SHF: Small: Reusing Debugging Knowledge

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Developers spend most of their time debugging software. This effortresults in perfective changes to their applications, but is otherwiselost. No central repository exists that stores all bug descriptionsand fixes. The reason for this state of affairs is the belief thatdebugging is an idiosyncratic, context-specific task that does notgeneralize. In contrast, this project hypothesizes that applicationsdecompose into smaller, similar problems and that limitations of thehuman mind imply that we are likely to make similar errors whenconfronted by similar problems. In practice, most developersagree. When fixing a bug, a developer often begins by searching forsimilar bugs that have been reported and resolved in the past, becausea fix for a similar bug can help him understand his bug, or evendirectly fix his bug. In short, the problem is that the knowledgegained during debugging is wasted---either not stored or notsearchable.This project seeks to revolutionize debugging by capturing and reusingdebugging knowledge. Developers can leverage the knowledge of thecommunity to speed up debugging. To this end, it proposes to create auniversal bug repository capable of storing all bug information,indexed on bug traces. To speed debugging, this repository willsupport efficiently finding similar bugs and their fixes. It will bethe basis of automatic debugging tools that match closed bugs to anopen bug, then test the applicability of their fixes to that openbug. Programmers will consult the proposed bug repository as a matterof course during debugging. Monitors that compare the currentexecution against traces in the repository can also prevent bugs andimprove software reliability. This project promises to significantlyspeed up debugging and reduce software production cost. The proposededucational innovations and outreach efforts can also help train morecapable IT professionals for the workforce.