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Soot is a Java optimization framework. It provides four intermediate representations for analyzing and transforming Java bytecode:

1. Baf: a streamlined representation of bytecode which is simple to manipulate.
2. Jimple: a typed 3-address intermediate representation suitable for optimization.
3. Shimple: an SSA variation of Jimple.
4. Grimp: an aggregated version of Jimple suitable for decompilation and code inspection.

Soot can be used as a stand alone tool to optimize or inspect class files, as well as a framework to develop optimizations or transformations on Java bytecode.

Soot is free software and is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License.

Release Status:

The Soot Framework is an evolving research project. Our goal is to produce a robust, easy-to-use research framework for optimizing Java bytecode.

The latest release is version 2.4.0. The new features are described in detail here: new features.

Eclipse Plugin:

Since version 2.0, Soot includes a plugin that makes it possible to use Soot from Eclipse. We have a separate web page with instructions for installing and using the plugin.

You may also want to develop Soot within the Eclipse environment. Instructions for setting up Soot within Eclipse can be found here: Setting Up Soot in Eclipse.

If you want to develop with Soot in Eclipse and use SVN here is another set of instructios Setting Up Soot in Eclipse using SVN.

This is the plugins's update site:

http://www.sable.mcgill.ca/soot/eclipse/updates/

Downloads:

Get Soot from our download page a Soot Downloads.

You can simply run Soot using the following command:

java -jar soot-2.4.0.jar

To get help on the command-line options, use:

java -jar soot-2.4.0.jar -help

The usage document gives more information about these options.

Note that Soot requires at least JDK 1.5. The Eclipse plugin requires at least JDK 1.5. Soot now has virtually complete support for JDK 1.5. (Missing is support for package-level and local-variable annotations.)

Repository Access:

We are using Subversion for revision control.

With a Subversion client, you can obtain a copy of the development version of Soot, as well as any old versions. To obtain the latest development version of Soot, use one of the following commands:
svn checkout https://svn.sable.mcgill.ca/soot/soot/trunk soot-dev
svn export https://svn.sable.mcgill.ca/soot/soot/trunk soot-dev

The checkout version records additional information required to update your checked out version of Soot with the repository at a later time (with the svn update command). The export version provides a "clean" copy of only the Soot files themselves.

In order to compile Soot from source, you will also need a copy of the Jasmin and Polyglot classes, available from the download page.

From time to time we update Jasmin. If something Jasmin related seems broken you may need to get the latest Jasmin from the subversion repository:
svn checkout https://svn.sable.mcgill.ca/soot/jasmin/trunk jasmin-dev
svn export https://svn.sable.mcgill.ca/soot/jasmin/trunk jasmin-dev

You can also browse our latest version of the Soot repository, as well as a ViewCVS history, using just a web browser. For further instructions, please see http://svn.sable.mcgill.ca/.

Nightly Builds:

With release 2.2.1 we started to build Soot and Jasmin every night. To get the latest nightly build see: Nightly Builds.

Documentation:

We have developed a number of documents describing Soot. Your main current sources of information are:

• Our publication page has several conference papers describing Soot.
• A set of tutorials describing Soot, both as a Java application optimizer and as a compiler framework.
• The Soot API. Most of the functionality is self-explanatory. This API is included in the Soot distribution.
• The Soot source itself. It is full of examples on how to use the API.

Mailing List:

If you have questions about Soot use the Soot Mailing List. Note: You must subscribe before posting and you must post from the same address with which you used to subscribe.

You can also view the recent list archives.

Wiki:

See the new Soot Wiki for up-to-date information. The Soot team will be using this site for discussing upcoming work, so if you would like to know what is going on look there.

Bugzilla:

Use new Soot Bugzilla. We encourage you to add any Soot bugs there.

Click here for the complete list of contributors and acknowledgements.

We maintain a list of people and projects that are making use of Soot. If you are not on the list please add yourself!