Software Debugging
Dr. Durga Prasad Mohapatra
Professor
National Institute of Technology
Rourkela
Debugging
Once errors are identified:
◦ it is necessary to identify the precise location of
the errors and to fix them.
Each debugging approach has its own
advantages and disadvantages:
◦ each is useful in appropriate circumstances.
Some Debugging Approaches
• Brute Force method
• Symbolic Debugger
• Backtracking
• Cause-Elimination Method
• Program Slicing
3
Brute-force method
This is the most common method of
debugging:
◦ least efficient method.
◦ program is loaded with print statements
◦ print the intermediate values
◦ hope that some of printed values will help
identify the error.
Symbolic Debugger
Bruteforce approach becomes more
systematic:
◦ with the use of a symbolic debugger,
◦ symbolic debuggers get their name for
historical reasons
◦ early debuggers let you only see values from a
program dump:
determine which variable it corresponds to.
Symbolic Debugger
Using a symbolic debugger:
◦ values of different variables can be easily
checked and modified
◦ single stepping to execute one instruction at
a time
◦ break points and watch points can be set to
test the values of variables.
Backtracking
This is a fairly common approach.
Beginning at the statement where an
error symptom has been observed:
◦ source code is traced backwards until the error
is discovered.
Example
int main( ){
int i, j, s;
i=1;
while(i<=10){
s=s+i;
i++;
j=j++;}
printf(“%d”,s);
}
Backtracking
Unfortunately, as the number of source
lines to be traced back increases,
◦ the number of potential backward paths
increases
◦ becomes unmanageably large for complex
programs.
Cause-elimination method
In this method, once a failure is observed, the
symptoms of the failure (e.g. certain variable is
having a negative value though it should be
positive) are noted.
Determine a list of causes:
◦ which could possibly have contributed to the error symptom.
◦ tests are conducted to eliminate each.
A related technique of identifying errors by
examining error symptoms:
◦ software fault tree analysis.
Program Slicing
This technique is similar to back tracking.
However, the search space is reduced by
defining slices.
A slice is defined for a particular variable
at a particular statement:
◦ set of source lines preceding this statement
which can influence the value of the variable.
Program Slicing cont …
Slice of a program w.r.t. program point p
and variable x:
- All statements and predicates that
might
affect the value of x at point p.
<p, x> known as slicing criterion.
Example
1 main( )
2{
3 int i, sum;
4 sum = 0;
5 i = 1;
6 while(i <= 10)
7 {
8 Sum = sum + 1;
9 ++ i;
10 }
11 printf(“%d”, sum);
12 printf(“%d”, i);
13 }
Program Dependence Graph
3 6 11 12
4 5
8 9
Control Dep Edge
Data Dep Edge
Example
An Example
Program
1. int main( ){
2. int i, s;
& its slice w.r.t. <9, 3.
i>
i=1;
4. s=1;
5. while(i<=10){
6. s=s+i;
7. i++;}
8. printf(“%d”,s);
9. printf(“%d”,i);
10. }
Types of Slices
Static Slice: Statements that may affect value of
a variable at a program point for all possible
executions.
Dynamic Slice: Statements that actually affect
value of a variable at a program point for that
particular execution.
Backward Slice: Statements that might have
affected the variable at a program point.
Forward Slice: Statements that might be
Example of Forward Slice
1 main( )
2{
3 int i, sum;
4 sum = 0;
5 i = 1;
6 while(i <= 10)
7 {
8 sum = sum + 1;
9 ++ i;
10 }
11 printf(“%d”, sum);
12 printf(“%d”, i);
13 }
An Example Program & its forward slice w.r.t. <5, i>
Types of Slices cont …
Intra-Procedural Slice: for programs
having only one procedure
◦ Not applicable for OOPs
Inter-Procedural Slice: for programs
having more than one procedure
◦ Applicable for OOPs
Applications of Slicing
Debugging
Program understanding
Testing
Software maintenance
Complexity measurement
Program integration
Reverse engineering
Software reuse
Debugging Guidelines
Debugging usually requires a thorough
understanding of the program design.
Debugging may sometimes require full
redesign of the system.
A common mistake novice programmers
often make:
◦ not fixing the error but the error symptoms.
Debugging Guidelines
Be aware of the possibility:
◦ an error correction may introduce new errors.
After every round of error-fixing:
◦ regression testing must be carried out.
Program Analysis Tools
An automated tool:
◦ takes program source code as input
◦ produces reports regarding several important
characteristics of the program,
◦ such as size, complexity, adequacy of
commenting, adherence to programming
standards, etc.
Program Analysis Tools
Some program analysis tools:
◦ produce reports regarding the adequacy of the
test cases.
There are essentially two categories of
program analysis tools:
◦ Static analysis tools
◦ Dynamic analysis tools
Static Analysis Tools
Static analysis tools:
◦ Assess properties of a program without
executing it.
◦ Analyze the source code
provide analytical conclusions.
Static Analysis Tools
Whether coding standards have been
adhered to?
◦ Commenting is adequate?
Programming errors such as:
◦ uninitialized variables
◦ mismatch between actual and formal
parameters.
◦ Variables declared but never used, etc.
Static Analysis Tools
Code walk through and inspection can
also be considered as static analysis
methods:
◦ however, the term static program analysis is
generally used for automated analysis tools.
Dynamic Analysis Tools
Dynamic program analysis tools require
the program to be executed:
◦ its behaviour recorded.
◦ Produce reports such as, extent of coverage
achieved, adequacy of test cases, etc.
Summary
Discussed different debugging approaches.
◦ Brute Force method
◦ Symbolic Debugger
◦ Backtracking
◦ Cause-Elimination Method
◦ Program Slicing
Presented some debugging guidelines.
Explained the Program Analysis Tools
◦ Static analysis tools
◦ Dynamic analysis tools 28
References
1. Rajib Mall, Fundamentals of Software Engineering,
(Chapter – 10), Fifth Edition, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.,
2018.
Thank You
