Automatic Fault Localization Using Statistics and Visualization: An Empirical Research Program

CCF-0541049PI：Mary Jean HarrodGA TechTITLE：使用统计和可视化的自动故障定位：实证研究程序软件错误显著影响软件生产率和质量。减少故障数量所需的最昂贵的任务之一是调试，而定位故障是最困难和最耗时的调试组件。现有的自动化调试技术存在限制，使其无法扩展到工业系统，而且很少有报告比较现有技术。这个项目将研究可以通过几个活动在实践中使用的故障定位技术。首先，研究将开发改进的技术，可以更快地引导用户找到系统的故障区域，并利用程序员的知识和指导。其次，研究将设计和进行受控实验和案例研究，以评估新技术和改进技术的成本效益，并了解影响这些成本效益的因素。第三，研究将为未来的故障定位方法组装程序、有缺陷的版本和测试套件的基础设施。更广泛的影响。软件的无处不在和故障的高成本使得调试技术的改进变得极其重要。这项工作将提供实用的故障定位技术，以及关于这些技术和经验方法的经验数据，供其他研究人员在未来的故障定位研究中使用。

CCF-0541049PI: Mary Jean HarroldGA TechTITLE: Automatic Fault Localization Using Statistics and Visualization: An Empirical Research ProgramSoftware errors significantly impact software productivity and quality. One of the most expensive tasks required to reduce the number of faults is debugging, and locating faults is the most difficult and time-consuming component of debugging. Existing automated debugging techniques have limitations that prevent them from scaling to industrial systems, and there are few reports comparing existing techniques. This project will investigate fault-localization techniques that can be used in practice through several activities. First, the research will develop improved techniques that can more quickly guide the user to the faulty regions of the system and exploit programmer knowledge and guidance. Second, the research will design and conduct controlled experiments and case studies to evaluate cost-benefits of new and improved techniques, and to understand the factors contributing to those costs-benefits. Third, the research will assemble an infrastructure of programs, faulty versions, and test suites for future fault-localization approaches. Broader Impacts. The ubiquity of software and the high cost of faults, makes improvements in debugging techniques extremely important. This work will provide practical fault-localization techniques, along with empirical data on those techniques and empirical methodologies that will be made available to other researchers for use in future fault-localization research.