Handbook of Software Fault Localization

W. Eric Wong, PhD, is a Full Professor, Director of Software Engineering Program, and the Founding Director of Advanced Research Center for Software Testing and Quality Assurance in Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is also a Guest Researcher with the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. Professor Wong was the award recipient of the 2014 IEEE Reliability Society Engineer of the Year. In addition, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Reliability from June 2016 to May 2022. He received his MS and PhD in Computer Science from Purdue University. T.H. Tse received his PhD from London School of Economics, and was a Visiting Fellow at University of Oxford. He is an Honorary Professor in Computer Science with The University of Hong Kong after retiring from full professorship. He is a Steering Committee Chair of the IEEE International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability, and Security; and an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Reliability. He has over 270 publications, including a book with Cambridge University Press. He ranks internationally as no. 2 in metamorphic testing. He was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

• Editor Biographies xvList of Contributors xvii1 Software Fault Localization: an Overview of Research, Techniques, and Tools 1W. Eric Wong, Ruizhi Gao, Yihao Li, Rui Abreu, Franz Wotawa, and Dongcheng li1.1 Introduction 11.2 Traditional Fault Localization Techniques 141.3 Advanced Fault Localization Techniques 151.4 Subject Programs 471.5 Evaluation Metrics 501.6 Software Fault Localization Tools 531.7 Critical Aspects 581.8 Conclusion 71Notes 73References 732 Traditional Techniques for Software Fault Localization 119Yihao Li, Linghuan Hu, W. Eric Wong, Vidroha Debroy, and Dongcheng li2.1 Program Logging 1192.2 Assertions 1212.3 Breakpoints 1242.4 Profiling 1252.5 Discussion 1282.6 Conclusion 130References 1313 Slicing-Based Techniques for Software Fault Localization 135W. Eric Wong, Hira Agrawal, and Xiangyu Zhang3.1 Introduction 1353.2 Static Slicing-Based Fault Localization 1363.3 Dynamic Slicing-Based Fault Localization 1383.4 Execution Slicing-Based Fault Localization 1793.5 Discussions 1933.6 Conclusion 194Notes 195References 1954 Spectrum-Based Techniques for Software Fault Localization 201W. Eric Wong, Hua Jie Lee, Ruizhi Gao, and Lee Naish4.1 Introduction 2014.2 Background and Notation 2034.3 Insights of Some Spectra-Based Metrics 2104.4 Equivalence Metrics 2124.5 Selecting a Good Suspiciousness Function (Metric) 2194.6 Using Spectrum-Based Metrics for Fault Localization 2224.7 Empirical Evaluation Studies of SBFL Metrics 2324.8 Conclusion 261Notes 262References 2635 Statistics-Based Techniques for Software Fault Localization 271Zhenyu Zhang and W. Eric Wong5.1 Introduction 2715.2 Working with Statements 2745.3 Working with Non-statements 2835.4 Purifying the Input 2865.5 Reinterpreting the Output 288Notes 292References 2936 Machine Learning-Based Techniques for Software Fault Localization 297W. Eric Wong6.1 Introduction 2976.2 BP Neural Network-Based Fault Localization 2986.3 RBF Neural Network-Based Fault Localization 3046.4 C4.5 Decision Tree-Based Fault Localization 3096.5 Applying Simulated Annealing with Statement Pruning for an SBFL Formula 3146.6 Conclusion 317Notes 317References 3177 Data Mining-Based Techniques for Software Fault Localization 321Peggy Cellier, Mireille Ducassé, Sébastien Ferré, Olivier Ridoux, and W. Eric Wong7.1 Introduction 3217.2 Formal Concept Analysis and Association Rules 3247.3 Data Mining for Fault Localization 3297.4 The Failure Lattice for Multiple Faults 3367.5 Discussion 3427.6 Fault Localization Using N-gram Analysis 3467.7 Fault Localization for GUI Software Using N-gram Analysis 3537.8 Conclusion 360Notes 361References 3618 Information Retrieval-Based Techniques for Software Fault Localization 365Xin Xia and David Lo8.1 Introduction 3658.2 General IR-Based Fault Localization Process 3688.3 Fundamental Information Retrieval Techniques for Software Fault Localization 3698.4 Evaluation Metrics 3728.5 Techniques for Different Scenarios 3748.6 Empirical Studies 3808.7 Miscellaneous 3838.8 Conclusion 385Notes 385References 3869 Model-Based Techniques for Software Fault Localization 393Birgit Hofer, Franz Wotawa, Wolfgang Mayer, and Markus Stumptner9.1 Introduction 3939.2 Basic Definitions and Algorithms 3959.3 Modeling for MBD 4049.4 Application Areas 4179.5 Hybrid Approaches 4189.6 Conclusions 419Notes 420References 42010 Software Fault Localization in Spreadsheets 425Birgit Hofer and Franz Wotawa10.1 Motivation 42510.2 Definition of the Spreadsheet Language 42710.3 Cones 43010.4 Spectrum-Based Fault Localization 43110.5 Model-Based Spreadsheet Debugging 43510.6 Repair Approaches 44010.7 Checking Approaches 44310.8 Testing 44510.9 Conclusion 446Notes 446References 44711 Theoretical Aspects of Software Fault Localization 451Xiaoyuan Xie and W. Eric Wong11.1 Introduction 45111.2 A Model-Based Hybrid Analysis 45211.3 A Set-Based Pure Theoretical Framework 45511.4 A Generalized Study 46211.5 About the Assumptions 465Notes 469References 47012 Software Fault Localization for Programs with Multiple Bugs 473Ruizhi Gao, W. Eric Wong, and Rui Abreu12.1 Introduction 47312.2 One-Bug-at-a-Time 47412.3 Two Techniques Proposed by Jones et al. 47512.4 Localization of Multiple Bugs Using Algorithms from Integer Linear Programming 48112.5 MSeer: an Advanced Fault Localization Technique for Locating Multiple Bugs in Parallel 48312.6 Spectrum-Based Reasoning for Fault Localization 51412.7 Other Studies 51812.8 Conclusion 520Notes 521References 52213 Emerging Aspects of Software Fault Localization 529T.H. Tse, David Lo, Alex Gorce, Michael Perscheid, Robert Hirschfeld, and W. Eric Wong13.1 Introduction 52913.2 Application of the Scientific Method to Fault Localization 53013.3 Fault Localization in the Absence of Test Oracles by Semi-proving of Metamorphic Relations 53813.4 Automated Prediction of Fault Localization Effectiveness 56013.5 Integrating Fault Localization into Automated Test Generation Tools 565Notes 569References 569Index 581