Do Exceptional Behavior Tests Matter on Spectrum-based Fault Localization?
Debugging is a heavy task in software development. Computer-assisted debugging is expected to reduce these costs. Fault localization is one of the computer-assisted debugging techniques. Spectrum-based Fault Localization (SBFL) is one of the most actively studied techniques. SBFL aims to identify the location of faulty code elements based on the execution path of the tests. Previous research reports that the accuracy of SBFL is affected by test types, such as flaky tests. In our research, we focus on exceptional behavior tests to reveal the impact of such tests on SBFL. Since separating exceptional handling from normal control flow enables developers to increase program robustness, we think the execution paths of exceptional behavior tests are different from normal control flow tests, which means that the differences have a significant impact on the accuracy of SBFL. In this study, we investigate the accuracy of SBFL on two types of faults: faults that occurred in the real software development process and artificially generated faults. Our study reveals that SBFL tends to be more accurate when all failing tests are exceptional behavior tests than when failing tests include no exceptional behavior tests.
Wed 13 DecDisplayed time zone: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna change
11:00 - 12:20 | Software Testing and Quality AssuranceResearch Papers / Organization / Short Papers and Posters / Industry Papers at W211 Chair(s): Dietmar Pfahl University of Tartu | ||
11:00 10mResearch paper | An Experience in the Evaluation of Fault Prediction Research Papers Luigi Lavazza Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Sandro Morasca Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Gabriele Rotoloni | ||
11:10 10mIndustry talk | Is It the Best Solution? Testing An Optimisation Algorithm with Metamorphic Testing Industry Papers Alejandra Duque-Torres University of Tartu, Claus Klammer Software Competence Center Hagenberg, Stefan Fischer Software Competence Center Hagenberg, Dietmar Pfahl University of Tartu | ||
11:20 10mShort-paper | Impacts of Program Structures on Code Coverage of Generated Test Suites Short Papers and Posters | ||
11:30 10mResearch paper | Anomaly Detection Through Container Testing: A Survey of Company Practices Research Papers Salla Timonen University of Jyväskylä, Maha Sroor University of Jyväskylä, Rahul Mohanani University of Jyväskylä, Tommi Mikkonen University of Jyvaskyla | ||
11:40 10mShort-paper | The Effects of Soft Assertion on Spectrum-based Fault Localization Short Papers and Posters Kouhei Mihara Osaka University, Shinsuke Matsumoto Osaka University, Shinji Kusumoto Osaka University | ||
11:50 10mIndustry talk | Characterizing Requirements Smells Industry Papers | ||
12:00 10mResearch paper | Do Exceptional Behavior Tests Matter on Spectrum-based Fault Localization? Research Papers Haruka Yoshioka Osaka University, Yoshiki Higo Osaka University, Shinsuke Matsumoto Osaka University, Shinji Kusumoto Osaka University, Shinji Itoh Hitachi, Ltd., Research &Development Group, Phan Thi Thanh Huyen Hitachi, Ltd., Research &Development Group | ||
12:10 10mResearch paper | On Deprecated API Usages: an Exploratory Study of Top-starred Projects on GitHub Research Papers Pietro Cassieri University of Salerno, Simone Romano University of Salerno, Giuseppe Scanniello University of Salerno |