Analyzing the effect of imperfect debugging on software fault detection and correction processes via a simulation framework

During a debugging operation, there is a high probability that an additional fault will be introduced into the program when removing an existing fault. Thus, perfect debugging is an ideal but impractical assumption when modeling software reliability. If the debugging of a software system is imperfec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mathematical and computer modelling Vol. 54; no. 11; pp. 3046 - 3064
Main Author: Lin, Chu-Ti
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2011
Elsevier
Subjects:
case studies
computer software
Exact sciences and technology
Imperfect debugging
Mathematical analysis
Mathematics
Methods of scientific computing (including symbolic computation, algebraic computation)
Non-homogeneous continuous time Markov chain
Numerical analysis
Numerical analysis. Scientific computation
Numerical methods in probability and statistics
probability
Sciences and techniques of general use
Simulation-based approach
Software debugging
Software reliability
Software testing
Software testing
Imperfect debugging
Simulation-based approach
Software reliability
Software debugging
Non-homogeneous continuous time Markov chain
Non-homogeneous continuous time
Continuous time
Probability distribution
Stochastic method
Implementation
Markov chain
Case study
Feedback
Applied mathematics
Software
Reliability
Mathematical model
Queue
Computer aided analysis
ISSN:0895-7177, 1872-9479
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Summary:During a debugging operation, there is a high probability that an additional fault will be introduced into the program when removing an existing fault. Thus, perfect debugging is an ideal but impractical assumption when modeling software reliability. If the debugging of a software system is imperfect, more faults may be introduced and detected. In such cases, it may be necessary to add more staff to the debugging team to share the load and ensure the quality of the software. To investigate the effects of imperfect debugging, we simulate the fault detection and correction processes by a single-queue multichannel queuing model with feedback. In this paper, two debugging procedures are discussed. The first, called Procedure_perfect_debugging, is based on a single-queue multichannel queuing model and deals with the case of perfect debugging. Then, we relax the restriction on perfect debugging, and further propose Procedure_imperfect_ debugging based on a queuing model with feedback to address the case of imperfect debugging. We demonstrate the implementation of the procedures via two case studies in which we quantify the effects of imperfect debugging in terms of throughput, time consumption, and debugger utilization. Finally, based on the measurement results, we determine the most suitable staffing level (i.e., the number of debuggers required) for a debugging system under different degrees of imperfect debugging.
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ISSN:0895-7177
1872-9479
DOI:10.1016/j.mcm.2011.07.033