the call-graph and flow-graph diagrams that Bound-T (optionally) generates you need the dot program that is part of the GraphViz suite. Some PC operating systems come with dot preinstalled.

There are also some auxiliary programs and scripts that may help you use Bound-T but are not always required.

Installation instructions in general

Bound-T does not come with an installer. Instead, after you unpack the ZIP archive, you should move the executable programs to some folder that is on your search PATH, or that you put on your search PATH. You can use an existing folder or create a new one. The number of executable programs is so small (3 to 5, depending on the host) that this is not hard to do manually.

If you are not familiar with the concept of the search PATH feel free to ask Tidorum for help. Further advice on installation and use of Bound-T is given separately for each host platform.

Note that some operating systems may already provide some of the support programs. For example, Debian Linux provides a version of the lp_solve program. However, Bound-T requires a specific version of lp_solve that has been modified in some minor but important ways to co-operate with Bound-T. When you install the support programs make sure that the Tidorum versions have priority (in the PATH) over any pre-installed versions.

Downloads

First, choose your host platform — the computer on which you want to run Bound-T — by selecting one of the following:



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