Fault Localization Based on Multi-level Similarity of Execution Traces

Since automated fault localization can improve the efficiency of both the testing and debugging process, it is an important technique for the development of reliable software. This paper proposes a novel fault localization approach based on multi-level similarity of execution traces, which is suitable for object-oriented software. It selects useful test cases at class level and computes code suspiciousness at block level. We develop a tool that implements the approach, and conduct empirical studies to evaluate its effectiveness. The experimental results show that our approach has the potential to be effective in localizing faults for object-oriented software.