Test-Driven Fault Navigation for Debugging Reproducible Failures (bibtex)

by Michael Perscheid, Michael Haupt, Robert Hirschfeld and Hidehiko Masuhara

Abstract:

Debugging activities, particularly those for searching for failure causes, are often laborious and time-consuming. Techniques such as spectrum-based fault localization or back-in-time debugging help programmers to reduce development cost. However, such approaches are often limited to a single point of view, ignoring the need for combined perspectives. We present test-driven fault navigation as an interconnected guide to failure causes. Based on failure-reproducing unit tests, we introduce a novel systematic top-down debugging process with corresponding tool support. With spectrum-based fault localization, we offer navigation to suspicious system parts and erroneous behavior in the execution history and rank developers most qualified for addressing the faults localized. Our evaluation illustrates the practicability of this approach, its high accuracy of developer recommendation, and the fast response times of its corresponding tool suite

Reference:

Test-Driven Fault Navigation for Debugging Reproducible Failures (Michael Perscheid, Michael Haupt, Robert Hirschfeld and Hidehiko Masuhara), In Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of Japan Society for Software Science and Technology (Masahiro Yasugi, ed.), 2011. (Published as [perscheid2012compsoft])

Bibtex Entry:

@inproceedings{perscheid2011jssst,
  organization = {{J}apan Society for Software Science and Technology
		  ({JSSST})},
  month = sep,
  address = {Naha, Japan},
  editor = {Masahiro Yasugi},
  year = 2011,
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of {J}apan Society for Software Science and Technology},
  author = {Michael Perscheid and Michael Haupt and Robert Hirschfeld and Hidehiko Masuhara},
  url = {http://jssst11.kuis.kyoto-u.ac.jp/},
  title = {Test-Driven Fault Navigation for Debugging Reproducible Failures},
  pdf = {jssst2011-perscheid.pdf},
  pages = {3E-3},
  date = {2011-09-27},
  note = {Published as \cite{perscheid2012compsoft}},
  abstract = {Debugging activities, particularly those for searching for failure causes, are often laborious and time-consuming. Techniques such as spectrum-based fault localization or back-in-time debugging help programmers to reduce development cost. However, such approaches are often limited to a single point of view, ignoring the need for combined perspectives.

We present test-driven fault navigation as an interconnected guide to failure causes. Based on failure-reproducing unit tests, we introduce a novel systematic top-down debugging process with corresponding tool support. With spectrum-based fault localization, we offer navigation to suspicious system parts and erroneous behavior in the execution history and rank developers most qualified for addressing the faults localized. Our evaluation illustrates the practicability of this approach, its high accuracy of developer recommendation, and the fast response times of its corresponding tool suite}
}