SHF: Small: LeakDroid: Exposing Leaks and Jank in Android Applications

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Android software is widely used in smartphones, tablets, and variousother devices. In devices with limited resources, an application thatconsumes too many resources can lead to slowdowns, crashes, andnegative user experience. Software defects related to leaking ofresources are widespread and varied, but there does not exist acomprehensive strategy for testing and debugging of such leaks.Another common problem in Android software is when an applicationtakes too long to respond to a user action, in which case it isperceived as sluggish and of low quality. There do not exist testingtechniques or tools for exposing the underlying software defectsleading to poor responsiveness.Resource leaks and poor responsiveness can have severe effects onsoftware reliability, performance, and marketplace success. Thisproject develops LeakDroid, a novel approach and toolset for testingand debugging of such defects. Static code analyses are used toextract precise GUI models of Android applications; such analyses areessential for many algorithms for program understanding, optimization,testing, and debugging. Next, GUI tests are generated based on commonleak patterns, through sequences of GUI events that should not lead toincreases in resource usage. Poor responsiveness is exposed with teststhat introduce delays at chosen code locations. Debugging techniquesare then employed to find leaking data structures and poorresponsiveness operations, as well as the corresponding defectivecode. These contributions advance the state of the art in theimportant area of analysis, testing, and debugging for Androidsoftware. When these advances and tools become part of softwaredevelopment practices, they would result in lower costs and increasedquality applications for millions of users of mobile devices. Theeducational efforts of the project develop the skills of the nextgeneration of creators of mobile software