Automated Fault Localization Using Potential Invariants

Title: Automated Fault Localization Using Potential Invariants

Research Question: Can potential invariants, a type of program analysis, be used to automatically localize bugs in software?

Methodology: The researchers developed a tool called Carrot that implements a debugging technique. Carrot instruments a program, generates execution traces, and uses potential invariants to create a spectrum for each input. It combines the spectra of successful runs to create a single model and contrasts this model with the spectrum from the failing run. The difference between the model and the failing run's spectrum should reveal the bug.

Results: The researchers conducted experiments using Carrot and potential invariants. However, their results were unsatisfactory, suggesting that further research is needed before potential invariants can be used to locate faults effectively.

Implications: While the results were not as successful as hoped, the research highlights the potential of potential invariants in automated fault localization. Future work will focus on improving the technique and making it more effective for bug localization.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0310040v1 Authors: arXiv ID: 0310040v1