SHF: Small: Automated Debugging Techniques for Modern Software Systems

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Proposal Number: CCF 0916605TITLE: SHF: Small: Automated Debugging Techniques for Modern Software SystemsPI: Alessandro OrsoDebugging, which consists of identifying and removing software faults, is a human-intensive activity responsible for much of the cost of software maintenance. Existing approaches for automated debugging can help lower this cost, but have limitations that hinder their effectiveness and applicability. This project aims to overcome these limitations by developing a family of debugging techniques that (1) target realistic debugging scenarios, in which faults can involve multiple statements and manifest themselves only in specific contexts,(2) apply advanced static and dynamic analysis techniques to automatically reduce the amount of both statements and inputs that developers must examine when investigating a failure, (3) leverage information collected from the field to increase the relevance and effectiveness of the debugging process. These newly defined techniques will be evaluated through rigorous experimentation performed on real software, in real settings, and under realistic assumptions. Debugging tools, infrastructure, and experimental subjects developed within the project will be made freely available to researchers and practitioners to help dissemination and enable further research. By advancing the state of the art of debugging, this research will help developers build more reliable software systems and, ultimately, increase the overall quality of our software infrastructure.